Let’s look at this recommended list of historical fiction through a multicultural lens. Gillespie has been putting together collections of reviewed and recommended books for many many years and teacher librarians are probably using them as selection tools either in print form like this book or as a part of an automated selection system. Gillespie divides this collection into the following major categories: Europe, Asia and Oceania, Africa, Latin America and Canada (an odd combination), and the United States. Just guess which of those areas predominate in coverage? Well, Europe is first followed by the U.S. This is very interesting, since it demonstrates that the merger of U.S. and European publishers means that much of Great Britain and Europe has been infused into the U.S. market. And, Canada, don’t you have any historical fiction? Not evident here. Then there are the representative books of the rest of the world dwarfed by the two biggies. No wonder we are so Euro Central and insular! Not much is written or recommended by the standard review media about much of the world. It reminds us about the vicious cycle of non-multiculturalism, or bias. It means that we have to, as teacher librarians make a major effort to reach across our borders to find good stuff for our collections that help create understanding and good will. Use Gillespie’s work, of course, but can’t we find engaging works that our kids would want to read that reflect cultures and histories other than our own?