Today, I am over at Writing to be Read with a post about the importance of historical fiction for children. Thank you to Kaye Lynne Booth for hosting me.

When I was in high school, history was an unpopular subject. It was so unpopular, in fact, that when the time came for the Grade 9’s to chose their subjects for Grade’s 10 to 12, the school paired history with typing, home economics and business economics so that the girls who chose this less academic combination were compelled to take history. This was how I ended up in a history class with mainly girls who hated the subject. I loved history and I took it through choice. My other subjects were maths, accountancy, and science. In South Africa, English and Afrikaans were compulsory subjects at the time.
I never really understood why my peers didn’t like history as it was a subject always loved. I’ve said it here before, however, that I was a very wide reader from a very young age and I read a lot of books set…
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Liked how you explained the need to know History Robbie. Have shared it.
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Hi Smitha, I am delighted you enjoyed this post. Thank you for sharing.
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When, before Covid, I gave my 10 year old grandson the choice of books in my library, he chose The Iliad and The Odyssey.
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Hi Derrick, that is wonderful to hear. My oldest son, Greg, also read both these books at a young age. I think he may have read the junior versions first.
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I’m happy to pass books on to someone who really appreciates them. These two volumes were illustrated by Elizabeth Frink. A short while ago I asked Mal what he thought about the illustrations. He said he was only interested in the writing, 😦
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When I went to school, history and geography were separate subjects. Later, the two were combined as social studies, whatever that meant. If we don’t know our history, we are operating without essential knowledge. Yay, for historical writing, fiction or otherwise.
I’ll share this too, Robbie!
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Hi Marian, thank you for sharing. I didn’t know that history and geography were combined subjects in the USA, that is interesting as I can’t really see how they go together. They were separate when I was at school and they are separate at my sons school. I love history and there were parts of geography I loved, like natural disasters and the study of populations and climates, but I did not like mapwork and to this day I cannot read a map.
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Excellent post. Fiction is definitely a great way to get children–and readers in general–into learning more about history.
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Hi Andrew, thank you for visiting and sharing your view.
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You’re welcome.
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Such a great article Robbie – it’s so vital for children to learn about history, and what better way than reading! Toni x
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Hi Toni, you are quite right about that. All reading is so valuable and expands the reader’s knowledge and horizons.
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This is a great post, Robbie. It’s so important for children to learn our history. Sadly, many adults are trying to rewrite it these days. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Jill, I am a bit selective about what I read that is called historical fiction. You are right that there are some people who misrepresent historical facts in fiction and mislead readers. I think authentic historical writers are very careful to get their facts correct and to not be biased as there are a lot of people out there who will criticize any inaccuracies in a book. I know I used 22 sources when I wrote A Ghost and His Gold and cross checked information to the extent possible.
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I left a comment, and shared both posts on Twitter, Robbie.
History was my own favourite subject at school, and it still is. I wrote about that on my blog, in 2018.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Hi Pete, thank you for sharing. I’m coming over to read this post.
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Heading over there to read more and fascinating to learn how yoru love affair with history started so young!
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Hi Annika, I must be honest, I think I was rather an unusual kid when I look back. I loved things that didn’t interest other people and read difficult and advanced books with the help of a dictionary. My oldest son is just like me. His IT teacher asked me during the teacher / parent interview yesterday how I raised such a hard working dedicated kid – what tactics did I use – the truth is he has just followed his parents. Our house is always full of interesting, and often very heated, discussions about science, history, politics, and even literary interpretations. He grew up being read too and it wasn’t just children’s books I read. I read all sorts of non-fiction books and historical books about all sorts of topics. I made the boys dress up outfits so they could be Roman soldiers and Vikings and we made helmets out of paper mache. I think this is why they are so interested.
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I too loved history in school. The other kids thought I was crazy.
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It was like that for me too, Darlene, but, as I said in this article, the boys at my sons school love history. It is the most popular subject after maths. Greg has taken history to his final school year and Michael is also planning to take it when he chooses subjects at the end of this year. I suppose it helps that they have been visiting museums and places of historical interest since they could walk.
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Wow a wonderful read, Robbie and nice to know that you loved history and its fascinating stories. Even I was a student of History in College it was my best subject.
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Hi Kamal, I knew we were soul mates. It’s great to know we both love history as well as reading and writing.
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So true Robbie and though we have never met each other we got connected immediately on wordpress blog. I too am a very curious person and that is why have loved learning about cultural aspects of every country and love reading their history. Love and light to you. 💖💖💖💖🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
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To you too, Kamal.
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Another history lover here, Robbie. And a timely post indeed. I hear a lot nowadays about history being dropped from curriculums because it’s “not important”. So, historical fiction becomes very important.
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Hi Elizabeth, I think it is very short sighted to drop history from school curriculums. An understanding of history is vital to an understanding of human development and to protect our hard won freedoms. For example, if you don’t know what society was like for women when they had no rights and were effectively kept dependent on men, then how would you recognise threats to that freedom?
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I agree, Robbie.
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I think K-8 kids (here in the US) really enjoy historical fiction. Once they graduate, not sure that they continue. I know I shied away from it, as though they were textbooks. Doesn’t make sense, does it?
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Hi Jacqui, we change as we get older and things that interested us before no longer do and new interests grab our attention. I am writing my article and will finish it today. It is about women during the war with a focus on their leadership and strength. I decided that topic suited you and your own books and writing, best.
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And, I have a daughter who’s a military officer. I’ll enjoy reading the article.
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I also took history out of choice but never read historical novels. I might read the odd one now and then.
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Hi Tandy, you like thrillers and action novels. My mom does too, but she also likes historical novels. I like family dramas and books about life during difficult times like wars. This interest reflects in my own writing.
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Robbie, this is so spot on! May I repost to Facebook and Instagram?
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Hi Antoinette, I am glad you enjoyed this post. You are welcome to share it.
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I read a lot of historical fiction, even as a little kid, but the teachers were always trying to push sci fi on us!
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Hi, thanks for visiting. My teachers seemed to favour historical fiction. Interesting, isn’t it?
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Terrific post, Robbie. I left a longer comment on the original post.
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Hi Christy, thank you.
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Loved everything about this post Robbie, and I think it would be fantastic for all kids to learn about historical fiction at their own levels 🙂 x
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Hi Debby, thank you for visiting. I think so too. My favourite books were historical fiction when I was a kid. Actually, they still are.
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Amazing you had the interest for that genre as a child Robbie. 🙂
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I so enjoyed this post, Robbie. You are absolutely right about the impact reading historical fiction has on a child. I loved your book choices. How wonderful that your boys have far more opportunities in school than you did.
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Hi Jennie, you partly inspired this post with your comments about the Little House series. They reminded me of my own love of these books and many others in the same genre.
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That is wonderful to know, Robbie. I’m so glad! Thank you.
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