Recent history and historical fiction

I used to think of Little House on the Prairie when I thought of historical fiction. But as I reexamine the subgenre of historical fiction, I see that the Little House series, while useful for helping students understand what the world was like in the 1800's, could only loosely be termed 'historical fiction'.

But historical fiction is set during a specific moment in history and part of its purpose is to communicate to the reader what it might have been like to experience that moment from a character's point of view. For example, Smoky Night by Eve Bunting allows the reader to view the riots following the trial of Los Angeles police officers who were on trial for beating Rodney King and their not guilty verdict. We see how the perspectives of 3 people are changed when they are brought together by the frightening events of that evening. That is recent history, but for young millennials, it is important history.

History from history books, especially for young children, can be very dry and uninteresting. Quality historical fiction can help students develop a context for historical events as well as a connection to them.

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