Book Search: Historical Fiction

Have you ever wondered how chocolate is made? This picture book goes into detail about how the farmers pick the pods, dry the insides between banana leaves and turn the beans as they dry. One girl lives in Santo Domingo and tells about her life in creating chocolate, and how excited she is when the sailors bring ice to trade for cocoa beans Another girl lives in Maine and shares about her life where her father cuts ice from the river and packs the ice house. It was fascinating to hear about how these everyday things we love used to be made.

We listened to the audio version of this book and we all really enjoyed it. I love how we are learning about history in this gentle way. This book is just at the eve of the American Revolution and it's fascinating the way people started splitting up, some in favor, some not.

We all really enjoyed this book about Kirsten. Learning history through these gentle American Girls stories is wonderful, and our girls are so interested in the stories as well as all the facts at the end of the book.

Elizabeth is 9 years old and has just arrived in Jamestown with 4 ships full of pilgrims - 5 other ships were lost in the hurricane. She begins her diary and tells the tale of the first 2 months, gathering food, meeting Native Americans - including Pocahontas. This book was interesting and a little scary - a lot of people get summer sickness and die, none of Elizabeth's family dies but her friends do. There is a burial every day near the end, so many people are dying. Elizabeth's mother is pregnant and spends 2 days in labor where Elizabeth worries about her and wonders if the baby will be born dead. However, the diary ends on a good note, the baby is healthy and everyone in her family is well.

This is truly an outstanding book that will appeal to a large audience. Our girls (then 10 and 7) hung on every word. I loved that this was about Laura Ingalls Wilder's great grandmother! There was a lot of research put into it and I loved reading all about Scotland, as my own mother was born there. I especially enjoyed how the author wove in retellings of fairy stories and myths. This is the first the series and we are very excited to continue on. PLEASE NOTE I am referring to the unedited version with the painted cover, not the one with the photographed cover (which amazon insists on linking to). I have not read both but I have heard that the 2nd version is considerably abridged.

This is the 2nd book in the series of Story of the World, which our family really enjoys. Be sure to start with the first book. If your children are sensitive to violence, you may want to pre-read this book or edit it as you go.

This book is Charlotte's diary (from 10 months in 1893 and 1894) and it is full of pasted in postcards, little sketches, copies of famous art, and maps of Paris. Charlotte's father is a painter and so she ends up meeting other painters, including Monet, Lilla Cabot Perry, and Edgar Degas. The story of her artistic explorations is cheerful and fun to read.

We really enjoyed the illustration style of this book, similar to a comic book. This is a great retelling of the event, but be forewarned it's a little graphic about men getting lashed and so on. Pre-read it if you and/or your child are sensitive to such things.