Children’s Literature

HISTORICAL FICTION
HISTORICAL FICTION DEFINITION

Historical fiction tells the stories of

history in an imaginative way,
weaving facts with fiction.

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“
“History tells us what people do;
historical fiction helps us imagine
how they felt.”
-Guy Vanderhaeghe

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ELEMENTS

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ELEMENTS OF HISTORICAL FICTION
Historical Accuracy Setting Characterization

Style Plot & Theme Illustrations

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ELEMENTS
Historical Accuracy Setting Characterization

Consistent with Clear and vivid details Characters should

historical evidence and of time period and match the attitudes and
events place in which the story beliefs of the given
occurs time period

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ELEMENTS
Style Plot & Theme Illustrations
Dialogue should match Actual or plausible Pictures should be
the time period, but historical events shape historically accurate
should be the plot and support and
comprehensible to Theme is evident in the enhance the story
young readers story and in a larger
historical context

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AWARDS

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AWARDS
Scott O’Dell Award for
Historical Fiction
❖ Founded in 1982 to encourage
authors to write about the genre
and increasing young readers’
interest in history
❖ Awarded annually to an
exemplary piece of historical
fiction for young adults of
children during the previous
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FEATURED
AUTHOR

Jacqueline Woodson

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“ I used to say I’d be a teacher or a lawyer
or a hairdresser when I grew up, but even as
I said these things, I knew what made me
happiest was writing.”
-Jacqueline Woodson
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Featured Author: Jacqueline Woodson
❖ Born in Columbus, OH
❖ Lives in Brooklyn, NY
❖ Poet and Author
❖ Author of over 30 books for children, young adults, and adults
❖ Writes about topics that are difficult to talk about
❖ Writes historical fiction picture books, mostly based on African
American history
❖ Books inspired by her own life and stories she heard from family
members throughout her childhood
❖ Books published in different languages
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Featured Author Awards: Jacqueline Woodson
❖ John Newbery Medal
❖ Coretta Scott King Award
❖ National Book Award
❖ ALA Notable
❖ Parents’ Choice Award
❖ The Poetry Foundation’s Young People’s
Poet Laureate
❖ And more! 13
BOOK TALKS
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BOOK TALK: The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Year Published: 2001

Illustrator: E.B. Lewis
Time period: Civil Rights Era
Awards: Time of Wonder Award and
Louisiana Young Reader’s Choice Award

“It isn’t safe to cross the fence that

segregates the African Americans with the
whites.”
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BOOK TALK: Independent Dames by Laurie Halse Anderson

Year Published: 2008

Illustrator: Matt Faulkner
Time Period: American Revolutionary War
Awards: CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies
Trade Book, Storytelling World Award
“You’ve all heard about the great men who
led and fought during the American
Revolution: but did you know that the guys
only made up part of the story?”

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GROUP ACTIVITY

Read one of the Fill out Share with

books on your table worksheet the class

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Galda, L., Liang, L. A., & Cullinan, B. E. (2017). Literature and the
child. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
O'Dell, S. (2017). Scott O'Dell. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from
https://scottodell.com/the-scott-odell-award
Woodson, J. (2019). Jacqueline Woodson. Retrieved February 14, 2019,
from https://www.jacquelinewoodson.com/

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