Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem

By Rosalyn Schanzer.  Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2011.

With Halloween around the corner, I thought I'd get into the spirit by reading a seasonal-themed book, and a non-fiction one at that!  Cue the scary music!  I know, non-fiction can seem scary, especially when a child has a choice between that or a Captain Underpants book.  But, there are some awesome non-fiction books available for kids, and they aren't boring, and they read like an awesome fiction book!  Shocking, I know.  In the past couple of weeks, I seem to be focused on our children's non-fiction collection and highlighting some great titles.  More about that later.  Let's talk about witches.

Most people have heard about the Salem Witch Trials.  But, did you know the details about how it started and what happened as a result?  This story takes place in 1692 in the small town of Salem Town, Massachusetts, which is made up of Puritan settlers.  One night, two young girls begin twitching and contorting their bodies and speaking in nonsense words.  A physician declares them "under an Evil Hand" and so begins the "witch hunt."  Very soon, accusers begin falsely blaming other members of the community of practicing witchcraft.  People were sent to jail, and officials began holding "trials" using no physical evidence, just solely taking the word of the accusers.  Soon after, many victims were sentenced to death and a mass hysteria had taken over the small town.  Eventually, the Royal Governor of Massachusetts put an end to the arrests and released people still in jail.  The trials were over.  But, would the community ever be the same?

This book reads like a thriller!  Its chronological pace allows the reader to become immediately interested in the story to its conclusion (I know I was...I read this book in a couple of hours because I was eager to find out what happened).  Even if you are aware of the Salem Witch Trials, you may not know the entire story and details, and this book provides them in a way where you don't realize you are learning vital information about this period in history.  You're just reading a great story!  I think that aspect will get kids excited and engaged in this book.

I mentioned earlier our library's non-fiction collection for kids, and thinking of ways to promote it to our patrons.  This inspiration came from some recent workshops I attended about using informational texts to support the common core state standards.  I'm not a school librarian or a teacher, so I don't have to concern myself with using the common core in a classroom or library class.  But, as a public librarian, my job is to guide parents and children to great materials that are fun to read, while providing different sources of information.  My understanding of the common core is to give kids access to non-fiction with different perspectives, so this book would be great paired with another informational book, The Salem Witch Trials: an Unsolved Mystery From History by Jane Yolen.  And, you could give them one of the books in the Dear America series, I Walk in Dread: the Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials by Lisa Rowe Fraustino.  These books will surely provide you with some great stories and facts.  Get in the Halloween spirit, and check these out today at the library!