Author
Jean Fritz
4 books here
Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold
Nonfiction · ages 9–12 · 740L
Jean Fritz's unflinching biography makes Arnold a fully human character, not a cartoon villain—the rare history book that teaches kids to read sources skeptically and resist easy moral judgment.
Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?
Picture book · ages 6–9 · 620L · 1980
Fritz demolishes the sanitized Columbus myth with humor and specificity—kids learn he was stubborn, ambitious, and completely wrong about where he was, and that historical truth is messier than textbooks admit.
The Great Little Madison
Nonfiction · ages 8–12 · 820L · 2009
Fritz makes a desk-bound, sickly boy into a riveting human; kids learn that power and influence don't require a booming voice, and that careful thinking shaped a nation.
Homesick: My Own Story
Middle grade · ages 8–12 · 760L
A genuinely moving memoir that treats a child's emotional complexity with respect—Jean Fritz models self-awareness and honest confusion in a way that validates kids caught between cultures or identities.