Sandip Wilson

Books on historical topics in fiction and nonfiction provide insight into human experience while they offer readers details on lives, events, and places of the past. The books reviewed here share stories about events that may be new for readers, stories they do not find in textbooks, and offer new perspectives and details on events that might be familiar. 

Armaveni. Nadine Takvorian. (2026). Levine Querido.
In 2000, high-school student Nadine wants to understand the story of her Turkish Armenian family. Her Armenian great-grandmother, Armaveni, who married Baron Hagop, the town miller, was safe and built a family during the Turkish pogrom of 1915–1917. Other members of Hagop’s family and their children lived safely with them, but Nadine’s other  relatives did not. She deals with racism among her high school peers, but prospects of a summer trip to Armenia and Turkey give her hope to learn more about her family heritage and history. Alternating narratives in this autobiographical graphic novel chronicle Armaveni’s and Nadine’s lives. During the summer trip, she visits ancient Armenia and sees remnants of its centuries-old culture and visits Bolis, now part of Turkey, learning that her family migrated to Istanbul to be safe. As Nadine learns her family’s story, she becomes stronger, challenging her peers’ racism and the fallacies of her history teacher, who served in the Peace Corps in Turkey and argues the genocide never happened. Gr 9 Up

​Baseball’s Shining Season: America’s Pastime the Brink of War. Martin W. Sandler and Craig Sandler. (2026). Bloomsbury.
Germany occupied France in 1940 as clouds of war spread across Europe and Asia, but in the US, the baseball season engaged radio and sell-out ballpark audiences. This nonfiction collaboration chronicles the baseball season in the context of the escalation of war in Europe, introducing players (Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Pee Wee Reese, and Phil Rizzuto, among the greatest players of the game) and describing the play-by-play events that lead to memorable games and records, with details of the momentous World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. The archival photographs, their captions, and inserted sections provide details of the historical and social context of the year. Back matter includes a section of further reading, sources, acknowledgments, and photo credits. Gr 5 Up

​Basketball: The Story of the All-American Game. Kadir Nelson. (2026). Little Brown.
With a table of contents structured in the quarters of a game, Kadir Nelson chronicles the history of the game through biographies of notable players. The book features history of the game and ends with a post-game section, advances that include women's basketball, birth of the NBA, and achievements of more recent years, which show its evolution from a gymnasium and playground activity to professional ball. Stunning full-page illustrations rendered in rich oil paint show each athlete in dramatic action. The fast-paced text on the facing page includes significant points about their lives with vocabulary that uses the language of basketball. Double-page spreads depict advances in dress, moves on the court, and the game’s future. Back matter includes an author’s note, timeline, glossary, endnotes, sources, and index. Gr 2 Up

Diamond Fever: A True Crime Story in the Wild West. Steve Sheinkin. (2026). Illus. Jon Chad. Roaring Brook.
In 1870, a year after the transcontinental railroad was completed, cousins Philip Arnold and John Slack showed a pouch of rough diamonds and rubies to George Roberts, an investor who was eager for a new project. This meeting set off two years of a scam that involved two countries, investors, geologists for the federal government, miners, jewelers, shysters, and bankers. The trio spends months getting investors in the project, more months finding the diamond field, and readers learn how Arnold and Slack set up the believable ruse, aided by the advent of train travel that cut the time of continental and ocean travel to England to weeks rather than months. Organized in six parts, Steve Sheinkin puts each event of the unfolding scam of the false gems in the historical context of other events of the period. This nonfiction book includes a table of contents, two-page cast of characters, an epilogue, author’s note, source notes, and bibliography. Gr 6 Up

​Eureka. Victoria Chang. (2026). Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
In San Francisco of 1884, two years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, in-debt parents of twelve-year old Mei Mei send their daughter two hundred miles north to a better life with her aunt and uncle in the bustling coastal city of Eureka to save her from servitude or a worse fate. When she arrives, she finds Chinese families living in ramshackle houses along muddy streets, set in the low-lying parts of the city. Although she believes she will go to school, her aunt and uncle have found her a job in the kitchen of a family of a lumber baron, Mr. Bobbitt. This novel in verse recounts her story of despair and hope as she finds allies in the cook and servant of the household, Miss Yu and Tom, and learns English from the Bobbitt daughter, at a time of rising tension between the white citizens and the Chinese community that leads to their exclusion. Back matter includes an author’s note with definition of terms, acknowledgments, and author bio. Gr 5–8

​The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS in America. David Levithan and Gabriel Duckels. (2026). Knopf.
This comprehensive nonfiction book is a “mix of narrative nonfiction, interviews, reprinted works from the 1980s and 1990s and a few creative approaches” to chronicle the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States (p. 5). Sections mark periods from the 1970s, when HIV/AIDS killed people but no one knew yet that the virus was the cause, through the 1980s and 1990s, when celebrities’ disclosures about being HIV+ and their deaths finally changed attitudes of political leaders and the public, causing them to take action. Levithan and Duckels explain how HIV affects the human body and provide narratives and poetry about specific individuals, detailing their lives and their work to help sufferers, and source material revealing beliefs that public health is a national concern for everyone. Back matter includes notes on sources, bibliography, suggested reading on the global AIDS crisis, and acknowledgments. Gr 9 Up

​The Heiress of Nowhere. Stacey Lee. (2026). Simon & Schuster/Sarah Barley Books.
Set in the Orcas Island north of Seattle in 1918, eighteen-year old Lucy serves Mr. Sanders, a ship-building entrepreneur, and his household on his vast estate, Nowhere, so named for its seclusion. The daughter of Mr. Sanders’ best friend, Henry Wang, mysteriously murdered at the time of her birth, Lucy has lived on the estate all her life. When Mr. Sanders mysteriously dies, she is surprised to inherit the business and the estate, much to the chagrin of his business associates and son. The mystery of who murdered both Mr. Sanders and Henry Wang leads Lucy into discoveries about her mother, competing businesses on the island, racist attitudes that subjugated Indigenous, Chinese, and Hawaiian people who lived and worked among the white settlers, and interracial relationships between the white settlers and Indigenous people. The rumors that she is a witch who can communicate with the orcas, whales the local people call sea wolves, endanger her safety. The back matter includes an author’s note with historical context and information separating fact from fiction, acknowledgments, and a note on the Salish representation. Gr 9 Up

The Lion’s Run. Sara Pennypacker. (2026). Balzer & Bray.
In 1944 eleven-year old orphan Lucas Dubois discounts the rumors of an Allied invasion of France and is weary of being bullied by students at school. Tired of feeling weak, lonely, and inept, he saves a litter of kittens from drowning at the hands of the bullies and hides them in an abandoned barn, where he meets Alice and her horse, Bia. She aims to secretly get Bia out of France to America. Lucas lives in the Abbey, and, as a delivery boy for the grocery store that sells fresh produce, he learns of the Lebensborn, a house where young pregnant women live for months in anticipation of giving birth. Their babies will be future Nazi soldiers adopted by Nazi families. He meets Claire, but befriending her makes him sad that she will lose her child to a Nazi family. As Alice teaches him to ride Bia in the Lion’s Run, a racing track, he concocts a plan to save the baby, finds the strength and courage to overcome his fears, and does what he never thought he would. Back matter includes information distinguishing fact from fiction in the novel. Gr 3–5

Shoes! A Footwear Fashion Frolic. Anna Davies. (2026). Illus. Daisy Wynter. Cicada Books.
Three chapters depict the shoe’s history and design in this whimsical nonfiction book. A chart presents the anatomy of a leather shoe and descriptions of types of shoes through history from different parts of the world, including China, India, and Egypt, with a brief historical context of their use. The chapter “Shoes by the Decade” presents designs, mainly for women in the US and Europe, showing the influence of lifestyle, clothing, and function on shoe design with illustrations of clothes relevant to the period, heavy skirts of the 1800s and the filmy flappers of the 1920s. Spotlight sections of the chapters feature longer descriptions of particular popular shoe brands and styles. The chapter on the history of the sneaker in its many forms, including contemporary styles, predicts its future. The book includes a table of contents and an index. Gr 2 Up

A Time to Hide: Based on a True Story of Survival During the Holocaust. Marion Seidemann Fredman. (2026). Illus. Elisa Kleven, Diana Dove, and Juliana Fredman. The Collective Book Studio.
Julius and Grete, parents of Marion Seidemann, born in Holland in 1945, had lived hidden in an attic in the home of two sisters in Apeldoorn, Holland, for three years, having fled Germany as conditions for Jewish people worsened and they lost their citizenship status. This memoir provides historical context for the lives of Marion’s parents, who lost their business and home when they fled Germany, leaving their own parents who refused to leave and joining remaining family in America. The album-style narrative includes archival photographs, illustrations rendered in paint and pen and ink, and text in blocks that resemble archival paper. The back matter includes an author’s note with additional archival photographs and captions, endnotes, acknowledgments, and an author’s bio. Gr 3 Up

We Are Pan. Andre R. Frattino. (2026). Illus. Yasmine Flores-Montañez and Fabi Marquez. IDW/Top Shelf Productions.
This graphic novel recounts the story of four Cuban young people from families of different backgrounds and Cuban cities, teenagers Wilfredo, Eugenio, Antonia, and Rosa, leaving their families and fleeing to America. Based on the collaborative project Operation Pedro Pan, which ran between 1960 and 1961, involving Cuban educators, the Catholic Welfare Bureau in Florida, and the US government, Frattino provides historical context of the events in Cuba and cultural context of the complex family relationships. During the last days of the Batista regime, bitter controversy in Cuba made clear that not everyone advocated for the change that Castro and his army promised after the revolution, but families were caught in the middle of the upheaval that challenged family life. Alternating chapters depict the children’s lives before, during, and after their relocation to the US and the progression of events of the Revolution. Back matter includes an author’s note and author and illustrator biographies. Gr 5 Up

​A Year Without Home. V. T. Bidania. (2026). Nancy Paulsen Books.
In 1975, eleven-year old Gao Sheng is happy in her family’s Laos hilltop home with grandparents, aunts and uncles, their dog, gardens, and fruit trees, but since her father worked for the Laotian government, upon the Americans leaving Vietnam, he is threatened with prison in the new regime. Undertaking a dangerous and uncertain journey as refugees, the entire family flees to Thailand. This novel in verse, based on the author’s experience, depicts their months living in refugee camps. Hopeful about returning to their home, Gao Sheng’s family remains in the camp and watches newer families, who have applied for a sponsor, emigrate, until they, too, finally apply. The back matter includes acknowledgments and an author’s note, with archival photographs, explaining that she was the youngest in the family but is portrayed as the older daughter and narrator. Gr 3–5

​Sandip Wilson, past President of the CLR SIG, serves as professor in the School of Education and English Department of Husson University, Bangor, Maine.

Camila Paula Goldin
​
Every traditional tale has been told countless times, and along the way we have decided who the heroes are and who the villains must be. But the books in this column refuse those assignments. They turn the story over to the silenced stepmother, the bored and lonely dragon, the long-lost twin sister history forgot. In the gaps these original stories left open, a quietly radical question takes shape, asking whose version we have been believing and why. These stories invite readers to approach familiar tales with a more sceptical eye, to question what they think they know, and to discover whose story has been waiting to be told.  
 
Editor's note: I am delighted to feature Camila Paula Goldin, who joins us from Argentina. Because English-language children's books are hard to come by there, she sourced these titles through one of the few bookshops in the country that carries them. I have kept the British English spellings throughout in recognition of where these reviews were written.

Another Twist in the Tale. Catherine Bruton. (2020). Nosy Crow.
Reimagining Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist, Another Twist in the Tale follows a neglected character in the original story: Oliver’s long-lost twin sister. Unlike the Victorian age where gender and class structures were centre stage, the story focuses on a female character, Twill Twist, and the significant gap that history defined. The dialogical relation between both texts is creatively woven as the plot reframes the classic version through a modern lens. Catherine Bruton captures the social complexities of the time and challenges women’s archetypes by shifting the narrative to values of social justice and empathy. While Oliver Twist is portrayed as a passive character whose survival is subject to others’ benevolence, Twill’s somewhat rebellious adventures empower the unvoiced people in their search for independence and agency and unveil an untold narrative. For educators of young adults in secondary schools, this book might create a rich opportunity for deep classroom discussion not only on comparative literature but also on social aspects such as whose voices are heard and whose are traditionally marginalised. By adding a female character to the narrative, Bruton seems to challenge power structures and amplify otherwise excluded voices and points of view. (Gr 7 Up)

Rabunzel. Gareth P. Jones. Illus. by Loretta Schauer. (2021). Farshore.
A twist on the classic Grimm’s tale replaces the traditional damsel with a long-eared heroine. Instead of a standard rescue from the tower, Rabunzel explores a modernised plot of witty exploration. Rabunzel, the rabbit, isn’t waiting for a prince to rescue her. Rather, she uses her ears to outsmart the “hungry-eyed creatures” of the forest. By using a rhythmic and repetitive style, this story offers a shift from a passive, subversive character into a proactive, problem-solving one, thus engaging young readers. The book invites readers in through a clever use of words and illustrations that engage the reader in inference. This charming story provides yet another modernised tale which triggers character analysis and a lesson on self-reliance which empowers young readers to profit from their strengths to seek independence. Suggested for early readers with knowledge of traditional stories. (Gr 1 Up)

Seriously, Cinderella Is So Annoying! The Story of Cinderella as Told by the Wicked Stepmother. Trisha Speed Shaskan. Illus. by Gerald Claude Guerlais. (2011). Raintree.
A young lady, two annoying and clumsy sisters, and a cruel stepmother make up the traditional fairy tale. Was Cinderella really a victim? What if one of the most famous stories was reimagined through the eyes of the wicked stepmother? Has anyone heard it or has it been silenced all along? In this version of the story, the once-heroine Cinderella is reframed as an eccentric, talkative, and annoying guest who is constantly singing and talking to animals. Far from being a villain, the stepmother now addresses the audience about her ordeal to keep the poor girl busy with chores as mere distractions rather than acts of cruelty. By filling the gaps in the prior literary plot in a creative and domestic way, the readers are invited to question the canonical truth and explore how the narrator's perspective can bias and reshape the story. In an attempt to appeal to the reader’s empathy, the stepmother has a defensive tone with clear evidence to support her actions. By using a conversational and humorous style, Trisha Shaskan engages readers in being sceptical, in uncovering the sides – albeit contradictory –each story might have, and in joining a controversial debate about deciding who we believe and why. This book might serve as a resource for middle school students to work on point of view, critical thinking, and narrative voice. (Gr 4 Up)

Seriously, Snow White Was So Forgetful: The Story of Snow White as Told by the Dwarves. Nancy Loewen. Illus. by Gerald Claude Guerlais. (2013). Raintree.
Princesses' stories tend to be alike: a desperate girl who suffers from an Evil Queen’s vanity. However, this book challenges the princess stereotype by introducing a different narrator viewpoint. Told from one of the dwarfs’ perspective, the classic tale portrays Snow White as an absent-minded character rather than a victim of the queen’s mere malevolence. As readers reconcile the Grimms’ version of the story, the focus shifts to the daily logistics of the dwarfs, who take care of a forgetful Snow White whose careless domestic misfortunes range from an undone chore or a mixed-up recipe to an unlocked door. This refreshing and humorous version of the tale serves as a catalyst to discuss the usually ignored ordinary context which underpins the “happily ever after”. Another addition to a collection of texts to trigger discussions with young readers about taking a more sceptical and humanising stance when interpreting imaginative worlds and literary productions. (Gr 4 Up)

The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty’s Prince. Serena Valentino. (2014). Disney Hyperion.
“Once upon a time, a young prince lived in a shining castle.” He was then cursed and transformed into the Beast. But: Who was the Prince before? Why was he so cruel? Within a book series that changes the way in which many tales were told, in The Beast Within, Serena Valentino turns the clock back and fills the gaps in the traditional story Beauty and the Beast by focusing the narrative on an arrogant Prince. While the original tale begins directly with the curse as a magical event, this version explores the decay that preceded the beast’s transformation by depicting the choices the prince made that led to his shortcomings. Regarding the terms of the enchantment and the origin of the rose, Valentino introduces the Odd sisters, their world, only logical to them, and their twisted moral code. In this book, the creation of the beast is portrayed as a calculated response to empty words and manly vanity behaviour. Since the story fills the gaps of the original one, this prequel may highly engage young adult readers while also serving to encourage kids to read and develop their inferential writing skills through the intertextual clues within the story. The Beast Within is a compelling piece for upper primary and teenagers’ classrooms, which can provide a foundation for comparative and contrastive literature analysis in which there could be new meaning found in the gaps of an existing story. (Gr 6 Up)

The Goldilocks Guide to (Bad-Tempered) Bears. Rachael Davis. Illus. by Deise Lino. (2023). Collins Big Cat.
The traditional Goldilocks narrative is transformed in this playful retelling. Davis manages to turn a young girl’s adventure into the challenging plot of a home-invader who becomes an expert in bears. This non-linear story uses a guidebook, journal-like format in which readers are welcome to understand the girls’ thought processes and scientific discoveries. Reimagining the classic tale, the story follows cheeky Jessi Locks in her exploration of the ursine lifestyle, providing a humorous yet insightful blend of fiction and informative reading. As she gathers information on the bears, she addresses the reader as a partner in crime in the mishaps she encounters. The interactive nature of this story may be a good choice to bridge the gap for reluctant readers through a graphic and textual layout and also to encourage them to interact with a literary text in a frisky way. A great addition to the modern tales section for young readers’ libraries (Gr 2 Up). 

The Knight Who Said “No!” Lucy Rowland. Illus. by Kate Hindley. (2018). Nosy Crow.
The quintessential "perfect" knight called Ned is always ready to say yes. That is until he suddenly defies his always polite and compliant nature to strong “No!” answers, sweeping his family as well as all the grown-ups in the kingdom off balance. Through a medieval setting and rhyming expressions, the book captures how the traditionally good knight Ned struggles for a little childhood autonomy and temperament building with wit and warmth. In his encounter with a misunderstood dragon, Ned grows, and the story shifts from a comedy to a lesson on empathy. The portrayal of a beastly dragon provides a significant reflection on stereotypes as it defies the typical depiction of a dragon, which turns out to be lonely and bored. This book is an exceptional auditory experience for read-aloud sessions for five-or-six-year-olds. Since it supports both linguistic and phonological awareness and emotional literacy, it is a great addition to any early years library as a resource for emerging readers. (Gr 2 Up) 

There Is No Dragon in This Story. Lou Carter. Illus. by Deborah Allwright. (2017). Bloomsbury Children’s Books.
If anyone thinks of any story with a dragon, they will probably recognise it as the villain. Tired of his repetitive role, the dragon in There Is No Dragon in This Story seeks a new identity as he tries to join other classics only to feel an outcast. This book encourages the reader to question the stereotypical characters in traditional literature and to go beyond the rigid and scripted roles and labels. Beyond the humorous style, the book addresses themes of belonging, frustration, and the courage to pursue your own identity rather than sticking to a scripted legacy. Through intertextuality, readers may draw on their knowledge of classical characters and focus on the journey of the dragon in a modern fairy tale. Highly suggested for lower primary readers to deal with identity, inclusion, and acceptance. (Gr 2 Up)

Use Your Imagination. Nicola O’Byrne. (2014). Nosy Crow.
The magic of boredom may serve as a powerful spark for children’s own ideas. In Use Your Imagination, a simple wish for something to happen sets off a profound journey into the creative process in a playful way. By exploring the essential building blocks of writing a story with questions such as: “How do you start to write a story? What is the story about? Who are the characters?” The book turns the daunting task of writing into an accessible adventure.
The story follows a wolf with a hidden agenda who guides the rabbit as the story is being written. Through some literary elements, mainly the basic “ingredients” of a traditional tale, O’Byrne creates great narrative tension by using the typical Big Bad Wolf persona we see in well-known stories. Just when the reader expects a predictable ending, the rabbit’s growing imaginative confidence cleverly shows how literacy and creativity can launch personal empowerment and imagination. 
This book encourages students to see themselves not only as readers but also as architects of their imaginative worlds. An enjoyable read young readers are sure to enjoy. Highly recommended for units on story structure, creative writing, and critical thinking. (Gr 1 Up) 

​Camila Paula Goldin is an educator, Literature teacher, and teacher trainer from Argentina. She holds an MA in Education, Leadership and Management with Distinction from Oxford Brookes University, UK. She would like to thank  KEL Ediciones Argentina for kindly providing some of the books to review.