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 chance to chat with the award winning illustrator/author Emily Arnold McCully after my "Writing History" panel at the Spencertown Academy Festival of Books last weekend. I was excited to learn about Emily's new title, historical fiction picture book The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington's Slave Finds Freedom . I'm not sure if we choose our stories or if they choose us. You have authored and illustrated so many titles, what was the case for your latest, The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington's Slave Finds Freedom ? Certainly a certain kind of protagonist, preferably female appeals to me. Oney Judge's story is one of coming to consciousness and taking bold action. There is inherent suspense and a satisfying conclusion in that she was proud ever after of what she had achieved, difficult as it was to sustain. I was also very interested in the way Oney’s daring sheds light on the Washingtons. I had no desire to condemn them - Martha's di...
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...
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