Using Historical Fiction and Information books in teaching History

According to Children's Literature in Action by Sylvia M. Vardell, "Historical novels can supplement the history or social studies curriculum with human stories that bring events to life.  They can help develop an appreciation of our historical heritage and provide the reader with a vicarious experience of the past through lieterature."  I am a 6th grade social studies teacher.  I use historical fiction novels and picture books throughout the year.  Historical fiction novels can help the student learn more about the time period by adding interest.  One combination that could be made in a U.S. History class is to read the historical fiction book Number the Stars by Loius Lowry.  This could be correlated with the reading teacher, so that the students read the book in reading class at the same time they are covering World War II in history.  I did this last year, and the students really enjoyed it.  The history teacher could read the nonfiction book Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Bartolleti Campbell.  This could be read when the Holocaust is discussed.  The history teacher could also read the picture book The Butterfly by Patricia Polocco.  This book is also about the Holocaust. When the students see history in different ways, it helps them to understand it more.

Top 10 Challenged Books for 2010

ALA news (4/11/2011). "And Tango Makes Three" waddles its way back to the number one slot as America's most frequently challenged book.  Retrieved June 20, 2011 from: http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/ala/and-tango-makes-three-waddles-its-way-back-number-one-slot-america-s-most-frequently-challe

"And Tango Makes Three" has been on the list for the past 5 years and returned to the number 1 spot on the 2010 list.  Those seeking to remove this book describe it as "unsuited for age group", "religious viewpoint", and "homosexuality" as reasons for challenging it.

The 10 books have all been challenged because of either: racism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, sexually explicit, violence, insensitivity, homosexuality, drugs, sexism, inaccurate, political viewpoint.  Each book had a combination of these reasons for the challenge of the book. 

The books removed from the 2010 list are: "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Color Purple", "Catcher in the Rye", and "The Chocolate War".  Some new books to the list are: "Brave New World", "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian", "The Hunger Games", and "Twilight".

A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting the material be restricted or removed.

Controversial Books

According to the American Library Association, books are often challenged because of a motivation to protect children from "inappropriate" sexual content or "offensive" language.  The top 3 reasons a book is challenged according to the Office of Intellectual Freedom are:
1.  it is considered sexually explicit
2.  offensive language
3. unsuited to any age group
When a book is challenged, the goal is to have the book banned or removed from library shelves.