Historically Speaking

Erasing history is one of the most profound violations a culture can commit—not just against others, but against itself. Though it’s a tactic as old as civilization, we’re witnessing its resurgence today on many fronts - even in the form of national park signage and picture books depicting women's history. Sadly, we also see it among individuals, who refuse to listen to each other, some mired so deep in their own pain they cannot see the pain of others. Dystopian novels like The Giver by Lois Lowry and 1984 by George Orwell have long warned us of the dangers: whether it’s done under the pretense of protecting people from painful truths or to serve the agenda of a controlling regime, the outcome is the same. Erasure silences conversation. It cuts off the possibility of understanding, empathy, and progress. It doesn’t eliminate the past—it attempts to sever our memory of it. And this tendency crosses political and ideological lines. When we choose not to engage with each othe...

 There is ongoing controversy over whether our nation should continue celebrating Columbus Day. It's well understood that Christopher Columbus did not truly "discover" America in 1492, as Indigenous peoples had been living on the land for thousands of years. However, the origins of the holiday are more complex than they might seem and are not solely about honoring the Italian explorer who sailed under the Spanish flag. Instead, Columbus Day has deeper roots in the history of Italian immigration to the United States and the struggle of Italian Americans to gain acceptance and recognition. Between roughly 1880 and 1924, more than 4 million Italians—primarily from Southern Italy and Sicily, including my own ancestors—arrived on American shores in search of opportunities they couldn't find in their homeland, much like countless other immigrants seeking a better life in the United States.   Photo by Lewis Hine Like other immigrants they were not m...

A global-wide celebration begins today for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral after the devastating fire that closed it for three years. The opening of this faith center marks a substantial contribution to the history of this grand monument, but also shines a light on the crafting of every cathedral. These great cathedrals not only provided multi-generational employment for urban centers, but also spiritual and cultural centers for residents and visitors. It always confounds me that these cathedrals were dreamed and planned by dreamers and workers who would never see their completion. Do we begin ventures like this today? Perhaps we do when we plant trees, but in many cases our dreamers and planners do not think past their own lifespans. We need more of that. In any case, read more about cathedrals.

I just spent a wonderful weekend with educators at NCTE and had conversations about pairing fiction and nonfiction books in the classroom. While most of these discussions involved books about the environment an article this morning in Publishers Weekly Daily (PW Daily)reminded me of some other connections. I just had to share this with you all. A Murder in Massachusetts is the story of the murder that inspired America's first crime novel -- The Scarlet Letter . It reminded me of two other books that have a similar connection -- A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, which weaves the true crime story of Grace Brown, who also inpsired Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy . I can already hear the classroom discussions!

 There is a lot of controversy about whether or not our nation should be celebrating Columbus Day. Obviously, we know that Cristoforo Colombo did not discover America in 1492 because there were already people living on the land. The story of the holiday, though, is much more complex and doesn't have as much to do about the Italian explorer who sailed under the Spanish flag. It has much more to do with the history of Italian immigrants in the United States.  From NY Public Library -- from 1892. Between around 1880 and 1924, more than 4 million Italians, mainly from Southern Italy and Sicily, (my ancestors included) arrived on American shores looking for opportunities unavailable to them in their home country -- like all immigrants coming to America.  Photo by Lewis Hine Like other immigrants they were not met with open arms. Read the White House   Proclamation on Columbus Day from 2022.  "Things have not always been easy; prejudice and violence often stalled the ...

 Are you looking for a few children's titles to enjoy this month during Italian Heritage Month?  Here are some favorites to explore:  Books by Donna Jo Napoli

 It's Italian Heritage Month and for the first time in my personal history I'm celebrating this month as a dual Italian American citizen, making this month even more meaningful for me. As part of the process of becoming a dual citizen I've been diving into the canon of Italian literature. I've read most in English, only diving into a few texts in the original Italian.  I've loved all the books I've read - both for adult readers and children. Here are a few of the adult books:  

Women's history rocks! And so do these new picturebook biographies from Laurie Wallmark highlighting extraordinary women in STEM – one looking to the sky and the other facing opponents across a chess board. Laurie is also the author several other biographies, so she isn’t new to introducing readers to fascinating women who have made an impact in our world. Welcome, Laurie! Tell us about the inspiration for these latest biographies, HER EYES ON THE STARS and THE QUEEN OF CHESS. I keep an ever-growing list of possible women in STEM to write about. At the time I chose Maria Mitchell, there was only one picture book out about her. This was an older title which fictionalized some of her life story. I thought kids deserved to learn the facts. So, I dug in, did the research, and wrote my book. But before HER EYES ON THE STARS came out, two more picture books about her were published! As far as I’m concerned, though, there’s always room for more good books about an important woman in ...

It doesn't matter if you are writing nonfiction or fiction -- research is crucial in making your writing come alive. You might have to venture to some pretty obsure libraries to find just what you are looking for to obtain the details you need. Don't limit yourself to what you can find online. Those links can fill some needs, but look beyond for articles and books that might not be online. More on this to come!

I adore historical fiction and verse novels. A SEED IN THE SUN, a beautiful novel by Aida Salazar combines both. With rich characters, readers enter the world of the 1965 farmworkers' strike led by Dolores Huerta. Here are two nonfiction books that pair well with A SEED IN THE SUN. Add them to your classroom discussions! Nancy Castaldo is the author of books about food and farming, including THE STORY OF SEEDS, THE FARM THAT FEEDS US, and her latest, THE WORLD THAT FEEDS US. For more about these titles visit her website

 So many books, so little time is the phrase I think about most at this time of year. Thankfully, another year is fresh on the forefront with new reads. Here are some of my fave historical books from 2022. In all of these books, authors have brought to life places and periods across the globe - from Italian immigrants in turn-of-the-century New York to 1930s Berlin to Africa to the fateful day of September 11, 2001. While they range in place and period, they also range in form. They are told in prose, verse, and graphic novel.  Check them out!  Turn-of-the-century NYC told in prose by Donna Jo Napoli .  A wonderful novel in verse set in Africa from Kwame Alexander Kip Wilson brings 1930s Berlin to life in this young adult novel-in-verse.  All of Don Brown 's graphic novels are chock full of facts and story. 

From the Writer's Almanac:   It was on this day in 1933 that   the  Nazi Party won 44 percent of the vote  in German parliamentary elections , enabling it to join with the Nationalists to gain a slight majority in the Reichstag. Within three weeks, the Nazi-dominated Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, which gave Hitler dictatorial powers and ended the Weimar Republic in Germany. Let's honor the women who worked in the Resistance at that time and during WWII, my family included.  Here are a few books that tell the story of some of those people:

Who can imagine what life must have been like for a kid living twenty thousand years ago? Lois Huey can! Travel back in time with author and archeologist, Lois Miner Huey , with her latest book, Children of the Past:Archeology and the Lives of Kids . Thanks, Lois, for talking with us today about this fascinating book. What inspired you to write about kids who lived thousands of years ago? Based on archaeological evidence, I was wondering what it was really like to be a kid years ago. My latest book Children of the Past Archaeology and the Lives of Kids (Lerner 2017) begins thousands of years ago with cave kids and goes through time to the 1790s. Finding evidence of children from various times in soil layers is exciting for archaeologists. I wanted to share that excitement and what that evidence of their lives meant in different time periods. In previous books like Forgotten Bones Uncovering a Slave Cemetery and Ick! Yuck! Eew! Our Gross American History, I've included ki...

I spent some time this weekend in lower Manhattan. My hotel was directly across the street from St. Paul's Chapel so I had to stop over to see this 250-year old Episcopal church that survived 9/11 and holds so much history. The cemetery is populated by Revolutionary War veterans and New World residents who lived in New York before we were a free nation. It is remarkable to see this tiny chapel among NY skyscrapers and to imagine an earlier New York. St. Paul's was built by Trinity Church to serve the neighborhood. St. Paul's  Just a few blocks away is Trinity Church, where Angelica Schuyler her sister, Eliza and Alexander Hamilton are buried. The original Trinity Church burned down. While awaiting the new building, George Washington and the gang attended St. Paul's. Trinity Church  He was a good guy, but.....   John Lawrence!  Eliza's plot This is a great place to fill out your Hamilton knowledge. These two loc...