When God called me to homeschool, I was excited to go beyond lectures and help my children learn through experiences. I’ve always been curious about what it was like to experience life in different times and places. I’ll never get to travel to all these faraway places, but stories simulate those experiences.

Through historical fiction, all of our senses and emotions are immersed. When we walk in another person’s shoes — or sandals or gladiator shoes — we gain empathy. We learn not just what people did, but also what motivated them to do it. Often, we ask ourselves how we would react in that situation.

One night I was lying in bed, praying and wondering how to help my children appreciate Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. I had catechized them, tried to be a good example, and taken them to Mass and Adoration. I had seen friends’ children leave the Church for our town’s megachurch. What else could I do to impart the message of the unparalleled gift of the Eucharist?

Suddenly Eli popped into my head. Eli would become the hero in my fictional story to inspire love for the Eucharist. He’s a treasure hunter who sets out to meet Jesus and find the Ark of the Covenant. I researched everything about the culture of ancient Israel, then imagined the rest. It would’ve been so much easier if The Chosen had been released before I wrote it! With time, Eli’s story evolved into the adventure book The Treasure with a Face.

I want readers to experience the lives of early Christians. How might devout Israelites discern the validity of the Eucharist? How does the Blessed Mother react when Eli’s friend goes to a chariot race instead of meeting Jesus? What was it like to attend the Breaking of Bread alongside the Blessed Mother?

While I wrote for ages 8-13, teens can experience the Holy Land in Awakening by Claudia Cangilla McAdam. An American girl is transported to ancient Jerusalem and tries to stop Jesus’s crucifixion. How does it feel when Jesus looks directly at you and smiles? Or when the Blessed Mother dries your tears with the edge of her veil? What’s it like to receive the Body of Christ from Christ Himself? McAdam’s vivid descriptions let readers feel it all deeply.

Younger children are immersed in ancient Israel in Cathy Gilmore’s Virtue Heroes picture books. Gilmore takes readers behind the scenes of the mysteries of the Rosary and helps us contemplate the mysteries better. In book 1, A Mouse and a Miracle, we see the Blessed Mother working in the temple, praying for the Messiah, and learning she will be the Messiah’s mother. Jeanie Egolf’s illustrations of the architecture of ancient Jerusalem provide a beautiful backdrop, but the scene-stealer is always the Blessed Mother. Egolf depicts the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph in a way that is not just beautiful but also relatable and lovable.

Can historical fiction inspire understanding, awe, and even love? Yes. History proves it. The very best Teacher used stories to create memorable lessons.

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