All History is a Story

 

Barbary Chronicles, Charlesbridge Moves 2026. Art by Allysa Adams

As Teaching Authors celebrates America’s 250, with Esther kicking off the series with her list of oldies and goodies, Carmela offers some interesting titles, and Zeena asks the important question, who writes history? 

I love American history. That’s why I write about it. In exploring themes of racial and social justice, I recreate historical communities of those who often feel unseen and unheard, those whose isolated lives were complex and multi-layered, not only defined by class, gender and race , but also lived experiences.

You may have heard that I have a new book coming out in October. The Barbary Chronicles, published with Charlesbridge Moves!

No one plays the game like Jack London. Only eleven years old, she can pickpocket and flummox any unsuspecting rube who wanders into the muck of the Barbary Coast. Jack may be little, but she's clever and bold. With the help of a devoted stray dog, a kidnapped prince, and the scummiest ex-best friend ever, she'll do everything she can to save her found family.

Historical fiction is the coming together of two opposing elements: fact and fiction. As we know, it isn’t easy to define historical fiction. For some, historical fiction is first fiction, and therefore anything goes, especially during these times when facts can be alternative and history can be revised. The ongoing argument on how and why historical fiction is relevant, and by extension why history is important, seems perplexing. As a writer, one of the most stinging rejections that I get too many times is that, despite an interesting plot and engaging characters, historical fiction is a “hard sell.” Not just to publishers but also to readers.

So why is historical fiction important?  I am reminded of a story once  shared by historian David McCullough, echoing Abraham Lincoln’s cautionary, “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history.” After a lecture, McCullough had been approached by a college sophomore who expressed her surprise to learn that the thirteen original colonies were located on the East Coast. He realized with profound surprise that young people did not know their own history, stating,  “They don’t know what happened, or why, or who was involved.”  I’m also a big fan and reader of historian Heather Cox Richardson’s excellent writing in her newsletter Letters from an American, as well as her books (To Make Men Free, 2021; How the South Won the Civil War, 2020) in which she answers questions about American history that no one remembers.

But it’s also true, textbooks are dreary, often done by committee, often heavily edited to make certain important but brutal events more agreeable.

It has always been my ardent belief that underscores all my writing is that history is a story about people facing insurmountable odds. History is about families and love, and failure, and fear and hope. History tells us what it means to be human, and historical fiction reflects the feeling for a living past.

So maybe the way to get young readers excited about history is to have them experience it! Maybe it needs to be more fun, more intriguing, more dramatic. Here’s a few grand ideas that might help the readers experience the adventure themselves!

Combine reading of the story with a relevant activity, such as cooking a historical recipe, creating costumes or studying primary source articles. I find diaries and letters are of particular interest to young readers.

Create a living timeline, using a long strip of paper (or a wall!) to map out the chronological order, then have the readers work together to draw their favorite scenes or use stickers to mark the events.

Draw a comic strip from the perspective of one of the secondary characters in the book.

Celebrate the music of the era of the novel by learning a few songs the characters might sing. Sea shanties are particularly fun songs to learn. Learn how to dance an English country dance, a waltz, or a quadrille!

Do a history scavenger hunt, visiting museums, historical parks or landmarks. Have the readers locate specific artifacts and answer trivia about exhibits that might relate to the novel. There’s also online databases, 3D gallery tours and digital newspaper archives that readers can use to solve historical puzzles!

Make history more personal, have readers find an object in their house that is older than 50 years, and have them write a story about it. Visit a local graveyard, finding the oldest gravestone and record the name and date, and have readers write a newstory about this person.

For more ideas, you can find activities based on The Barbary Chronicles here! 

We have the best adventures are on our own landscape! The western frontier, the Mississippi, the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, New Orleans, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, New York, the Midwest and the Southwest, the coming together of many cultures, many languages and many stories—why, we have the BEST stories in our own front yard! Telling a story is like singing a song. A good story has its rhythms and its refrains. Words sway and swing and slide across the page. When we read a good story, it feels like we're dancing.

Happy Dancing!

-- Bobbi Miller

Who Writes History?

Who writes history?  Who creates the narrative?  Who and what are valued? How does the story get passed down? Does anyone check for context or accuracy?

When I began teaching, it was many moons ago before we depended on the internet for information…before we carried a tiny computer in our hand…before we had access and an expectation to seek out other points of reference.  It was a time when teachers were the gatekeepers of information.  I am ashamed to admit that history was passed down through me to young minds by rote.  I was young and simply repeated what had been repeated to me by veteran teachers who passed the narrative down.  History they say is written by the victors.  Many moons ago, I participated in this passing of information without context or critical analytical thinking.

As I moved through my adulthood, other influences found their way into my practice.  I began to understand that it is necessary to actively seek out alternative resources outside of the mainstream and expand one’s understanding of the world.  I found a group of educators interested in Critical Pedagogy and discovered resources like Rethinking Schools.

https://rethinkingschools.org/

https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/rethinking-the-american-revolution/

Eventually, I met Bill Bigelow at a Progressive Educators Network conference.  I was honored to find myself running in the same circles. And as circumstance would have it, apparently Bill had been a teacher at my high school in Portland, long after I had graduated.

From the Rethinking Schools website:

"Bill Bigelow

CURRICULUM EDITOR

Bill Bigelow taught high school social studies for many years. He is curriculum editor

of Rethinking Schools magazine and author or co-editor of several Rethinking Schools books: A

People’s History for the Classroom, The Line Between Us: Teaching About the Border and

Mexican Immigration, Rethinking Columbus, Rethinking Globalization: Teaching for Justice in an

Unjust World, Rethinking Our Classrooms – Volumes 1 and 2, and A People’s Curriculum for the

Earth: Teaching Climate Change and the Environmental Crisis. Most recently, he co-edited the

Rethinking Schools book, Teaching Palestine: Lessons, Stories, Voices. He co-directs the Zinn

Education Project on behalf of Rethinking Schools. Bigelow lives in Portland, Oregon, with his

wife, Linda Christensen."

                                                   Photo taken at the Barnes and Noble in Manhattan Beach, CA

Way led on to way, and I found myself introduced to A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn.  A must read for every teacher and kidlit author, for that matter. As a follow-up to Howard Zinn’s writing, please check out The Zinn Education Project.

https://www.zinnedproject.org/

https://www.zinnedproject.org/why/

Another amazing organization that has been around for decades is Teaching for Change. 

https://www.teachingforchange.org/

https://www.teachingforchange.org/talking-to-young-children-about-america-

From the Teaching For Change website

"Deborah Menkart, Executive Director

Raised in D.C., Deborah’s activism began in junior high school when she protested D.C.’s “taxation without representation” and the “dresses-only” dress code for girls. The dress code changed, but D.C.’s colonial status continues. Her perspective on the world was shaped by being the first born in the U.S. of European immigrants on both sides of her family and being raised by a single mother who worked as a dressmaker. During the 1970s Deborah lived in San Diego, California, where she worked as a shipyard electrician and was active in the antiwar, women’s, international solidarity, and labor movements. Through all of these experiences she decided that for any social justice movement in the U.S. to succeed, a change in pre-K—12 education is essential. Since 1989 she has been pursuing that goal in her work at Teaching for Change."

Once activated, I became aware of this organization in the earlier days of teaching and my practice was forever changed. Years later, found myself sitting next to Deborah Menkart at my table at the CABA book awards when my book, Egyptian Lullaby received the award in 2024 from Howard University.  I was thrilled to meet her in person and couldn’t believe she had chosen to sit at my table.  Make sure you take advantage of their booklist! (where you'll also find my book, Egyptian Lullaby.)

https://www.socialjusticebooks.org/

These people and resources were instrumental in broadening my horizons and expanding my understanding of history and its many points of entry.

In addition to finding resources and developing a much more expansive knowledge base as a teacher (and eventually as a children’s book author), I began to discover the United States history in context with the other countries in our world through traveling. 

One memory that sticks out is of a bookstore owner in Chiapas Mexico.  I believe he was an expat.  For no apparent reason, he randomly gave me the last book, Century of the Wind from the trilogy Memory of Fire by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano.  What a treasure. These three books are of course written originally in Spanish.  The English translation is gorgeous so I can only imagine the original text.  Galeano tells the story of the Americas through short lyrical prose.  He creates short vignettes to take the reader through a history that acknowledges the imperialism of the US and the effect it has on the surrounding countries. Galeano provides windows into what was occurring in the different countries simultaneously throughout a timeline.  It is like drinking a fine wine.  The writing is exquisite.  It is an amazing history lesson as well as a beautifully crafted journey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Galeano

On a different trip, a young person in Cuba ran up to me and put a miniature book in the palm of my hand.  It was Fidel Castro’s History Will Absolve Me. No matter your politics or beliefs, I believe it is crucial to read to expand your understanding...to extend the possibilities...to see your world with fewer limitations and in a broader context.

It’s never too late.

Just recently, I was traveling in South America.  Someone asked me where I was from.  I know better, but for some reason I said, “America.”  The minute the word came out of my mouth, I knew it felt wrong.  And it was.  The Columbian intellectual in front of me was quick to correct my error.  “You are part of America but you are not America.  We are all American.”  Duly noted.  

It’s never too late to examine the narrative we’ve been handed and adjust it, instead of just passing it to our youth thoughtlessly, both as teachers and authors. History after all, is a living entity, growing, transforming, and everchanging. It belongs to all of us, not just the victors.

By Zeena M. Pliska

Author of 

Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story (Page Street Kids)

Egyptian Lullaby (Roaring Brook Press - Macmillan)

Chicken Soup for the Soul for Babies Say Thank You? (But Why?)  (Charlesbridge)

Chicken Soup for the Soul for Babies A Gift For Me? (I Want It!)   (Charlesbridge)