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Narratives of historical violence written for children engage conflicting imperatives: they must provide truthful historical accounts, but they also face demands to protect young readers1 by keeping the stories of these horrific historical realities bearable, upholding childhood innocence and hope. In recent years, critics of children's literature and educational leaders and scholars have increasingly stressed the need to tell preadolescent readers about the uglier aspects of human history, including the histories of cultural and national groups which may form their heritage. Kenneth Kidd recognizes a new "consensus" that accepts dealing with difficult, even traumatic, topics through children's literature: "Subjects previously thought too upsetting for children are now deemed appropriate and even necessary" (12). David Russell argues that children are "often only too aware that they live in a world where death and destruction respect no age" (347) and need books that honestly portray the human condition, including its disturbing aspects. The troubling elements of history cannot be covered over, Paula Connolly asserts, because "to erase the violence" of historical atrocities such as slavery would "mitigate the atrocity itself' (107). James Damico and Laura Apol summarize reasons for teaching "risky historical texts," including to increase "critical conversations" about complex topics, to extend student knowledge of unjust realities such as racism, to expand understanding and empathy, and to connect the past and present so that students can better understand current problems (142). Elizabeth Baer argues that children's literature should grapple directly with evil (384); avoid "simplistic explanations," especially those that fail to identify "human agency" and contextualize historical events (384-85); warn about "the dangers of racism . . . and of complacency" (385); and provide "a framework for response "in creating "in the child reader a consciousness, a 'memory,' and a sense of personal responsi- bility regarding prejudice, hatred, and racial discrimination" (385).2 The purposes Baer identifies for Holocaust literature-memorializing the victims and preventing the recurrence of such horrific violence (380)-may be used more generally to argue the need for truthful education regarding all institutionally sanctioned historical violence. The ethical imperative to write truthfully for children about the evils in their human and cultural history, so they can understand and reject these evils, is strong.
Yet consistently balanced with these demands for truthful revelation is recognition that...