Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Books I’d Have On My Shelf If I Were A History Teacher

This week is a back-to-school freebie, so we get to pick a school-related topic.  I’ve been wanting to read more history lately, and I’d like to think I’d be that teacher who uses historical fiction to teach history.  These are the books that I’d have on my shelf if I were a history teacher.

1. Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein.  She’s a good choice if you want to know more about female pilots during World War 2.
2. Prisoner Of Night And Fog by Anne Blankman.  What I like about this duology is that it focuses on what it was like to be part of Hitler’s inner circle, and I think that could be interesting contrast to Elizabeth Wein’s books, especially because it’s about Hitler’s rise to power.
3. Between Shades Of Grey and Out Of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys.  Between Shades Of Grey, for a unit on World War 2, but also Out Of The Easy…I don’t know how I’d fit that in to an actual lesson, but it might be good to have on the bookshelf.
4. And I Darken by Kiersten White.  Because it’s about the Ottoman Empire, and that would be cool for a few different history classes.
5. A Mad Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller.  It’s all about the suffragettes in London in 1909, and a good book to include in a lesson on the right to vote for women.
6. A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier.  I don’t think the Spanish Flu pandemic really came up in school (but then again, I’m a little fuzzy on that), so this book would be an interesting look at that.
7. A Moment Comes by Jennifer Bradbury.  I didn’t even know that the Partition of India was an actual event until I read this book, and that is why it would be on my shelf if I were a history teacher.
8. Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley.  This book is perfect if you’re talking about civil rights.
9. Crow by Barbara Wright.  I didn’t know that there were race riots in Wilmington in 1898, and this is something I’d want in my history classroom.
10. Under A Painted Sky by Stacey Lee.  If you want to talk about The Oregon Trail, I think this book is a pretty good book to have around.