Blood On The River by Elisa Carbone

A great historical fiction book that I love to read to my fifth graders is Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone. This novel tells the story of the settling of Jamestown through a young boy’s perspective.  The story starts off in England where the main character who is an orphan is sent to work on the boat that is headed for the New World.  The boy is assigned to be the indentured servant of Captain James Smith.

Elisa Carbone starts off each chapter of her book with a historical excerpt from the actual journals of people who were on the ship and settled Jamestown.  The old English is hard to read, but fascinates students as they learn how words and spelling have changed in the last 400 years.  The excerpts are only a paragraph or two long, and they add to what the chapter will be about.

The story includes the stormy torments of passing across the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the stopping at the Caribbean Islands which adds to the story and stays historically accurate.  Carbone has included at the end of the book a response as to what was actually historical and what she decided to add based on different views and perspectives when she researched the book.

While the book does start off a little slow for some students, all students are eventually mesmerized by the tale.  This is definitely a great book to add some history and adventure into your child’s life!