The ''We Were There'' books are a series of

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

s written for

children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

. The series consists of 36 titles, first released between 1955 and 1963 by

Grosset & Dunlap Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898. The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group. In recent years, through the P ...

. Each book in the series is a fictional retelling of an historical event, featuring one or more children as primary characters. The books were written by a number of different authors, each writing from one to seven of the books; the authors included Benjamin Appel,

Jim Kjelgaard James Arthur Kjelgaard (December 6, 1910 – July 12, 1959) was an American author of young adult literature. Early life and education Kjelgaard was born in New York City, New York on December 6, 1910. Jim's father, Carroll W. Kjelgaard, was a ...

, Earl Schenck Miers,

William O. Steele William Owen Steele (December 22, 1917 – June 25, 1979) was an American writer from Tennessee. Biography Early life William O. Steele was born on December 22, 1917, in Franklin, Tennessee. He was the son of Isore Steele and Susie Lee. He spe ...

, and others. Each book's byline also lists a separate "historical consultant", who was a specialist in the historic topic covered by that particular book. The historical consultants were typically college professors or, in the case of war-related stories, retired military officers; among the more noteworthy consultants for the series were the historians

Bruce Catton Charles Bruce Catton (October 9, 1899 – August 28, 1978) was an American historian and journalist, known best for his books concerning the American Civil War. Known as a narrative historian, Catton specialized in popular history, featuring in ...

Walter Prescott Webb Walter Prescott Webb (April 3, 1888, in Panola County, Texas – March 8, 1963, near Austin, Texas) was an American historian noted for his groundbreaking work on the American West. As president of the Texas State Historical Association, he la ...

and A. B. Guthrie, Jr. The books are illustrated with black-and-white

line art Line art or line drawing is any image that consists of distinct straight lines or curved lines placed against a background (usually plain). Two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects are often represented through shade (darkness) or hue (co ...

, with color drawings on the

dust jacket The dust jacket (sometimes book jacket, dust wrapper or dust cover) of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations. This outer cover has folded flaps that hold it to the front and back book ...

. The dust jackets of the original printings of the books describe the series as follows:

We Were There books are easy to read and provide exciting, entertaining stories, based upon true historic events. Each story is checked for factual accuracy by an outstanding authority on this particular phase of our history. Though written simply enough for young readers, they make interesting reading for boys and girls well into their teens.

The original hardbound editions of the books were followed by several other printings, including editions for book clubs and libraries. The books were later reissued with hardbound picture covers (using the original dust jacket artwork), and softcover editions of some books became available in the 1970s. Three of the books are available from Lamppost Publishers and American Home School Publishers.Home page
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List of ''We Were There'' titles

References

{{reflist Book series Series of children's books Children's historical novels 1950s children's books 1960s children's books