Historical Fiction….Just Sharing

I have wanted to share a series of books called “Prelude to Glory” by Ron Carter – it is a fantastic series of the American Revolution through the War of 1812.  There are nine books in the series and it covers the war in New England, Canada, the South and at sea.  There is a family at the heart of it.  I was so amazed at the history I had never even heard of, much less read.  It was fabulous!

Another fantastic series for WWII is called the Zion Covenant series by Bodie Thoene.  It has nine volumes and takes the reader into the lives of people in each country as Hitler takes over.  It is a deeply moving series. 

I am having my children read these even if that is all they read (well, maybe not all…) in HS history because reading them was such a personal experience for me.  Both series are written by Christian authors who have documented the research put into them.

Thanks for another book to add to my list, Amanda!  =)

Thank you so much for this!

Before learning about CM…and admittedly a little afterward…I was very hesitant to use historical fiction for History.  I mean, how would they distinguish between what was “real” and what was “fiction?”  At least that’s what I thought!  After thought and prayer, I started thinking about the stories that resonated with ME the most…even movies like Titanic (I wouldn’t let my children see that movie, but I saw it before I came to Christ).  That was fiction, but it taught me so much about that event and inspired further interest.

My oldest “I hate reading” son has discovered Henty!  I am looking forward to checking out the books mentioned.  We will be camping a lot this summer…maybe they won’t even realize they are learning!

Since the Civil War era will be near the beginning of next year’s American History studies, I thought I would suggest some historical fiction from that era for dd’s summer reading.  She does enjoy some historical fiction, so what would any of you recommend for a 13yo girl to read?  Would the series by Lynn Austin discussed on this thread be appropriate at her age?

Thanks,

Sue

I love historical fiction (it’s my fave as well)…so thank you for the recommendations.

I mistakenly read A light to My Path thinking it was the first book in the series.  It was also a romance novel and it had more racy scenes than I would like…not really racy in the worldly sense….but certainly not something I’d want a 13 year old reading….or an 18 year old for that matter.  It was done tactfully, and biblically(as in they go into the reasons why you should be married before hand and that God’s word says it’s wrong to) , but I just felt that it had a little too much information and too much sexual content to be edifying.  However, I can see how some people would be ok with the amount and the way it is approached.  We just weren’t.  (Just so you know – we aren’t talking racy scenes like a rated R movie….more like….PG-13 maybe?  Lol – I can’t accuratly say.  We don’t watch PG-13 movies.  But I would be appaled if what I read was in a PG movie.  Hope that helps!

(PS – I haven’t returned the book to the library yet.  If you want me to PM you with an excerpt of what I’m talking about so you can make an informed decision before you buy the book PM me. I won’t be returning it until the weekend)

As for a good civil war book, my 13 yo boy enjoyed Behind Rebel Lines by Seymore Reit