Some
of my main characters spend a lot of time reading. Since I write historical
novels for children, I believe that it’s important to have them reading books
that were actually around then. I have a long list of children’s classics and
always check the initial publication dates.
Unfortunately,
I recently read a book that reminded me that not all authors do that. I didn’t
consider it one of the most egregious instances that I have seen, but it still
bothered me.
Then
I read it again.
The
book I was reading is A Girl’s Guide to Winning the War by Annie Lyons,
which takes place during World War II. The story is written for adults and has
an adult protagonist, but her young niece is a prominent character. At one
point the main character is reading Little House on the Prairie to her niece
while a friend listens. That part is fine since Little House on the Prairie
was published in 1935 and may well have made its way across the ocean by the
beginning of the war. But the book is new to the friend, and the protagonist
asks, “Didn’t you read these books with your mother when you were little?”
Since the friend would have been a teenager by the time Little House on the
Prairie came out, I was disappointed that the author would think it had
been around that long.
That
was going to be the theme of this blog: emphasizing the importance of
researching publication dates before mentioning a book in historical fiction. When
I looked for the quote to include in this post, however, I discovered a very
big mistake on my part. It wasn’t the protagonist who asked the question but
her young niece, who obviously wouldn’t have had any clue that the series hadn’t
been around that long.
So
even though Annie Lyons isn’t likely to read this blog, I’m apologizing to her
now.
More
importantly, it goes to show how important it is to read or listen carefully
before criticizing someone for what they say. Otherwise, it’s way too easy to
get the meaning wrong. That’s how misunderstandings—and even wars—begin.
So
don’t be too quick to judge.
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