Historical Fiction Literacy Analysis

Due: Week 6, 9-29-16

Submit file & URL (both) to Assignments due 9/29
Definition/description:
Historical Fiction is a genre of literature that involves face and imagination.
It can include speculation about how life was lived in the past. It gives the
reader an insight into history and human struggles over the centuries. The
characters are believable, realistic people whose dialogue reflects the
historical period (description taken from the PowerPoint).
Types of Historical Fiction:
Type I: Authors write a fictional story woven around actual events
and people from the past, creating an integral setting.
The Fighting Ground, Avi, 1984.
Johnny Tremain, Esther Forbes, 1943.
Type II: Authors write a fictional story with a backdrop setting, in
which the historical events and people are not extensively
featured or discussed.
A Long Way from Chicago, Richard Peck, 1998.
Turtle in Paradise, Jennifer L. Holm, 2010.
Type III: Authors recreate their own personal lives and experiences
from a time in history from their memories, family documents, and
research.
When I Was Young in the Mountains, Cynthia Rylant, 1982.
Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1935.
Learning from Historical Fiction
There is so much to learn from historical fiction. Students can experience
the lives of people in the past living in past experiences, trials, and difficult
situations. It helps them think about these situations and also help them
feel what the characters feel living in these times. Every scenario is up for
comparison with scenarios in the present. It is important to reflect on our
history so we know how to deal with the present and future. Historical
fiction allows the student to experience conflicts and issues and also allows
them to determine hard choices. It allows them to see our past and how
times have constantly changed, whether good or bad, but also see how
humanity and the need for each other and family has always stayed the
same.
In my classroom, I would implement a history lesson about how our
government was formed. We would look at key people and influential
people who helped shape our current government today. We could study
biographies of the people who created our government, like Jean Fritz, as
our textbook states. To make learning more fun, I would also include either
an art aspect or a technology aspect. Students could create a collage of
historical events that had to do with forming our government. Students

could also create a video portraying some events that led to the formation
of our government. This genre is so endless with possibilities.
Historical Fiction Literacy Analysis
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story, Gloria
Houston, 1988.
Book description & theme.
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree was published in 1988. It was
written by Gloria Houston, and illustrated by Barbara Cooney. This book is
centered around Christmas time. It is about a little girl, Ruthie, and her
family. It is her families turn to pick out a Christmas tree for her church.
Her father is sent off to war, and Ruthie and her mother go through hard
times since the father cant make money for them since he is at war. When
Christmas comes, Ruthie is worried that she is not going to receive a gift.
Her mother surprises her with the gift that she wanted and her father also
came home from war. This book is a warm hearted, family-oriented
Christmas book that is an instant winner with families during the winter
holidays. Students and their parents can relate to the theme in this book
because it is centered around family interaction and trials, and includes a
very heart warming ending that families will love.
Setting.
The setting is in the Appalachian Mountains in a town called Pine Grove. It
is around the year 1918 and during The Great War. The Great War is also
referenced as World War I. This time in history was very hard on families
because fathers and brothers everywhere were sent off to be overseas
until the war was over. This had to have been emotional during the winter
holidays when families are used to spending the winter together making
memories during the holidays. The war ended a month before Christmas,
and I believe this reflects when the father in this story came home.
Plot.
Ruthie and her father pick out a Christmas tree for her towns church. He is
sent off to war. Ruthie and her mother have to provide for themselves and
money is very tight. Despite others offering to provide a tree for their
church, Ruthie and her mother go chop down the tree that they had picked
out with their father. Ruthie was selected to be the angel at her Christmas
play, and her mother has to make her a beautiful angel dress for the play.
Ruthie is worried that she will not get any gifts for Christmas. To her
surprise, she receives the doll that she wanted, and her father also
returned home from war.
Characters.
The characters in this book are Ruthie, Ruthies mother, and Ruthies
father. The most rounded character is Ruthie, but she was still not very
developed. The other characters were not very developed at all. Since this

book is so minimal and short, it does not develop the characters very well.
This is common in most childrens picturebooks.
Style & Tone.
The style is third person. I would say that the tone is very warm and familyoriented. It feels like a very traditional American family at Christmas time.
This story gives the feel of the very typical family-oriented winter holiday
and also the feeling of war. The reader can tell that the tone is cold and the
feeling of hurt is also felt during this wartime, but the story is mostly warm
and persevering through this time. You can tell this when the mother and
Ruthie go cut the tree down themselves despite the father being gone. The
mother is very caring of Ruthie and makes sure to give her a good
Christmas despite her father being gone.
Literacy Growth.
Even though this is a small childrens book, there is still a lot to be
learned through this book. There are many words that can build a
childs vocabulary. Some of these words are venturesome, rocky craigs,
Appalachian, balsam, sarvice, and other types of trees. They can also
learn a lot by studying the context and history of this story. As far as
literacy is concerned, vocabulary is the main thing to be learned in this
story in my opinion, on top of context, setting, theme, and style of
writing.
Illustrations/Style/Color:
The illustrations were done by Caldecott Medalist Barbara Cooney, and
they are amazing paintings. I believe the illustrations make this story to be
as renown as it is today. Without these illustrations, this book would not
catch the attention of children. These pictures take the reader into a
different time in history. It takes them to a different place in the world. It
allows them to experience the Appalachian mountains and the lives of
these characters in the book. The color is mostly blue tones, with some
dark brown. These blue tones embody the winter months. Without this
color, it would be hard to capture the winter and snow. It seems as though
these blue tones also imply a despair that the characters feel during the
war. These illustrations gave the characters a personality to where they
seem friendly and inviting.
Book Rating. Rate the book on a scale of 0 to 5: Rate the book according
to your discussion of it above.
5. I give this rating because of the illustrations and the message/theme of
this book. The pictures are amazing and the message of family is very
engaging. The vocabulary aspect of this book is also important to literacy
growth. The setting, imagery, and plot are also engaging. The reader really
can step into another period of history. This book accurately depicts what
families had to endure during World War I. This book could also relate to

childrens lives because their dad may be on deployment in the military, or

may be gone through another form of work. It sends a message to them to
keep hope and they will be able to see their family member again.

Reference Page
Forbes, E., & Ward, L. (1943). Johnny Tremain: A novel for old & young.
Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin Company.
Holm, J. L. (2010). Turtle in paradise. New York, NY: Random House.
Houston, G., & Cooney, B. (1988). The year of the perfect Christmas tree: An
Appalachian story.
New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.
Peck, R. (1998). A long way from Chicago: A novel in stories. New York, NY:
Dial Books for Young
Readers.

Rylant, C., Goode, D., Durell, A., & Levinson, R. (1982). When I was young in
the mountains.
New York, NY: E.P. Dutton.
Avi. (1984). The fighting ground. New York, NY: J.B. Lippincott.
Wilder, L. I., & Williams, G. (1953). Little house on the prairie. New York, NY:
Harper & Bros.