What historical fiction books did you read as a kid that shaped your worldview?

With book censorship on the rise in the US, I’ve been thinking about how historical fiction shaped my understanding of history, other people’s lives, and different ways of thinking.

I grew up sheltered in an ultra-conservative, fire-and-brimstone evangelical home. I wasn’t allowed to read, watch, or listen to most things. (Cue me bringing home Harry Potter in 1st grade and the next day bursting into tears while telling the librarian I had to return it because it was “witchcraft.”)

At school, I devoured all the books I could get my hands on. I especially loved historical fiction. These books expanded my mind in ways I didn’t fully appreciate at the time. They taught me how to see others as more than just “sinners,” which made me start questioning the prejudices and biases I witnessed in church. The more I read, the more I realized that history and the people in it weren’t as simple as I’d been told.

Through these stories, my worldview evolved, and so did my view of Christianity. I wanted it to be something rooted in love, people, and community rather than judgment and exclusion. By reading, I learned empathy.

Now, I want to reread some of these books and see how they hold up. I’d also love to add new historical fiction to my personal library for myself, my future kids, and my siblings.

What historical fiction books did you read as a kid that shaped the way you see the world?

Notable for me:

• The Dear America Series – I read so many of these, and they made different moments in history feel real because they were written as diary entries. (And also the ribbon bookmark made me feel real ✨fancy✨)

• Girl in Blue – Introduced me to the fact that women disguised themselves as men to fight in the Civil War.

• Esperanza Rising – Got me thinking about immigration and how hard it is to start over in a new place.

• Out of the Dust – Made the Dust Bowl feel real instead of just another historical event we learned about in school.

• Fever 1793 – I’d never thought about what living through an epidemic would be like until I read this.

• Sarah, Plain and Tall – Showed me how lonely frontier life could be and how people built families in unexpected ways.

• Number the Stars – Helped me understand what it was like to be Jewish during WWII and how ordinary people risked everything to save their friends.

• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Showed me how racism shaped Black families’ lives in the Jim Crow South and how land was tied to freedom.

• My Brother Sam Is Dead – Made me realize that the Revolutionary War wasn’t just about big battles—it tore families apart.

• Island of the Blue Dolphins – Made me think about what it would be like to be completely alone and have to survive.

• The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 – Made me realize how recent segregation was and how the Civil Rights Movement affected normal families.

• The Kite Runner – Made me aware of Afghanistan’s history through a story about friendship, betrayal, and guilt that stuck with me.

  (Now, I reread this recently and I’m like… ??? Why the hell did I read this in elementary school? Is that really age-appropriate? But then again, were the experiences of Afghan children “age-appropriate”? No. And maybe I was just…desensitized since I already thought the world was ending and had been shown some pretty traumatic things about hell, demons, etc.)

• The House on Mango Street – Showed me what it’s like to grow up caught between two cultures and searching for home.

• Bud, Not Buddy – Gave me a picture of what the Great Depression was like for a kid just trying to find a place to belong.

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