In the forefront of the non-fiction charge is Terry Deary, whose Horrible Histories series have lured children with a combination of gruesome details, humour and interesting facts. Add to that such intriguing titles as "The stormin' Normans", and "The groovy Greeks and the rotten Romans", and you can see why children have become such fans of this series. In fact, the series has just relaunched itself as a weekly magazine, complete with trading cards, folders and timecharts, which is a first in the annals of children's non-fiction.

Another series of books which has proved just as popular is the "You wouldn't want to be..." imprint. The titles in this series cover such odd and infamous events in history such as Shackleton's voyage to the North Pole ("Avoid joining Shacketon's Polar Expedition"), and Henry VIII's marital exploits ("You wouldn't want to be married to Henry VIII") . Boys in particular seem to be fascinated with the quirky side of history, and have been avid readers of these series.

Historical fiction for children brings to mind those dusty volumes by Rosemary Sutcliffe and Roger Lancelot Green, but a few new series have thankfully blown these cobwebs away permanently. Some of Australia's finest writers have been commissioned to write for the My Story series, and have produced wonderful tales of important periods in our history, seen through the eyes of children of the time. From Sydney Cove, through the goldfields of Ballarat, to Federation and beyond, these books bring history alive for young readers. Alan Tucker's "The Bombing of Darwin - the diary of Tom Taylor,1942", is my personal favourite, recounting the confusion and tragedy that hit Darwin when the Japanese bombed the Post Office and surrounding buildings in 1942.

In addition to the Australian My Story series, there is a companion series from England, and these titles cover events such as the battle of Agincourt, the Crimean War, and the Industrial Revolution. And from the U.S., a new series called The Royal Diaries is proving very popular with young girls at the moment. Each book in the Royal Diaries is about a girl of royal birth in history, some of them fairly obscure, some better known. The subjects range from Sondak, a Korean Princess who lived A.D. 595, to Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia, and each book is again written by respected children's authors.

All the series mentioned above are available from the Library, so on your next visit, why not introduce your children to books that not only are well written and fun to read, but based on historical events.