Best Historical Fiction Books for Kids
One of my favorite blogs, The Fourth Musketeer, just covers KidLit Historical Fiction. I pretty much file every book review of hers into an email folder labeled “Books I Want to Read.” She posted on the Historical Association Awards Young Quills from Great Britain here. I have listed the winners as well as the shortlists for this year and last year. Historical fiction is a great way to get kids excited about history! If you want to find more great books, be sure to subscribe to The Fourth Musketeer’s blog. She’s a librarian and the go-to person on that!
The winners are …
The Sacred Scarab, by Gill Harvey, part of The Egyptian Chronicles. For ages 8-12.
Prisoner of the Inquisition by Theresa Breslin. The Fourth Musketeer reviewed it here. It’s for ages 12 and up.
Here’s the other chapter books on the short list for 2011:
Older Children (ages 8-12)
The Blue-Eyed Aborigine by Rosemary Hayes
A Boy Called Mouse by Penny Dolan
The Dumpy Princess by Karin Fernald
Young Teens (ages 12 and up)
The Cabinet of Curiosities by Paul Dowswell
Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper
The Fool’s Girl by Celia Rees
Johnny Swanson by Eleanor Updale
Montacute House by Lucy Jago
And here’s the short list from 2010:
Young Fiction (Under Age 7)
In Egyptian Times by Kate Davis and Alfredo Belli
Older Children (ages 8-12)
The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
Day of the Assassins by Johnny O’Brien
Thief! by John Pilkington
Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson
- The Wild Man by Mark Barratt
- Dido by Adele Geras
- Far From Home by K.M. Peyton
- Jimmy’s Stars by Mary Anne Rodman
To examine any of the items listed, please click on image of item. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
My books:
BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.
Uh oh. I just overflowed my Amazon wishlist…
To Jen,
I love these obscure KidLit book awards. I will be trolling that list too to find gifts for my kids for the holidays!
I found your blog recently- I can’t really remember how- but I just wanted to let you know I love it! I go through the click, click, click of deleting all the emails around it, and then always read what you have to say. So excited to delve into some of your book recommendations for my kid!
To Craftwhack,
Thank you so much! If you want to send me more info on what your child likes to read, I’d be happy to post specific recommendations.
Thanks so much for the kind shout out about my blog! And Happy Thanksgiving!
To Fourth Musketeer,
Thank you also for the help with the 13yold avid boy reader! Happy Thanksgiving to you too!!
My kids are too young for these, I want them for me!
To Jen,
I’m the same way. I buy books ahead for me and then hope one of my kids will read it at sone point too. I do have to say it’s so much fun when we both love the same book.