Genre 5 Historical Fiction: THE FIGHTING GROUND

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Avi. 1987. THE FIGHTING GROUND. New York, NY: HarperTrophy. ISBN: 0397320736

PLOT SUMMARY
This is a historical fiction story. The main character, Jonathan, is A thirteen year old boy. This is his story of how in one short time period he makes some hasty decisions and ends up going off to fight in the American Revolutionary war.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This children’s book is written in a simple yet direct and straight forward style. It does not sugar-coat history. It is written in a way that a child reading this story would be able to understand and relate to. It is written through the main character’s perspective. The story is told only through Jonathan’s eyes. The reader can see, hear and feel Jonathan’s thoughts and emotions. There are plenty of other characters in the story, but we only can understand and feel the things that Jonathan is experiencing. The story is a day and a half period in Jonathan’s life. Up until this point in his life his experience with war has only been through what he has seen and heard from his family and people around him. His view of the war is very simple and idealistic. At the beginning of the story he hears a bell in the town, and runs off to find out about what is going on. He is just supposed to gather news for his family, but instead ends up actually going off to fight in a battle. The book is not broken into chapters, but is broken down into time segments. The book then tells the story of how Jonathan goes off to a battle and what happens to him. It is a thought provoking story with interesting details worked into the plot about this time period.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
From Publishers Weekly
The compelling story of a young boy's first encounter with war and how it changes him. Ages 9-up

From School Library Journal
“Avi has accomplished his intent: to have readers experience, minute by minute, what it’s like to be involved in war.”

CONNECTIONS
Students could read other historical fiction novels by the author Avi.
Set up an area of the classroom that represents this time period
Develop a writing area where students can write their own stories about what they think it would have been like to live in this time period. Use writing prompts such as: “How did news travel without cell phones?”