Reading Historical Fiction

Task 19: Write a review of your book

Paragraph 1

In a paragraph (or two) say what the story is about but don`t give away the ending. You can also write sentences about when and where the story takes place.

Paragraph 2

In this paragraph you can write about who is in the story

Paragraph 3

What did you like about this book?

Paragraph 4

What didn`t you enjoy about this book?

Paragraph 5

What history have you learnt from reading this book?

Paragraph 6

Would you recommend this book to others? Was it unputdownable?

And finally

Your mark out of 10

Example of Task 19

Book Review of Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson

The story

Unlike Wilsons other books this is set in the past. It is about a feisty young girl who was abandoned by her mum when she was a baby. Hetty is left at the Foundling Hospital in London a place that cares for abandoned children and teaches them to be servants. But baby Hetty is too small to start school so she is sent to live with a foster family until she is six. Life in the countryside is tough but Hetty spends time with her foster brothers Jem and Gideon. They sneak off to visit a circus and Hetty is mesmerised by Madame Adeline and her performing horses.

But Hefty’s happy childhood is shattered when she is forced to return to the foundling hospital. The new life of awful uniforms and terrible food is a struggle for her. But now she has the chance to find her real mother. She escapes from the Foundling hospital and has to survive life on the streets of London. Could her real mother be the wonderful circus performer she met earlier?

The characters

The main character is of course Hetty. She is feisty. She sticks up for her friends and won’t take no for an answer. Other characters include Hetty’s bullying classmates at the Foundling Hospital and the nasty Matron Peters who runs the school and punishes Hetty for the smallest of things.

Highlights

One of the best bits is when Hetty breaks into the circus. The description of the circus performers makes you think you are actually at the Big Top.

Any weak bits?

The book is probably one for girls as there aren’t many boys in the story. This maybe a gripping story but it takes a while to get going. Also this book can be quite sad at times and not everyone gets a happy ending.

The history

The book describes really clearly what it was like to live in a Foundling hospital in the 1800’s. It is nothing like a hospital today. The book also has Victorian looking illustrations at the start of each chapter which help you to imagine the scenes.

Unputdownable?

Yes if you love Tracy Beaker then you’ll certainly enjoy this book and its sequel.

Rating 8/10

Reading Historical Fiction

Task 17: Write a biography of the author of your book

The purpose of writing this biography is to inform your teacher and class about the life of the author.

You will need to carry out some research. There may be information about the writer on the book jacket but you will also need to use the internet.

Write in the 3rd person as it will make your biography sound more objective

Checklist of what to include

Name:

A photograph or picture of your writer

Claim to fame:

Find a quotation about your writer which sums up what people think about the quality of their writing

Personal details: (date of birth, place of origin, parents/siblings, educational background, marriage/children, profession Does the author have another job besides writing books

favourite books, music and hobbies etc..)

Which people or what events have shaped or influenced your subject’s life.

Alternatively create a biography without using words - a painting, a mural, a collage or a comic strip

Example of Task 17

Biography of Sally Nicholls

Sally Nicholls is a prize winning British children's book author. She has written three books ‘Ways to Live Forever,’’ Season of Secrets’ and ‘All Fall Down’. The Literary Review called Nicholls ‘a great writer of enormous power and strength’.

She was born in Stockton on Tees in North Yorkshire in 1983. Her father died when she was two and she was brought up by her mother. She has a brother called Ian. She attended two secondary schools. After school she worked for the Red Cross in Japan and then travelled around Australia and New Zealand. When she returned home she went to Warwick University and did a degree in Philosophy and Literature. Then she enrolled for a masters in Writing for Young People at Bath University. It was here that she wrote her first book ‘Ways to Live Forever’ and won a prize for the writer with most potential.

Sally always loved reading and always wanted to write. She spent most of her childhood trying to make real life as much like a book as possible. She cut her hair off when she was nine because she wanted to look like George in the Famous Five by Enid Blyton. It was the realisation that she was supposed to earn a living that prompted her to enrol on the masters course. She wrote ‘All Fall Down’ because she wanted to show people ‘that catastrophes have happened here and could happen again’.

Today Sally is married to Tom and lives in Oxford. She says ‘I now live in a little flat in Oxford writing stories and trying to believe my luck’.

Reading Historical Fiction

Task 6 Script a conversation between yourself and the librarian explaining why you chose your book.

Set your work out like a play script. Print the names and if you like underline them too. Drop a line every time a new person speaks

Think of different reasons why people choose books. Can you spot the reasons why the student below has chosen his/her book and reasons which did not influence his/her judgement?

LIBRARIAN: Why did you choose the book All Fall Down by Sally Nicholls?

ME: Well, first of all I was attracted to the book because I liked the cover.

LIBRARIAN: What did you like about the cover?

ME: The cover was very strongly coloured. It was bright orange, yellow and black. It really stood out. Also the lettering was large and very clear. I thought it was clever that the letter L was a scythe as well as being a letter.

LIBRARIAN Were you attracted to the book because of the title?

ME Yes I think so. ‘All Fall Down’ sounds like someone is going to die.

LIBRARIAN: Have you read the blurb on the back of the book?

ME: Yes I liked what it said. It said that the book was an inspiring story about survival in the face of real life horror. History always seems to be about horror. I like history it is so interesting.

LIBRARIAN: Have you read any other books by the author?

ME: No

LIBRARIAN: Do you know anyone who has read books by this author?

ME: No I don't

LIBRARIAN: Is there any other reason why you chose this particular book?

ME: It’s a new book and when I looked inside I could see it was organised in short chapters. I like short chapter books. The print was quite big too so it would be easy to read. I liked it that the girl who is telling the story is my age. There are 271 pages so its going to be a good challenge for me to read this book

Reading Historical Fiction

Task 13 Design an alternative book jacket

You will need a piece of plain A3 or A4 paper and some coloured pens or pencils. You could use paint or even do a collage.

You will design a book jacket cover for the book that will attract people to read it but not give away too much of the story.

Don`t forget to put the title, the author and a blurb on the back.

There is usually some information about the book on the inside front flap and some information about the author on the inside back flap.

Example of Task 13

Back cover – blurb Front flap – about the book

Back flap – about the author Front cover – title and author

An alternative book jacket

Does it include the back flap about the author, the back cover blurb, the front cover with title and author and a front flap with information about the book?

Have you any suggestions to make about how this work could be improved?

Reading Historical Fiction

Task 11 Make a spider diagram about other events (national and international) that are taking place at the same time your book is set.

This is quite a straightforward homework to complete. You will need to do some research. First of all work out when your story is set. It might tell you this on the books cover if you are lucky. Or you might have to read some chapters to pick up some clues. In year 7 your books should all be about the period before 1600, in year 8 between1600-1900 and in year 9 1900-2000.

Now do an internet search for information you could try www.historyorb.com or www.hisdates.com or www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Try to find out something interesting. The dates when obscure people were born or die may not be that interesting unless you tell the reader more about them.

Example of Task 11 What was happening in the world in 1349?

1349

Earthquake in Rome

damages the Coliseum 2000 Jews

burnt to death in Strasbourg

because people thought they caused the Black Death

Ibbn Battuta a Muslim explorer

arrives in fez Morocco

Clement V1 is Pope in Rome

Edward III is King of England

Ordinance of Labourers - an attempt to cut

wages

The Black death breaks out in Mecca

The Hundred Years War between

England and France1337-

1453