Should Children Read Inaccurate Historical Fiction?

I was hooked on historical fiction novels starting with the American Girl books. My parents had me start reading the Molly American Girl books because she grew up during World War II, the same time period as my grandparents. I believe that is one reasons that I enjoy historical fiction; I was taught at an early age to personally relate to historical fiction. I not only enjoyed the plot but also enjoyed learning about the time period that the stories took place in. Historical fiction books also gave me a greater love of history because I could relate what I was reading to what I was learning in class.

I have since read many different historical fiction books including many Dear America books and many by the author Ann Rinaldi and never once have I thought about the accuracy of the books. While I was more focused on the plot lines than on the specific historical details, I still picked up on a lot of historical information. Having inaccurate historical information can be harmful to students who will then have misrepresentations of the time period or historical event (The Joys of Children’s Literature, 215).

When historical fiction novels include people of races and cultures different from that of the author, it is especially important to analyze the text for accuracy. Despite research on the subject they are writing on, many authors and illustrators still do not accurately portray their subject. This not only gives readers an inaccurate representation of that culture but may be offensive for members of that culture (The Joys of Children’s Literature, 217).

Should historical fiction be carefully analyzed before allowing children to read it or should we allow some historical inaccuracies through if plot is exciting? Could inaccurate historical fiction be used to develop student’s critical thinking?

Historical Fiction

Growing up I always hated reading historical fiction. I always thought it was boring probably because I didn’t really find history that interesting. Now that I am older, I have really started to enjoy historical fiction novels. I think that now that I know more about the history aspect behind them, I find them an interesting way to learn about different time periods.

A few of my classes in college have required me to read historical fiction such as The Book Thief, and Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. I found both of these books to be very interesting and they gave me a better look into how things were during these time periods. Both of these books deal with a time when groups of people were being persecuted; Jews in The Book Thief, and African Americans in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. I have found that by reading about these events in a novel, I am able to connect to the characters and get a feel for what it was like for these people. Reading about these things in a history text book, I always knew that they were terrible, but by reading about it in a novel where I could connect to the characters, I really got a better idea of all the little things that people went through back then.

One thing that was brought up in class that I had never really thought about was the believability of these types of books. This is especially prevalent in The Book Thief. Being in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time plays such a huge role in this story especially involving life and death. In reference to this, someone asked at what point does the story like that stop being believable? Personally, I tend to be an optimist and like to believe that something like that could have actually happened in real life, although when I really think about it, I feel as though it is not very likely. What do you think? Do you think that historical fiction books are mostly believable, or do you think that sometimes the author takes things too far making it unrealistic?