From: Bowen, Brenda <BBowen>
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 17:17:05 -0500

When I read Nancy Silverrod's comments about Dear America, published here at Scholastic, I asked the editor, Tracy Mack, to respond. Here's what she has to say:

Our primary goal in publishing the series was to get kids hooked on history. To that end, we made every effort to make the books physically appealing -- this included not printing the authors' names on the covers, to give the momentary illusion that the diaries are real. (As you've noted, the authors' names are printed on the title page, so the only difference between a Dear America and a traditional book is the absence of the author's name on the front cover.) We were not trying to dupe readers, but rather to lure them in. What harm does it do a child to believe that a character in a book could be real? Isn't that, after all, an author's mission, to create living, breathing characters who speak directly to kids? Are "Catherine, Called Birdy," by Karen Cushman and "Out of the Dust," by Karen Hesse irresponsible? They are both diaries that are works of historical fiction.

I agree with Nancy Silverrod that it is important for students of history to understand how history is documented, what constitutes primary and secondary source materials, and what is fictional. (That's why we're so meticulous in the backmatter of the books.) But isn't that secondary to making history come alive? If we don't find engaging ways to present historical material, we will not have students of history.
Received on Thu 19 Feb 1998 04:17:05 PM CST