After 10 years of writing and researching,
I have created just that. Young Heroes of History is
historical fiction written with the objective of making history
approachable to the young mind. That means that while the main
characters and the basic storyline are imagination, the
situation that they are in and the challenges they have to
overcome are real. The everyday stories and events in these
books happened all the time. In fact, much of what you will read
comes from real people and real events but we have put new
characters in. There is an extensive bibliography at the end of
each book and all the information is painstakingly researched,
many times on the actual site of the event. Indeed, when you
look at the cast of characters you will notice that many of the
people listed actually existed and did the kind of things they
do in these stories.
Keep in mind that we have changed some things to
make it easier to read. For example, the accents and special
words that both the Irish and the Negroes usually use when they
speak have been mostly ignored in order to make the characters
dialogue easier to read. Once in awhile, they will slip into
their regular accent to remind you that they do indeed talk
different from the characters around them but for the most part
you will find the language easy to understand and accept.
Finally, there are many ways you can read these
books. Each book stands on its own so you could focus on just
one time period or battle. You could buy a set of mixed books
that cover the material you are interested in. Of course, the
best way to read these books is as a set series, reading each
book in order. With each book tied in by family relations, they
feed off each other and create other lessons unique to what a
series can do. Last but not least you should understand that the
reading level is designed for ages 11-14 but it has been used
with children as young as 9 and as old as 16. Good luck and
thanks again for your interest.