When I was a child, one of my greatest wishes was to have a time machine. I read about them in science fiction books, dreamed about them, and even wrote stories about them. The idea of being able to travel back in time and experience what life was like for the people who had lived in other time periods thrilled me to no end. While of course I never got my time machine I did get to experience the next best thing, which was books about history. Historical books, both fictional and nonfictional, are one of the most unique genres of literature that children can ever read. They not only provide young minds with important factual information about the history of our world but they also have the power to transport children back in time. Through historical books children can gain insight into different historical issues such as wars and slavery, get a glimpse at what the culture of different time periods was like, and also experience what day …show more content…
This book is written as an engaging narrative about Benjamin Franklin's life and his involvement in the American Revolution. The book does not focus on the personal and emotional aspects of war, as in Johnny Tremain, but instead lays out the facts of what happened and why and how it impacted the country. For example here is an excerpt from the book discussing the Boston Massacre. “In 1770, a confrontation over the new taxes erupted in Boston. British soldiers fired into a Mob and killed five citizens. This event became known as the Boston Massacre. News of it spread quickly, increasing anti-British sentiment throughout the colonies” (Byrd 29). This simple laying out of the events that happened during the War allows children to get a chronological view of the issues surrounding the Revolutionary War from an accurate and factual point of