Historically Speaking

Please pardon my long absence - lots of work, flu, then pneumonia. It's March - Women's History Month! Here's some books to look at this month: When Esther Morris Headed West: Women Wyoming and the Right To Vote by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge (picture book) From Rags To Riches: A History of Girls Clothing in America by Leslie Sills (ages 10 and up) In Real Life: Six women Photographers by Leslie Sills (ages 10 and up) Women Who Dared by Valjean McLenighan (grades 4-8) Remember the Ladies: 100 Great American Women by Cheryl Harness (ages 8 and up) Amelia and Eleanor Go For A Ride by Pam Munoz Ryan (picture book) Check out biographies of these famous women: Authors: Mary Shelley, Jane Austin, Emily Bronte, Harper Lee, Pearl S. Buck, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolfe, Beatrix Potter, Lucy Maude Montgomery Artists: Frida Kahlo, Grandma Moses, Diane Arbus, Mary Cassatt, Georgia O'Keeffe Activists: Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, Abigail Adams, Dorothea Dix, Elizabeth Cad...

I am thrilled to see two wonderful works of historical fiction take home the top awards today --- " Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village ," written by Laura Amy Schlitz, is the 2008 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by Candlewick and edited by the wonderful Mary Lee Donovan. " The Invention of Hugo Cabret ," illustrated by Brian Selznick, is the 2008 Caldecott Medal winner. The book is published by Scholastic. Congratulations Laura and Brian! There are many other fine books on the award lists, including many other hsitorical fiction reads. Check them out!

We are just days away from a bright new year! At this time I always look over the list of books I have read --Which were my favorites? How does the overall list look? I'm happy with my choices for 2007, although there are many still stacked in my office that I have not finished or even started that will have to go on next year's list. In 2007 I read two books in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series and I loved them both! I also read a bunch to review for the Historical Novel Society . I enjoyed those books, especially World's Afire by Paul Janeczko. Those review books offer me a chance to read books I might not pick up otherwise. A couple of other historical fiction books that rose to the top of the 2007 list: The Red Queen's Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov and Hush by Donna Jo Napoli. Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and Abundance said in an interview that "fiction can make history seem more alive and thus more kin to life as we know...

Jeannine Atkins is the author of several historical fiction books and biographies for young people, including Aani and the Treehuggers , Becoming Little Women , and Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon . Here Jeannine talks about her latest title, Anne Hutchinson's Way . I'm not sure if we choose our stories or if they choose us. What was the case with Anne Hutchinson's Way ? My heart seems to beat a bit harder when I hear of someone who does something great and never got quite enough attention for that feat, or was too much forgotten. While Anne Hutchinson’s name appears in many American history textbooks, I wanted to give her a book of her own which could bring out more aspects of her uncommon courage. What were the challenges in bringing Anne's story to life for children? Picture books, even those aimed at readers age six and up, don’t often deal with the finer points of Puritan theology or colonial laws! I tried to simplify these issues and still give them respect. How w...

I had a great day in Salem, MA on Saturday. Ever since I visited Salem one October with my Girl Scouts a few years ago it has become a tradition to visit around Halloween. This year my family stayed for an evening presentation of the Spirits of the House of Seven Gables . It was terrific. Wonderful costumed actors performed bits and pieces from the House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne throughout the house. The town itself was spirited! What a mix of history and hoax! Celebration and scare! Here's a few historical fiction reads inspired by the Salem witch trials that are perfect for your nightstand these nights before Halloween. Witch Child - by Celia Rees The Sacrifice - by Kathleen Benner Duble Beyond the Burning Time by Kathryn Lasky I Walk In Dread: The Diary of Deliverence Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials (A Dear America book) by Lisa Rowe Fraustino And for a little fact with all that great fiction read Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials by ...

Kashmira Sheth’s new title, Keeping Corner , is a powerful work of historical fiction about Leela, a child widow. It has already received praise and will be released in the coming days. I'm not sure if we choose our stories or if they choose us. What was the case with Keeping Corner? Keeping Corner chose me. The story is based on my great-aunt who was a child widow. I met her when I was nine and always wondered about her life. At that time I didn’t realize it, but that was when the story had chosen me. After all these years it still had a hold on me and I had to write it. What were the challenges in bringing this story to life? The most difficult part of the story was how to weave Leela’s story with the larger story of India’s awakening. The research was fun. My dad and mom told me most of the details of that time and I also read many fiction and nonfiction works written in Gujarati about that time. I went to India and visited Gandhiji’s ashram, bought many books written by him an...

I had a great time with Kathleen Ernst at the Historical Novel Society Conference where we sat together on a panel. I was so pleased she agreed to be interviewed. Her latest book is Hearts of Stone, set during the Civil War. The New York Public Library has selected it among their Books for the Teen Age list and it has received many other honors. I'm not sure if we choose our stories or if they choose us. What was the case with Hearts of Stone? Hmmn, a very interesting question! I think Hearts of Stone chose me. I'm never short of ideas; I have so many story ideas swirling in my head that I'll never have time to write them all. But somehow, certain stories wriggle up to the top of my subconscious, nudging until I take the time to write this particular story. Sometimes stories simmer for years before I feel compelled to write them. Other times it happens more quickly, and this was the case with Hearts of Stone . As soon as I started reading and thinking about homeless refug...