Category Archives: Children’s fiction

Celts and Roman Britain – Children’s Historical Fiction

Children's books, Children's fiction, History Books, , , , ,

There is an abundance of stories about Roman Britain, many focusing on the Celts versus Romans theme.

For younger readers:

Older children:

  • Song for a Dark Queen by Rosemary Sutcliff
  • Outcast by Rosemary Sutcliff
  • The Capricorn Bracelet by Rosemary Sutcliff
  • Heather, Oak, and Olive; Three Stories by Rosemary Sutcliff
  • The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff
  • The Eagle of the Ninth (The Roman Britain Trilogy) by Rosemary Sutcliff
  • Frontier Wolf by Rosemary Sutcliff
  • The Silver Branch (The Roman Britain Trilogy) by Rosemary Sutcliff

    More to come…

British Iron Age / Celts – Children’s Historical Fiction

Children's books, Children's fiction, History, History Books, , , , ,

There is very little historical fiction on the Iron Age before the coming of the Romans.

  • sunhorsemoonhorseSun Horse, Moon Horse by Rosemary Sutcliff
    Unusually this is set in Iron Age before the Romans. Although the story is concerned with inter-tribal warfare, the drama comes less from this, and more from the tension between the practical world of the warrior and and the spiritual world of the artist.
    Lubrin Dhu is the third son of the chief, and sees the world differently to others, through artist’s eyes. This is a bittersweet, story of friendship, duty and sacrifice in a tribal culture devoted to the horse.
    It is written in Rosemary Sutcliff’s signature poetic style. It is a shorter story than many of her books, and as a result makes a good introduction to Rosemary Sutcliff’s work for those unused to her style – descriptive language and long sentences.

 

 

More children’s historical fiction set in the bronze age (we haven’t read these yet)

Many of the stories from this period are viewed through Irish and Welsh mythology – the surviving tales written down in medieval times.

The Ulster Cycle:

Cornish Mythology:

 

Picture Book Month 2014

Children's books, Children's fiction,

PBMLOGO-COLOR_WEBRES

Each November celebrates Picture Book Month.
On the Picture Book Month website, and through its email newsletter you can find out about many different people’s ideas for why picture books are important.

Here though I’d like to share some of our favourite picture books based on the topics in this year’s Picture Book Month calendar.

Elephants

Kidogo: The Littlest Elephant

by Anik McGrory

Many picture books feature a character in the form of an animal, but that are in essence people. We on the other hand have a fondness of picture books about animals, that mostly show the animals as themselves.  Hence our love of the Nature Storybooks.
Kidogo is somewhere in between. A little elephant who feels dwarfed by the world around him. We particularluy love the trail of interesting savannah animals he meets on his way.

See Kidogo on Amazon

bashiBashi, Elephant Baby

by Theresa Radcliffe (Author), John Butler (Illustrator)

The story of a newborn elephant’s first days in the wild. Always great to find a book that reflects the real life stories of an animal. We haven’t yet read this one, but we really enjoy The Snow Leopard, by the same author and illustrator. The images are beautiful, really evoking the landscape and a close intimacy with the animal itself. John Butler’s illustrations are definitely in the realm of wildlife artist and they really stand out for their detail, and character.

See more of John Butler’s work
See Bashi, Elephant Baby on Amazon

thunderfootLittle Elephant, Thunderfoot

by Sally Grindley (Author), John Butler (Illustrator)

Another animal story beautifully illustrated by John Butler. This time written by Sally Grindley. Newborn Thunderfoot starts to explore his world, getting to grips with everyday family life. But his herd faces tragedy. This book deals with issues of death and poaching.
See more of John Butler’s work
See Little Elephant, Thunderfoot  on Amazon

Travel

offtomarketOff to Market

by Elizabeth Dale (Author) and Erika Pal (Illustrator)

This year in the library we discovered this charming picture book about a bus journey in Africa.
The bus is off to market today. Everyone wants to get on. The pictures are full of lively little details, and we had great fun spotting all the different people, and things getting on the bus. It is a morality tale about how taking the initiative and helping others can overcome problems.

See Off to Market on Amazon

Children’s Historical Fiction – Ottoman Empire

Books and Magazines, Children's books, Children's fiction, History Books, Learning, , , , ,

Although one of the world’s longest running and most powerful empires we haven’t found much on the Ottoman Empire. But we have found a couple of gems.

Abraham Hannibal and the Battle For the Throne

Frances Mary Somers Cocks (Author), Eric Robson (Illustrator)

The second book in the Abraham Hannibal series, this quirky,  fascinating book explores life as a slave gardener in the palace of the Ottoman Sultan in the early 1700s.

Read full review of Abraham Hannibal 

LeylaBlackTulipLeyla: The Black Tulip (Girls of Many Lands)

Alev Lytle Croutier (Author)

Set in 1720′s this charts the story of a young girl tricked into slavery and taken to the Sultan’s palace in Istanbul, the heart of the Ottoman Empire.

Read full review of Leyla

 

Other books we haven’t read:

Leyla: The Black Tulip

Children's books, Children's fiction, History, History Books, , ,

LeylaBlackTulip

Leyla: The Black Tulip (Girls of Many Lands)

By Alev Lytle Croutier

Set in 1720’s this charts the story of a young girl tricked into slavery and taken to the Sultan’s palace in Istanbul, the heart of the Ottoman Empire.
We really enjoyed the way the book balances the hardships of slavery with the security and opportunity of the harem. Leyla is desperately poor and the harem provides her with a living, but at the price of her freedom and family. It manages to avoid the harem cliché of women competing for the sultans’s favours and focuses on the ordinary everyday life of women in harem. It glosses over the reality of the eunuchs, but with enough details to make it realistic enough for those with some understanding – a cleverly balanced line that allows for further examination of these issues, or not, depending on your own judgement.  The authors’ expertise on the harem shines through. The focus on the gardens and the tulip provide another layer of historical interest that gives the book an additional flavour.
See on Amazon

 

Abraham Hannibal

Children's books, Children's fiction, History, History Books, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

AbrahHannRotSAbrahHannBftT

Abraham Hannibal and the Raiders of the Sands 

by Frances Mary Somers Cocks

Abraham Hannibal and the Battle for the Throne

by Frances Mary Somers Cocks

“My name is Abraham, and my father is a noble lord of Africa”
Based on a true story, these two books tell the adventures of a young boy’s travels in the 1700s.
Aimed somewhere between the Sparks and My Story series reading level, the straightforward, accessible style belies the depth of detail, and geographically breadth. It is well written and very different to anything else we have come across – with plenty to keep adults enthralled too.
Uniquely covering people and places seldom touched upon in literature.
Accompanied by intricate black and white illustrations, the vivid descriptions give fascinating glimpses of a multitude of people, cultures and faiths, all bound up in an exciting, and touching adventure story.
A story of mixed fortunes, loss, bravery, slavery and determination.
Raiders of the Sands
Follows Abraham’s journey from Christian Ethiopia, to Arabia and the Mediterranean, inspired by tales of tribal Africa and the French court of the Sun King.
Battle for the Throne
Abraham continues his journey to the palace of the Ottoman Sultan and beyond, on to the cold north of Peter the Great’s Russia and war with Sweden.

 

 

The Secrets of the Stonehenge

Children's books, Children's fiction, History, History Books, ,

The Secrets of Stonehenge, by Mick Manning (Author) and Brita Granström (Illustrator) (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)

This is a factual picture book aimed at older children charting the history of Stonehenge. Starting from the Mesolithic nomadic hunter-gatherers, through the first farmers to Stonehenge as a modern tourist destination. It examines how the henge was built, how it changed over time and what it may have been used for.

Each page bursts with movement and Brita Granstrom’s characteristic lively illustrations dominate each page. An information packed paragraph starts each page, and annotations, and speech weave through the pages. Packed with information, and theories about Stonehenge, but without overwhelming or being boring in way that factual books often are.

Side panels on each page clearly separate out the background information. The multi-layered illustrations and writing mean that this book can be used on many levels – as a simpler picture book by focusing on the illustrations and annotations, right up to a summary of Stonehenge for adults.

My only gripe is that I would have preferred to see the dates in the very attractive timeline at the back use BC/BCE as well as years ago. This would make it easier for younger readers to put Stonehenge into wider historical context.

secrets of stonehenge

  Find Secrets of Stonehenge on Amazon…

 

Minnow and the Bear

Books and Magazines, Children's books, Children's fiction, History, History Books, Nature Books, , , ,


Minnow and the Bear, by Benedict Blathwayt (Red Fox Picture Books)

A beautifully illustrated children’s book, but disappointing as historical fiction.

Minnow, the caveboy longs to be old enough to go hunting with the men, but instead he accidentally falls into the river and gets washed down river. Minnow and his new friend the bear cub survive in the wilds, until the depths of winter draw him back home.

The outstanding thing about this book is the illustration. Exquisite, detailed, studies of the natural world, laid out in full pages and smaller cartoon strip style, gentle action through the pages.

Despite this it failed to impress us as historical fiction. The words feel slightly disjointed, but most of all the characters and culture feel all wrong.

Whilst the boy appears perfectly capable of gathering food and looking after himself on his adventures the women of his community are completely useless. They are seldom seen to move from their cave, don’t gather foods or do any productive work and are unable to relight the camp’s fire when it goes out. With each re-reading these parts feel more and more patronising and unrealistic as a portrayal of a time when the whole community had to work together to survive. The sharp division between the adult male hunters and the one lone boy also grates. Rather than showing the way hunter gatherer children learn by immersion in the every day life of their community, it feels like a twenty first century boy’s day dream.

In summary a good picture book for a child that loves visual elements and tiny details, but best avoided as a means of learning about the stone age. If you want a children’s picture book that exudes the feel of the time and people then we recommend Stone Age Boy.

Find Minnow and the Bear on Amazon…

References:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/200808/children-educate-themselves-iii-the-wisdom-hunter-gatherers

 

 

British Bronze Age – Children’s Historical Fiction

Children's books, Children's fiction, History Books, , , , ,

Historical fiction is a great way of finding out more about history.
But some places and times are harder to find books on than others. Where as there is lots of historical fiction for children on the stone age which could be set in the British Isles, I have found very few books on bronze age Britain, and nothing for younger children.

Both of the books featured examine the possible impact of the introduction of objects of new metals on a community.

Mini reviews of the ones we have read:

  • boybronzeaxeThe Boy with the Bronze Axe by Kathleen Fidler
    Kali and Brockan live in the village of Skara Brae on Orkney.  Their’s is a stone age way of life, but when a boy with a bronze axe is washed ashore everything changes.
    This is a good read, which despite its age doesn’t seem stilted. The story vividly depicts stone age life on Skara Brae and wrestles with the issues that arise when new technologies and ideas are introduced.
    It is a more approachable read than Warrior Scarlet.
  • warrior scarletWarrior Scarlet by Rosemary Sutcliff
    Drem is born with a withered arm. Follow his story as he faces the obstacles this poses for him in proving himself and becoming a warrior. Will he be able to overcome his disability?
    A story of friendship, persistence, and harsh realities.
    Rosemary Sutcliff’s descriptive, more complex style makes this book a harder read than The Boy with the Bronze Axe.

 More children’s historical fiction set in the bronze age (we haven’t read these yet)

View Children’s Historical Fiction: Bronze Age Britain on Amazon Listmania

Do you have any comments on these or any other historical fiction set in the bronze age?

The animals of Eric Carle

Children's books, Children's fiction, Nature Books, , , , , ,

One our favourite author’s for younger children who love animals is Eric Carle.

He has a way of combining a quick, colourful story with a good first look at a group of animals. Although most famous for the Very Hungry Caterpillar, with its less than realistic diet of a caterpillar, some of his other book introduce new animals in a very accessible way.

Three of our favourites are:

See on Amazon

See on Amazon

See on Amazon

Mister Seahorse – A pregnant Mr Seahorse meets lots of other different fish, including other Dads looking after their eggs and babies in their own way. Interesting look at male parental care in fish.

The Very Quiet Cricket – The Very Quiet cricket meets a range of other insects, including a spittle bug and a lunar moth

Slowly slowly slowly said the sloth – The sloth introduces us very slowly to some of the animals of South America including a tapir and some leaf cutter ants