When I Was a Child . . .

Children often love to hear stories of what life was like when their parents and grandparents were children.  Here are some great historical fiction picture books for young children that explore life before computers, televisions, and cars . . .

Peppe the Lamplighter by Elisa Bartone
Peppe's father is upset when he learns that Peppe has taken a job lighting the gas street lamps in his New York City neighborhood.

Dance at Grandpa's by Laura Ingalls Wilder
A young pioneer girl and her family attend a wintertime party at her grandparents' house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin.

Mama Went to Jail for the Vote by Kathleen Karr
In Washington, D.C., when Susan Elizabeth's mother, a suffragist, is arrested for picketing the White House and jailed, Susan takes up the cause of votes for women. Includes historical note and text of the nineteenth amendment.

William's House by Ginger Howard
Arriving in New England in 1637, William is determined to recreate his home in England but realizes that the climate requires modifications to it.

The Day We Danced in Underpants by Sarah Wilson
When Papa's pants--worn thin from dancing on his visit to France--split as he sits down to picnic with the king, the embarrassing moment provides both cooling and comic relief for the guests, prompting them to take off their hot clothes and dance.