SEd Eng 213a – Children and Adolescent Literature

Evaluation Sheet for Historical Fiction

Title of Book: Katie’s trunk

Author/s/Reteller/s/Editor/s/Translator/s: Ann Turner
Illustrator/s: Ron Himler
Name of Student Evaluator: King Jhames S. Manganaan

Setting
1. When/where is the setting for the story? Does the writer bring the setting to life
through the inclusion of authentic details that do not overwhelm the story?
The story Katie's Trunk takes place during the Revolutionary War. Katie, a young girl faces rejection
from her former peers and neighbors because of being a Loyalist (Tory) .
As revolutionary sentiments ran high in their village, she and her family became more and more
outcasts, until one day a band of rebels came raiding, with her trapped in the house, hiding in a
trunk." I think some pre-teaching would have to take place in order for students to understand the
meaning of this story. I think it would be a good book for third and fourth graders. Some study skills
that would work well are compare/contrast and cause/ effect.

Characters
2. Who are the characters? Do the characters behave in ways that are believable, given the
time period in which they live?

The main character is Katie , This book is based upon a true event that happened to the author's
ancestor when she was a child. As revolutionary sentiments ran high in their village, she and her
family became more and more outcasts, until one day a band of rebels came raiding, with her trapped
in the house, hiding in a trunk aand yes it is believable because a believable character is brought to
life with an inner world of their own, much like you have. All of a character's thoughts, behaviors,
patterns, and reactions can be summed up as “interiority.” Interiority builds empathy .

Conflict
3. What is the conflict in the story? Is the conflict in the story plausible in light of the time
period in which the story is set?

Of course, in a war, nothing is ever that simple. Not really, and as adults we probably know that,
although it's hard to shake the simple truths we memorized as children. This book is based upon a
true event that happened to the author's ancestor when she was a child. As revolutionary sentiments
ran high in their village, she and her family became more and more outcasts, until one day a band of
rebels came raiding, with her trapped in the house, hiding in a trunk. It's not clear whether she was
lucky and wasn't found, or whether she was saved by a sympathetic Revolutionary who had no desire
to harm a small child, but this was a very close shave.
Overall Evaluation
Rate the book using the following scale:
Strongly recommended_____ Recommended✔️ Not recommended _____ Strongly not
recommended _____
Other comments:
It's a different sort of story, probably because it tackles a hard truth we don't always like to hear: Even
our national heroes, the "good guys", did bad things at times. (And even the bad guys (as they were to
Katie and her family) can do nice things.)