SMITHSONIAN HISTORICAL FICTION Part 1

The Smithsonian has released a new children's historical fiction series. These are done by the same publisher as the Girls Survive series, so they're using some of the same authors and following the same pattern of releasing four books at a time. 

The Smithsonian series is shorter at around 63 pages each and has more illustrations. Each book has a different illustrator. 

As I tend to do, I read them in chronological order. Archie's book is set in 1898. He and his guardian, his uncle Harold, are travelling musicians who got bit by the gold bug. But they see the problems and dangers of mining and end up leaving to return to their old life. 

This one is the weakest of the four. The story goes by extremely quickly and you never get to know Val, the blonde girl on the cover, very well and I found her the most interesting character. 

 

Li's book was my second favorite of the set. She, her older brother and their mother are immigrating to the US in 1921, during a time when immigration for the Chinese was extremely strict. People could be held for months on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, enduring endless questioning about their lives to prove they were actually who they said they were. 

This is a topic I never knew anything about. I knew Chinese immigrants didn't have the best time of it, but I had no idea there was such a thing as the Chinese Exclusion Act, which I believe was also mentioned in one of the Girls Survive books. And that act wasn't repealed until 1943! Even then, only 105 Chinese immigrants were allowed per year from 1943 until 1965. I really wish Dear America had covered this one. I think it's quite important. 

This one takes place during the 1936 Olympics, which were held in Berlin. The main character is a young black boy with asthma, going along with his father, who's a newspaper founder and reporter. 

This is another story I wish had the Dear America (or rather, My Name Is America) treatment, because it deserves to be longer. The idea of a black reporter covering the Olympics attended by Hitler is fascinating. Add in the Jesse Owens factor and you've got great historical storytelling here. I really like Matthew as a character and how he dreams he can be like Jesse, despite his asthma. 

I actually think this one is a better story than Li's book, but I gave Li's second place in my little mini ranking here, because her book taught me something I hadn't known, which is always a thing I love. Despite knowing more of the history behind this book, I still want more of it! 

Ah, girls in science. One of my weaknesses. This was my favorite of the four, because Audrey wants to work for NASA, where her father works, and she struggles against sexist attitudes throughout the entire book, yet comes out on top in the end. I liked all the characters in it, even her dad, who initially tries to discourage her ambitions, because he knows how hard it will be for a female in this specific scientific world. A little conflicting, because Audrey's mother is a former science teacher. I was surprised there was never a scene where she stood up for Audrey more. 

The ending is a little bit farfetched, but I still enjoyed this book a lot. 

I'm looking forward to more from this series!