Using Testimonial Response to Frame the Challenges and Possibilities of Risky Historical Texts

Literature that vividly and explicitly describes (often in the form of testimonies from one or more characters) traumatic and/or catastrophic events of human history poses particular challenges for readers. This article proposes testimonial response as one approach to responding to these ‘‘risky historical texts.’’ By way of introducing testimonial response, the article outlines a three-part framework. After considering how testimonial response extends and complements other traditional approaches to literature response to give readers a fuller experience of risky historical literature, the article applies the framework of testimonial response to the picture book, From Slave Ship to Freedom Road. The article concludes with implications for bringing risky historical literature and testimonial response into the classroom