Reflection paper #2: Shortage of history books for children?

Sarah Wiggins
June 24, 2010
When do children start learning about history? …What defines a history book? These are the first

questions that came to my mind as I read the sidebar: ISSUE, Is there a shortage of history books for

children? Should writers of history books for children include controversial subjects? (Norton, 2007).

The issue discusses an article by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler that was written in 1992. Undeniably,

during the time the article was written, education was not the same as it is today. But I think if the authors

were writing the article today, in 2010, the issues might not be the same.

Hoobler’s article states “Studies show that children in the United States have little knowledge of

history,” and goes on to say that one of the reasons is because the subject area is not taught in the lower

grades (1992). Based on the Georgia Performance Standards, students should be learning about history in

the lower grades, but their knowledge may be limited due to the complexity of the information. The

current GPS assign the standards of history to begin as early as 1st grade. The teaching of the timeline of

historical events does not begin until 4th grade, but grades 1 – 3 begin creating an understanding of

historical figures, places and events. Obviously, there are not “history books” written that fragment

history the way in which the standards do.

A 2000 article in ERIC Digest states that “there is a new vitality in the elementary and middle school

curriculum and a revival in teaching history through children’s literature (Nelson).” Literature is a

wonderful tool to use for teaching history because it places the content in a manner in which the students

can read and understand better. Besides the fact that the books are written on a reading level appropriate

for the students, Nelson’s article adds that researchers have shown that by reading historical narratives,

the history education is “more interesting and comprehensible than the expository writings of social

studies textbooks (2000).” A more recent article, “The Return of Historical Fiction”, in a 2009 edition of

The Reading Teacher states that one of the values of using historical fiction is because often the writers

are able to put history into a child’s point of view and identify with their emotions (Rycik).
 One of the arguments that Hoobler’s article made was that there hasn’t been many quality historical

books written. The article states that awards such as the Newberry Award demonstrate the trend of books,

and what the readers are looking for (Hoobler, 1002). But according to Rycik, there is an increase in the

quality literature being written based on historical events. Looking at the same indicator from 1992,

award winning books; it is exciting to see that recently many of the books awarded have in fact received

awards. In 2008 the Newberry, Caldecott, and Coretta Scott King awards were given to historical fiction

books. In 2009 the Newberry honor again went to a historical fiction book (Rycik, 2009). According to

the 2009 International Reading Association, 14 out of 30 of the Teacher’s Choice Awards were given to

historical fiction, historical biographies, or historical informational books ( The Reading Teacher, 2009).

Times have certainly changed in regards to the availability of historical books, but some would argue

that all of these do not take the place of the traditional “history book.” I disagree; I feel that teachers

should use more historical based trade books regardless of the genre. According to Rycik, many teachers

have found that the content specific textbooks are too difficult for their students to learn from based on

reading level and the difficult concepts (2009). Books like Bunting’s The Blue and the Gray can take

students back to the Civil War times, and Elijah of Buxton and Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys can

provide students an understanding of times after the Civil War. The books can continue through the times

touching on topics from the Gold Rush (Hard Gold: The Colorado Gold Rush) to the Great Depression

(Out of the Dust), and even to the present (Two Bobbies: A true Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship,

and Survival)

I believe that when the original article, “Writing History for Children”, was written, this may have

been an issue, but today, I don’t think this is the issue surrounding informational texts. I do believe that

the issue that is more important is: How do we get teachers to break away from the need for having a

history textbook, and realize the value of the trade books?

Hoobler, D., & Hoobler, T. (1992). Writing history for children. School Library Journal, 38(1), 37.
Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Rycik, M., & Rosler, B. (2009). The Return of Historical Fiction. Reading Teacher, 63(2), 163-166.
Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

(2009). Teachers' Choices 2009. Reading Teacher, 63(3), C1-C6. Retrieved from Academic Search
Complete database