Historical Fiction!

The link below will take you to a document that features four reviews for historical fiction books.

Historical Fiction Assignment 4

Summaries for each book in the historical fiction collection:

Bartoletti, S. C. (2005). Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s shadow. New York: Scholastic.

The Hitler Youth was the Nazi Party’s way to include and indoctrinate the children of Germany into conforming to their anti-Semitic philosophy.  What started off as a voluntary organization soon transformed into a required activity.  German children endured intense physical training, learned to operate military equipment, and spent time away from home to acquire the skills and knowledge that the Nazis deemed imperative to the country’s success.  These children were so brainwashed by Hitler’s ideals that they would rat out their own family members for comments or acts not in line with Nazi goals and directives.

Curtis, C.P. (1995). The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963. New York: Delacorte Press.

Middle child Kenny Watson has it a little rough in his 1960s life in Flint, Michigan.  He has a lazy eye, an arrogant and increasingly rebellious older brother named Byron, a little sister to look after, and an affinity for reading.  When Byron’s teenage rebellion gets to be more than his parents can handle, they decide to have him spend some time with his maternal grandmother down south in Alabama.  The whole family travels by car without incident but when they get there, Kenny soon realizes that the racial climate is quite different than what he is used to back home.

Nelson, K. (2008). We are the ship: The story of Negro League baseball. New York: Hyperion.

Because blacks were not allowed to play baseball with whites, they formed their own leagues, teams, and venues starting in the 1920s.  Some of the players were legendary as were their managers.  Despite unfair conditions and lackluster pay, they played the game they dearly loved.  Some of these men played with such skill they were unrivaled by their white counterparts.  As time went on, conditions started to improve.  Some layers even traveled to Cuba to play ball where they were met with a more pleasant atmosphere.  Finally, Jackie Robinson broke the barrier and initiated integration with white teams.

Schlitz, L.A. (2007) Good masters! Sweet ladies! Voices from a medieval village. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

The lives of the various members of a medieval village intertwine in ways one would not expect.  All have various responsibilities and different perspectives on their lives.  Not only to the poor and hardworking children wrestle with their plight, but children of wealthy families have their own issues with which they struggle.  The book shows that life is not always pleasant, that there are people who are hungry, who are abused, whose parents have died and that no matter how bad you think your life is, someone else is worse off than you.