Friday, June 20, 2014


Tim & Luke go to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts...

Tim just finished up his job as a College Board  AP Japanese test grader and it finally feels like the lazy days of summer have arrive (well, somewhat).  I had to work this morning, but Tim took Luke to the museum in Salt Lake and they had a fabulous time.  We are getting ready for the Stout reunion at the Arnoldsen cabin in Mt. Pleasant.  We are in charge of dinner for Thursday night.  We plan to make the same thing we do every year-gyoza & tempura!  This year, we will be there for the Manti Pageant and we are excited for that.  I haven't been in 20 years so I'm really looking forward to it!


Historical Fiction


Got this book list from the State Library, enjoy!:

Historical Fiction
Books for Children
Revised 6/2014



PREHISTORIC- 399 AD


Brett, Jan.  The First Dog. (picture book) 1988
Kip the Cave Boy and Paleowolf each face hunger and danger on a journey in Paleolithic times; when they decide to join forces and help one another, Paleowolf becomes the first dog.

Fletcher, Susan. Shadow Spinner.  1999
When Marjan, a thirteen year old crippled girl, joins the Sultan's harem in Persia, she gathers for Shahrazad the stories that will save the queen's life.

Lasky, Katherine. First Painter. (picture  book)  2000
Following the death of her mother, the new shaman Mishoo must find a way to help her prehistoric tribe during a drought.

Paver, Michelle.  Gods and Warriors. 2013
Set in Bronze Age Greece, Hylas, a young man who is an Outsider, is not allowed in the clan village. Sequel: Burning Shadow.

Paver, Michelle. Wolf Brother. (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series)  2006
Six thousand years ago. Evil stalks the land. Only twelve-year-old Torak and his wolf-cub companion can defeat it. Their journey together takes them through deep forests, across giant glaciers, and into dangers they never imagined.

Speare, Elizabeth.  The Bronze Bow.  1961
Daniel seeks revenge from the Romans for the deaths of his parents until he hears the message and teachings of Jesus.

Tarshis, Lauren.  I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii. (I Survived series)  2014
During the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius, one boy struggles to escape.


400 - 1599 AD (MIDDLE AGES AND RENAISSANCE)


Avi.  Crispin: The Cross of Lead.  2002
Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret. Sequels: Crispin: At the Edge of the World and Crispin: At the End of Time

Blackwood, Gary. The Shakespeare Stealer.  2004
A young orphan boy is ordered by his master to infiltrate Shakespeare's acting troupe in order to steal the script of Hamlet, but he discovers instead the meaning of friendship and loyalty.    Sequels: Shakespeare’s Scribe and Shakespeare’s Spy.

Branford, Henrietta. Fire, Bed & Bone.  1998
In 1381 England, a hunting dog recounts what happens to his beloved master, Rufus, and his family when they are arrested on suspicion of being part of the peasants' rebellion led by Wat Tyler and the preacher John Ball.

Bruchac, Joseph. Children of the Longhouse.  1996
Eleven-year-old twins must make peace with a gang of older boys in their Mohawk Village during the late 1400s.

Cushman, Karen.  Alchemy and Meggy Swann.  2010
In 1573, the crippled, scorned, and destitute Meggy Swann goes to London, where she meets her father, an impoverished alchemist, and eventually discovers that although her legs are bent and weak, she has many other strengths.

Cushman, Karen. Catherine, Called Birdy.  1994
The 13-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.

Cushman, Karen. The Midwife's Apprentice.  1995
In Medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife and, despite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.

DeAngeli, Marguerite. The Door in the Wall. 1949
A 10-year-old boy learns how to deal with adversity during the reign of England's King Edward Ill.

Eboch, Chris. The Well of Sacrifice.  1999
When a Mayan girl in ninth-century Guatemala suspects that the High Priest sacrifices anyone who stands in the way of his power, she proves herself a hero.

Goodman, Joan E.  The Winter Hare.  1996
In 1140, with England divided between the supporters of King Stephen and those of the Empress Matilda,12-year-old Will Belet, small for his age but longing to be a knight, comes to his uncle's castle to be a page and soon finds himself involved in dangerous intrigues and adventures.

Greene, Jacqueline.  Out of Many Waters.  1988
Kidnapped from their parents during the Portuguese Inquisition and sent to work as slaves at a monastery in Brazil, two Jewish sisters attempt to make their way back to Europe to find their parents, but instead one becomes part of a group founding the first Jewish settlement in the United States.

Holdman, Sheri.  Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars.  (Royal Diaries) 2002
In a series of messages placed in her grandmother's ancestral jar, a seventh century princess and future ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla, vents her frustration at not being permitted to study astronomy because she is a girl

Kelly, Eric. The Trumpeter of Krakow. 1968
Joseph's family guards a secret treasure in Poland during the Middle Ages.

O’Dell, Scott.  The Captive.  1979
As part of a Spanish expedition to the New World, a Jesuit seminarian witnesses the enslavement  and exploitation of the Mayas and his own seduction by greed and ambition.

Park, Linda Sue.  A Single Shard.  2000
Tree-ear, a thirteen-year-old orphan in medieval Korea, lives under a bridge in a potters' village,and longs to learn how to throw  the delicate celadon ceramics himself.

Park, Linda Sue. The Kite Fighters.  2000
In Korea in 1473, eleven-year-old Young-sup overcomes his rivalry with his older brother Kee-sup, who as the first-born son receives special treatment from their father, and combines his kite-flying skill with Kee-sup's kite-making skill in an attempt to win the New Year kite-fighting competition.


Paterson, Katherine. Of Nightingales that Weep.  1974
A samurai's daughter's life changes when opposing warrior clans begin a struggle for control of Japan.

Paterson, Katherine. The Sign of the Chrysanthemum.  1976
Muna, a 13-year-old, searches for his father and his own identity in Japan during the 1100s.

Pyle, Howard.  Men of Iron.  1891
Myles fights against adversity after his father is accused of treason in 14th century England.

Springer, Nancy.  Rowan Hood, Outlaw Girl of Sherwood Forest. (Tales of Rowan Hood) 2001
In her quest to connect with Robin Hood, the father she has never met, 13-year-old Rosemary disguises herself as a boy; befriends a half-wolf, half-dogma runaway princess, and an overgrown boy whose singing is hypnotic; and makes peace with her elfin heritage. Lionclaw, Outlaw Princess of Sherwood, Wild Boy, Rowan Hood Returns: The Final Chapter.

Sutcliff, Rosemary. Sword Song.  1997
At 16, Bjarni is cast out of the Norse settlement in the Angles' Land for an act of oath-breaking and spends five years sailing the west coast of Scotland and witnessing the feuds of the clan chiefs living there.

Tomlinson, Theresa. Child of the May.  1998
Fifteen-year-old Magda helps Robin Hood's men rescue Lady Matilda and her daughter, Isabel, from the clutches of the king's evil henchmen.

Vining, Elizabeth Gray. Adam of the Road.  1970
Adam finds adventure as he goes in search of his stolen dog and missing father in 13th century England.

Wilson, Diane. I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade.  1998
Oyuna tells her granddaughter the story of how love for her horse enabled her to win a race and bring good luck to her family living in Mongolia in 1285. Sequel: To Ride the God's Own Stallion

Yolen, Jane. Encounter. (picture  book) 1992
A Taino Indian boy on the island of San Salvador recounts the landing of Columbus and his men in 1492.



1600-1775 (Colonial America and Around the World)


Avi.  Night Journeys.  1994
When a teenager encounters two escaped indentured servants, he has to make his own choices about freedom.

Field, Rachel. Calico Bush.  1966
Twelve-year-old Maggie, an orphan from France, spends a year with a pioneer family in Maine during the French and Indian War.

O’Dell, Scott.  My Name Is Not Angelica.  1989
A young slave from Senegal becomes part of the Slave Revolt on the Caribbean Island of St. John in 1733-34.

Park, Linda Sue. Seesaw Girl.  1999          
Impatient with the constraints put on her as an aristocratic girl living in Korea during the 17th century,
12-year-old Jade Blossom determines to see beyond her small world.

Paterson, Katherine.  The Master Puppeteer.  1976
Poverty and famine force a 13-year-old boy to leave his family and become an apprentice to a puppeteer in 18th century Japan.

Place, Francois. The Old Man Mad About Drawing: A Tale of Hokusai.  2003
Tojiro, a young seller of rice cakes in the Japanese capital of Edo, later known as Tokyo, is amazed to discover that the grumpy and shabby old man who buys his cakes is a famous artist renowned for his sketches, prints, and paintings of flowers, animals, and landscapes.

Speare, Elizabeth George. Calico Captive.  1957
A New England girl and her family are captured by Indians and forced to march to Montreal in 1754.

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver.  1983
Matt learns survival skills from the Indians after he is left alone to protect  his family's home in Maine in
1768.

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  1958
In 1687, Kit Tyler feels loneliness, having moved from the Caribbean islands to Connecticut Colony until she meets another  lone and mysterious figure, the old woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond. When their friendship is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft.


1776-1799 (REVOLUTIONARY WAR)


Avi. The Fighting Ground.  1984
Thirteen-year-old Jonathan leaves home to fight in the Revolutionary War and discovers the conflict within him.

Collier, James L. My Brother Sam Is Dead.  1974
A family is divided when one son joins the Continental Army while the rest of them remain neutral in a Tory town.

Collier, James L. The Bloody Country.  1976
In the mid-18th century, a family moves from Connecticut to Pennsylvania and becomes involved in the property conflict between the two states.

Collier, James L. The Winter Hero.  1985
A young boy who wants to be a hero becomes involved in a farmer's rebellion against unfair taxes after the Revolutionary War.

Forbes, Esther.  Johnny Tremain.  1971
When a young apprentice silversmith has an accident ending his career, he becomes a messenger for the Patriots in Boston.


Fritz, Jean. Early Thunder.  1967
In 1775,a 14-year-old  boy is disappointed by the actions of his country, his father, and  himself and must decide what he believes in.

Giff, Patricia Reilly.  Storyteller.  2010
Forced to spend months at an aunt's house, Elizabeth feel a connection to her ancestor Zee, whose picture hangs on the wall, and who reveals her story of hardships during the Revolutionary War as Elizabeth comes to terms with her own troubles.

Goodman, Joan E. Hope's Crossing.  1998
When kidnapped by English Loyalists during the Revolutionary War,13-year-old Hope draws on every ounce of courage within her to respond to the ordeal.

Higgins, Joanna.  Waiting for the Queen: A Novel of Early America.  2013
In 1793, fifteen-year-old Eugenie de la Roque, her family, and other nobles barely escape the French Revolution and arrive in Pennsylvania, where homesick young Hannah Kimbrell, a Shaker, is among those charged with preparing New France for the aristocrats' arrival.

Kanefield, Teri. Rivka's Way.  2001
Unsure about her upcoming marriage and eager to see what lies beyond the walls of Prague's Jewish quarter in 1778, 15-year-old Rivka Lieberman takes great risks to venture outside, where her many new experiences include friendship with a Christian boy.

O’Dell, Scott.  Sarah Bishop.  1980
Left alone after the deaths of her father and brother, who take opposite  sides in the War for Independence, and fleeing from the British who seek to arrest her, Sarah Bishop struggles to shape a new life for herself in the wilderness.

Panagopoulos, Janie Lynn. Little Ship under Full Sail.  2006
When her grandchildren arrive at her home, Grandmother Kinzie tells Eleanor and Juliette the story of their great-grandmother's capture by the Seneca Indians in 1779.



1800-1859


Armstrong, Jennifer.  Dear Mr. President: Thomas Jefferson: Letters from a Philadelphia Bookworm. 2000
An educated, inquisitive young girl in Philadelphia corresponds with President Thomas Jefferson about current events, including the Lewis and Clark expedition, new inventions, and life at Monticello.

Armstrong, Jennifer. Steal Away.  1992
Two 13-year-old girls, one an orphan and one a slave, run away together from a farm in Virginia in 1855.

Auch, Mary Jane. Frozen Summer.  1998
In 1816, 12-year-old Mem's new home in the wilderness of western New York is disrupted when the birth of another baby sends her mother into spells that disconnect her from reality.

Avi   Beyond the Western Sea: Book One, The Escape from Home.  1996
Patrick and his family, in Ireland in 1850, think their troubles are over when Da, who went on ahead to America, sends for them.  Book Two, Lord Kirkle's Money


Avi. Encounter at Easton.  1994
The story of two runaway indentured servants is told through the testimony of one of the servants and other witnesses.

Avi. The Barn.  1994
Nine-year-old Ben convinces an older brother and sister to fulfill their dying father’s last wish and build a barn on their land in the Oregon Territory in 1855.

Ayres, Katherine.  North by Night: A Story of the Underground  Railroad.  1998
The journal of a 16-year-old girl whose family operates a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Blos, Joan.  A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal 1830-1832.  1979
The journal of a 14-year-old girl relates the events in her life including her father's remarriage.

Cornelissen, Cornelia. Soft Rain: A Story of the Trail of Tears.  1999
Soft Rain, a 9-year-old Cherokee girl, is forced to relocate, along with her family, from North Carolina to the West.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Elijah of Buxton.  2007
In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.

DeFelice, Cynthia. The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker.  2007
After his family dies of consumption in 1849, 12-year-old Lucas becomes a doctor’s apprentice.

DeFelice, Cynthia. Weasel. 1991
Alone in the frontier wilderness in the winter of 1839 while his father is recovering from an injury, 11-year-old Nathan runs afoul of the renegade killer known as Weasel and makes a surprising discovery about the concept of revenge.

Doherty, Berlie.  Street Child.  2009
Jim Jarvis, a homeless orphan, struggles to survive on the streets of London as he seeks a home.

Eckert, Allan.  Incident at Hawk's Hill.  1971
A shy, lonely six-year-old wanders into the Canadian prairie and spends a summer under the protection of a badger.
Erdich, Louise. The Birchbark House. 1999
Omakayas, a 7-year-old Ojibwa girl, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847.  Sequels: Game of Silence and Porcupine Year.

Fox, Paula. The Slave Dancer. 1973
In 1840, a 13-year-old musician is kidnapped to play his fife on a slave ship.

Fritz, Jean. Brady.  1960
In 1836, a young Pennsylvania boy has to decide how he feels about slavery when he learns of his father’s involvement with the Underground Railroad.

Frost, Helen.  Salt: The Story of Friendship in a Time of War.  2013
12-year-olds Anikwa, of the Miami village of Kekionga, and James, of the trading post outside Fort Wayne, find their friendship threatened by the rising fear and tension brought by the War of 1812.

Giff, Patricia Reilly.   Nory Ryan's Song.  2000
When a terrible blight attacks Ireland's potato crop in 1845, 12-year-old Nary Ryan's courage and ingenuity help her family and neighbors survive. Sequels: Maggie's Door and Water Street.
Hermes, Patricia. Calling Me Home .  1998
Twelve-year-old Abbie struggles to accept her father's desire to make a new home for his family on the Nebraska prairie in the late 1850s.

Holm, Jennifer. Boston Jane: An Adventure.  2010
Schooled in the lessons of etiquette for young ladies of 1854, Miss Jane Peck of Philadelphia finds little use for manners during her long sea voyage to the Pacific Northwest and while living among the American traders and Chinook Indians of Washington Territory.

Hurmence, Belinda. A Girl Called Boy.  1982
A modern day 11-year-old girl visiting North Carolina is transported through time to the 1850s where she makes some discoveries about slavery and herself.

Hurst, Carol Otis. Through the Lock .  2001
Etta, an orphan in 19th century Connecticut meets a boy living in an abandoned cabin on the New Haven and Northampton Canal and has adventures with him while trying to be reunited with her siblings.

Karwoski, Gail.  Seaman: The Dog Who Explored the West with Lewis & Clark.  1999
Seaman, a Newfoundland, proves his value as a hunter, navigator, and protector while serving with the Corps of Discovery when it explores the West under the leadership of Lewis and Clark.

Klass, Sheila. Little Women Next Door.  2000
Efforts of Louisa May Alcott's family to establish a utopian community known as Fruitlands in Massachusetts in 1843, as seen through the eyes of the shy 11-year-old girl next door.
Kurtz, Jane. Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot.  2003
After being kidnapped and brought to the emperor’s palace in Gondar, Ethiopia, twelve-year-old Saba discovers that she and her brother are part of the emperor's desperate attempt to consolidate political power  in 1846.

Lawlor, Laurie.      Addie Across the Prairie.  1986
Unhappy to leave her home and friends, Addie reluctantly accompanies her family to the Dakota Territory and slowly begins to adjust to life on the prairie.  Other titles in series include Addie's Dakota Winter; Addie's Long Summer and Addie's Forever Friend.

Lyons, Mary E.  Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs.  1992
An 11-year-old slave in North Carolina plans to escape to the North when she is not set free after the death of her mistress.

McGraw, Eloise. Moccasin Trail.  1952
A runaway boy, adopted by Crow Indians, is reunited with his family after nine years.

MacBride, Roger. Little Farm in the Ozarks.  1994
Eight-year-old Rose Wilder and her parents move to a farm in the Missouri Ozarks to start a new life.

McCully, Emily. Bobbin Girl. (picture  book) 1996
A ten-year-old bobbin girl working in a textile mill in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1830s, must make a difficult decision--will she participate in the first workers' strike in Lowell?

O'Dell, Scott.  Island of the Blue Dolphins.  1960
In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim. Once, many people also lived on the island. When they left and sailed to the east, one young girl was left behind.
Paterson, Katherine. Jip: His Story.  1996
While living on a Vermont poor farm during 1855 and 1856,Jip learns his identity and that of his mother and comes to understand  how he arrived at this place.

Paterson, Katherine. Lyddie.  1991
In the 1840s, a young girl leaves Vermont to seek independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Paterson, Katherine. Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom.  2008
A 15-year-old boy is rescued from slavery by a mysterious girl who introduces him to a secret group planning to overthrow the Manchu government.

Pinkney, Andrea.  Dear Mr. President: Abraham Lincoln: Letters from a Slave Girl.  2001
Fictional correspondence between President Abraham Lincoln and a 12-year-old slave girl.

Van Leeuwen, Jean.  Bound for Oregon.  1994
A fictionalized account of the journey made by 9-year-old Mary Ellen Todd and her family from their home in Arkansas westward over the Oregon Trail in 1852.

Whelan, Gloria. The Indian School.  1996
In 1839, newly orphaned 11-year-old Mary goes to live with her missionary aunt and uncle who run a school for Indian children in northern Michigan.

Whelan, Gloria. Once on This Island.  1996
Twelve-year-old Mary and her older siblings take care of the family farm on Mackinac Island while their father is away fighting the British during the War of 1812.

Williams, Marcia.  Lizzy Bennet’s Diary: 1811-1812.  2014
An illustrated, scrapbook-style diary inspired by Jane Austen's classic imparts the events of "Pride and Prejudice" from Elizabeth Bennet's firsthand perspective.

Woodruff, Elvira. Dear Austin: Letters from the Underground Railroad.  1998
In 1853, in letters to his older brother, 11-year-old Levi describes his adventures in the Pennsylvania countryside with his black friend, Jupiter, and his experiences with the Underground Railroad.

Woodruff, Elvira. Dear Levi: Letters from the Overland Trail.  1998
Twelve-year-old Austin lves writes letters to his younger brother describing his 3,000-mile journey from their home in Pennsylvania to Oregon in 1851.

Yep, Laurence.     Mountain Light.  1997
After he loses his home during a rebellion against the Manchu in China, a young man goes to seek his fortune in the California gold fields.

Yep, Laurence        Spring Pearl: The Last Flower.  2002
Called boyish by her new family for being able to read and write, 12-year-old orphaned Spring Pearl's odd ways help save the family during the 1857 Opium War in Canton, China.





1860- 1865 {CIVIL WAR)


Alcott, Louisa May.  Little Women.  various editions
A chronicle of the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young ladies in 19th­century New England.

Avi.  Iron Thunder: The Battle between the Monitor & the Merrimac: a Civil War Novel.   2007
After his father is killed during the Civil War, thirteen-year-old Tom takes on a job to at the ironworks to support his family, and finds himself a target of ruthless spies when he begins assisting with the ironclad ship the "Monitor."

Beatty, Patricia.  Turn Homeward, Hannalee.  1984
Hannalee, a 12-year-old Georgia millworker, is forced to relocate to Indiana in 1864 because the mill made supplies for the Confederate Army. Sequel: Be Ever Hopeful,  Hannalee.

Beatty, Patricia. Charley Skedaddle.  1987
A 12-year-old Union Army drummer deserts during a battle in Virginia and encounters a hostile older woman.

Beatty, Patricia. Eben Tyne, Powdermonkey.  1990
A 13-year-old joins the crew of the Confederate Navy's ironclad Merrimack as it attempts to break the Union blockade of Norfolk harbor.

Beatty, Patricia. Jayhawker.  1991
A teenager from Kansas becomes an abolitionist raider freeing slaves in bordering Missouri and, later, an undercover spy.

Brink, Carol. Caddie Woodlawn.  1973
Eleven-year-old Caddie preferred to be with her brothers instead of becoming a lady in Wisconsin during the 1860s.

Davis, Burke. Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers.  1996
In 1860, 11-year-old Grace suggests that Abraham Lincoln improve his appearance by growing a beard.

Donahue, John.  An Island Far from Home.  1995
At his uncle's request, a 12-year-old from Massachusetts writes a 14-year-old Confederate prisoner  and learns about the meaning of war.

Ernst, Kathleen. Retreat from Gettysburg.  2000
In 1863, during the tense week after the Battle of Gettysburg, a Maryland boy faces difficult choices as he is forced to care for a wounded Confederate officer while trying to decide if he himself should leave his family to fight for the Union.

Fleischman, Paul. Bull Run.  1993
Sixteen people, including Generals and young boys, people from the North and South, recount the Battle of Bull Run.

Hansen, Joyce.   Which Way Freedom?  1986
Obi escapes from a farm in South Carolina, joins the Union Army, and is involved in the battle at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.  Sequel: Out from this Place

Houston, Gloria.  Mountain Valor.  1994
When the safety of her family is threatened, a girl from North Carolina disguises herself as a boy and joins the Confederate Army.
Hunt, Irene. Across Five Aprils.   1964
A young boy grows up when he is left in charge of the family farm after one brother  joins the Union
Army and two others join the Confederate Army.

Karr, Kathleen.   The Great Turkey Walk.  1998
In 1860, a somewhat simple-minded 15-year-old boy attempts to herd 1,000 turkeys from Missouri to Denver in hopes of selling them at a profit.

Keith, Harold. Rifles for Watie.  1957
A 16-year-old Kansas boy encounters the horrors of war when he joins the Union volunteers after his family's farm is raided by pro-slavery forces from Missouri.

Lasky, Kathryn. Alice Rose and Sam.  1998
Alice Rose, an irrepressible 12-year-old, shares adventures with Mark Twain, an outlandish reporter on her father’s newspaper in Virginia City, Nevada, during the 1860s.

Lyons, Mary E.   Dear Ellen Bee: A Civil War Scrapbook of Two Union Spies.  2000
A scrapbook kept by a young black girl details her experiences and those of the older white woman, Miss Bet, who had freed her and her family, sent her north from Richmond to get an education, and then worked to bring an end to slavery. Based on the life of Elizabeth Van Lew.

O'Dell, Scott. Sing Down the Moon.  1970
In 1864, a Navajo tribe is forced to march 300 miles to Fort Sumner (in modern New Mexico) by Union soldiers.

Patrick, Denise. The Longest Ride.  1999
At the end of the Civil War, Midnight, a 14-year-old black cowboy and runaway slave who nurtures the dream of being reunited with his family, finds his destiny linked with that of two Arapaho Indians.

Peck, Richard. River Between Us.  2003
During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois.

Philbrick, W. R. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg.  2009
Twelve-year-old Homer, a poor but clever orphan, has extraordinary adventures after running away from his evil uncle to rescue his brother, who has been sold into service in the Civil War.

Polacco, Patricia.  Pink and Say. (picture  book)  1994
Say Curtis describes his meeting with Pinkus Aylee, a black soldier during the Civil War, and their capture by Southern troops.

Reeder, Carolyn. Across the Lines.  1997
Edward, the son of a white plantation owner, and his black house servant and friend, Simon, witness the siege of Petersburg during the Civil War.

Reeder, Carolyn. Captain Kate.  1999
Determined to take her father’s coal-carrying barge on the C&O Canal from Cumberland, Maryland, to
Washington, D.C., 12-year-old Kate learns hurtful truths about herself.

Reeder, Carolyn. Shades of Gray.  1999
At the end of the Civil War, 12-year-old Will, a boy without immediate family, goes to live in Virginia with an aunt and an uncle who refused to participate in the fighting.
Schwartz, Virginia.  Send One Angel Down.  2005
A young slave tries to hide the horrors of slavery from his younger cousin, a light-skinned slave who is the daughter of the plantation owner.

Steele, William 0. Perilous Road.  1958
A boy from Tennessee who hates the Union Army cannot understand why his brother would fight for the Union and why his parents would not take a side.

Von Ahnen,Katherine.        Heart of Naosaqua.  1996
In 1823, Naosaqua,a 12-year-old Mesquakie (Fox) girl, faces the problems of change, loss, young love, and the true meaning of friendship and courage when her beloved village, Saukinek, is burned by soldiers and her people are forced to find a new place to settle.

Wells, Rosemary. Red Moon at Sharpsburg.  2007
As the Civil War breaks out, India, a young Southern girl, summons her sharp intelligence and the courage she didn't know she had to survive the war that threatens to destroy her family, her Virginia home, and the only life she has ever known.

Wisler, G. Clifton.  Mustang Flats.  1997
When his father returns from the war in 1865, 14-year-old Alby finds his beloved Pa a changed man and can only hope that they will be friends again.

Wisler, G. Clifton.  The Drummer Boy of Vicksburg.  1997
In this fact-based story, 14-year-old drummer boy Orion Howe displays great bravery during a Civil War battle  at Vicksburg, Mississippi.




1866-1913


Antle, Nancy. Beautiful Land: A Story of the Oklahoma Land Rush.  1994
After a two-year wait during which her mother died, 12-year-old Annie Mae and her family join thousands of hopeful settlers as they race to claim land in the newly opened Oklahoma Territory.

Arrington, Frances. Bluestem.  2000
With their father away and their mother traumatized by some unknown event, 11-year-old Polly and her younger sister are left to take care of themselves and their prairie homestead.

Armstrong, Jennifer. Dear Mr. President: Theodore Roosevelt: Letters from a Young Coal Miner. 2000
15-year-old Frank Kovacs, a Polish immigrant working in the coal mines of eastern Pennsylvania, begins a correspondence with Theodore Roosevelt after he assumes the presidency on September 14,
1901.

Carbone, Elisa.  Storm Warriors.  2002
In 1895, after his mother's death, 12-year-old Nathan moves with his father  and grandfather to Pea Island off the coast of North Carolina, where he hopes to join the all-black crew at the nearby lifesaving station, despite his father's objections.


Erdrich, Louise.  Chickadee.  2012
In 1866, Omakayas's son Chickadee is kidnapped by two ne'er-do-well brothers from his own tribe and must make a daring escape, forge unlikely friendships, and set out on an exciting and dangerous journey to get back home.

Holm, Jennifer.  Our Only May Amelia.  1999
As the only girl in a Finnish-American family of seven brothers, May Amelia Jackson resents being expected to act like a lady while growing up in Washington State in 1899.

Kelly, Jacqueline.  The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.  2009
In central Texas in 1899, 11-year-old Callie Vee Tate is instructed to be a lady by her mother, learns about  love from the older three of her six brothers, and studies the natural world with her grandfather, the latter  of which leads to an important discovery.

Lasky, Kathryn.  The Night Journey.  1986
Rachel's great-grandmother tells her how, as a 9-year-old, she planned her family's escape from Czarist
Russia.

Lenski, Lois. Strawberry Girl.  1945
Ten-year-old Birdie lives on a Florida farm growing strawberries and dreaming of getting an education.

Loveday, John.  Goodbye, Buffalo Sky.  1997
Cappy, who lives on the American frontier in the 1870s, must fight for the people he loves, including a Native American woman from the Mandan tribe.

Lowell, Susan.  I Am Lavina Cumming.  2005
Lavina, a 10-year-old from the Arizona Territory, is sent to California to live with her aunt and must learn to deal with homesickness, an awful cousin, the automobile, and the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

MacLachlan, Patricia.  Sarah, Plain and Tall.  1985
When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.

McKissack, Patricia. Run Away Home.  1997
In 1886 in Alabama, an 11-year-old African-American girl and her family befriend and give refuge to a runaway Apache boy.

Napoli, Donna Jo. King of Mulberry Street.  2005
In 1892,Dom, a nine-year old stowaway from Naples, Italy, arrives in New York and must learn to survive the perils of street life in the big city.

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds.  Emily’s Fortune. 2010
While traveling to her aunt's home in Redbud by train and stagecoach, quiet young Emily and her turtle, Rufus, team up with Jackson, fellow orphan and troublemaker extraordinaire, to outsmart mean Uncle Victor, who is after Emily's inheritance.

Peck, Richard. Fair Weather.  2001
In 1893, 13-year-old Rosie and members of her family travel from their Illinois farm to Chicago to visit Aunt Euterpe and attend the World's Columbian Exposition which, along with encounters with Buffalo Bill and Lillian Russell, turns out to be a life-changing experience for everyone.

Peck, Richard. Teacher's Funeral:  A Comedy in Three Parts.  2004
In rural Indiana in 1904, fifteen-year-old Russell's dream of quitting school and joining a wheat threshing crew is disrupted when his older sister takes over the teaching at his one-room schoolhouse after mean, old Myrt Arbuckle "hauls off and dies."

Pellowski, Anne. First Farm in the Valley: Anna's Story.  1982
In 1876, a Wisconsin farm girl, the first of her family born in America, dreams of visiting her parents' home in Poland.

Pellowski, Anne. Winding Valley Farm: Annie's Story.  1982
Annie is disappointed when her parents consider giving up their farm to move into town in the early
1900's.

Rhodes, Jewel Parker.  Sugar.  2013
In 1870, Reconstruction brings big changes to the Louisiana sugar plantation where spunky ten-year-old Sugar has always lived, including her friendship with Billy, the son of her former master, and the arrival of workmen from China.

Sawyer, Ruth. Roller Skates.  1936
Lucinda explores New York City in the 1890s when her parents go to Europe and she goes to live with
Miss Peters, a teacher.

Snyder, Elaine.  Anna & Solomon.  (picture book) 2014
A young man immigrates to America at the turn of the 20th century and works and saves so his wife can join him.

Snyder, Zilpha Keatley.  Gib and the Gray Ghost.  2000
In 1909, after spending several months back at the Lovell House, Home for Orphaned and Abandoned Boys, 11-year-old Gib returns to live on the Thornton ranch, where his natural way with horses helps to make him feel at home.

Taylor, Sydney.  All-of-a-Kind Family. 1951
Five sisters and their parents live in a small apartment on New York's Lower East Side during the early
1900s. Sequels: All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown and More All-of-a-Kind Family.  (See the 1914-1937 list for more books in this series.)

Taylor, Theodore. Teetoncey (Cape Hatteras Trilogy) 2004
Eleven-year-old Ben rescues a young girl from a shipwreck on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and tries to solve the mystery of why she can't speak.  Sequels: Teetoncey and Ben O'Neal and The Odyssey of Ben O’Neal.

Wallace, Barbara.  Sparrows in the Scullery.  1997
Despite horrible conditions at the boys' home where kidnappers have left him, 11-year-old Colley, an orphan, finds a reason and a way to live, along with comradeship.

Wallace, Bill.  Eye of the Great Bear.  1999
The bullies called him coward. Even his brothers thought 11-year-old Bailey Trumbull was scared of his own sha dow.

Whelan, Gloria.  Angel on the Square.  2001
In 1913 Russia, 12-year-old Katya eagerly anticipates leaving her St. Petersburg home to join her mother, a lady in waiting in the household of Tsar Nicholas II, but the ensuing years bring world  war, revolution, and undreamed of changes to her life.

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House in the Big Woods.  1932
Living in a log house in Wisconsin in 1870, the Ingalls family makes their own cheese and maple sugar. Titles in the series include Little House on the Prairie; Farmer Boy; On the Banks of Plum Creek; By the Shores of Silver Lake; The Long Winter; Little Town on the Prairie; These Happy Golden Years and The First Four Years.

Williams, Barbara. Titanic Crossing.  1995
Thirteen-year-old Albert becomes responsible for saving himself and his spoiled little sister when the ship hits an iceberg.

Winthrop, Elizabeth.   Counting on Grace.  2006
It's 1910 in Pownal, Vermont. At 12, Grace and her best friend   Arthur must go to work in the mill, helping their mothers work the looms.

Yep,  Laurence.   Dragonwings.  1975
Moon Shadow comes from China to live with his father in San Francisco in 1903 and becomes part of his father’s dream to build an airplane.

Yep,  Laurence.       The Serpent's Children.  1984
In 19th-century China, Cassia attempts to protect her family from bandits and famine and to resolve a conflict between her father and brother.




1914 - 1937 {WORLD WAR I/ DEPRESSION/PRE WW II)


Choldenko, Gennifer.  Al Capone Does My Shirts.  2004
A 12-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.  Series: Al Capone Shines My Shoes and Al Capone Does My Homework

Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy.  1999
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father: the renowned bandleader H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

DeFelice, Cynthia.  Nowhere to Call Home.  1999
When her father kills himself after losing his money in the stock market crash,12-year-old Frances, now a penniless orphan, decides to hop aboard a freight train and live the life of a hobo.

De Young, C. Coco. A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt.  2000
Eleven-year-old Margo fulfills a class assignment by writing a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt asking for help to save her family's home during the Great Depression.

Doucet, Sharon. Fiddle Fever.  2000
In 1914, 14-year-old Felix LeBlanc feels stifled by life on his family's farm in Louisiana and, after hearing his wayward  uncle play the fiddle, decides that he wants to be a fiddler  too, even if it means making his own fiddle and going against his parents' wishes.

Dowell, Frances. Dovey Coe.  2000
When accused of murder in her North Carolina mountain town in 1928, Dovey Coe, a strong-willed 12- year-old girl, comes to a new understanding of others, including her deaf brother.

Fritz, Jean. Homesick: My Own Story.  1982
A young girl's life in China in 1925 is told based on actual events in the author's life.

Golden, Laura.  Every Day After.  2013
A young girl fights to keep her mama out of the mental ward, her home away from the bank, and herself out of the orphanage after her father abandons her and her mother in depression era Alabama.

Henry, Marguerite. Black Gold.  1957
The story of Black Gold, the winner of the 1924 Kentucky Derby, is based on actual events.

Hesse, Karen. Letters from Rifka.  1992
A young girl writes letters to her cousin describing her family's journey from Russia to America in 1919.

Hesse, Karen.  Out of the Dust.  1997
In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.

Hill, Kirkpatrick.  Bo at Ballard Creek.  2013
It's the 1920s, and Bo was headed for an Alaska orphanage when she won the hearts of two tough gold miners who set out to raise her, enthusiastically helped by all the kind people of the nearby Eskimo village.

Holm, Jennifer.  Turtle in Paradise.  2010
It’s 1935, and the enterprising boys offer baby care to exhausted mothers in exchange for candy because no one has any money to spare.

Kerr, Judith.  When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.  1971
In 1933, a 9-year-old girl and her family are forced to flee Germany and secretly go to Switzerland where they learn how to deal with new languages and situations.

Lenski, Lois. Texas Tomboy.  1950
Charlotte, or Charlie Boy as she would rather be called, grows up on a Texas ranch in the 1920s.

Lisle, Janet Taylor.  Black Duck.  2006
It is spring 1929, and Prohibition is in full swing. So when Ruben and Jeddy find a dead body washed up on the shore of their small coastal Rhode Island town, they are sure it has something to do with smuggling liquor.

Martin, Ann M.  Better to Wish.  2013
In 1930 Abby Nichols is an 8-year-old girl growing up in Maine, but as the Depression deepens, and her mother dies, the responsibility of taking care of her family falls to her, and she has to put her dreams of going to college and becoming a writer on hold.

Mukerji, Dhan Ghopal.   Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon.  1927
The story of the training of a carrier pigeon and its service during the First World War, revealing the bird's courageous and spirited adventures over the housetops of an Indian village, in the Himalayan Mountains, and on the French battlefield.

Parkinson, Siobhan. Kathleen: The Celtic Knot.  2003
12-year-old Dubliner Kathleen Delaney is given the chance to take Irish dancing lessons in 1937 and discovers she has a talent for it.

Porter, Tracey.  Treasures in the Dust.  1999
Eleven-year-old Annie and her friend, Violet, tell of the hardships endured by their families when dust storms, drought, and the Great Depression hit rural Oklahoma.

Ransom, Candice. Fire in the Sky.  1997
More than losing at marbles, worrying about his relatives and the Nazis in Germany, or hearing his favorite radio hero Jack Armstrong, 9-year old Stenny Green is focused on getting to see the Hindenburg when it lands near their home in Lakehurst, New Jersey, in 1937.

Ritter, John. Choosing Up Sides.  1998
In 1921, 13-year-old Luke finds himself torn between accepting his left-handedness or conforming to the belief of his preacher-father that such a condition is evil and must be overcome.

Ryan, Pam Muňoz.  Esperanza Rising.  2000
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Skurzynski, Gloria.  Goodbye, Billy Radish.  1996
In 1917, as the United States enters World War I, the friendship  between two boys changes.

Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. Cat Running.  1994
In California, during the Depression, 11-year-old Cat encounters the issues of poverty and prejudice when she becomes involved with a homeless family from Texas.

Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.  1976
Cassie and her brothers do not understand the discrimination and prejudice  they face as an African­ American family  living in Mississippi during the 1930s. Sequel: Let the Circle be Unbroken and companion Song of the Trees.

Taylor, Sydney   All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown.  1958
The family has happy and anxious times as the United States enters the war and Ella's boyfriend joins the Army. Companion:  Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family (See the 1866-1913 list for more books in this series.)

Uchida, Yoshiko. A Jar of Dreams.  1993
Eleven-year-old Rinko grows up in Berkeley, California, in the 1930s during the Depression and a time of prejudice against the Japanese-Americans.

Vanderpool, Claire.  Moon Over Manifest.  2010


1938- 1945 (WORLD WAR II)


Avi. Don't You Know There's a War On?  2001
In wartime Brooklyn in 1943, 11-year-old Howie Crispers mounts a campaign to save his favorite teacher from being fired.

Barrow, Randi.  Saving Zasha.  2011
In 1945 Russia, those who own German shepherds are considered traitors, but thirteen-year-old Mikhail and his family are determined to keep the dog a dying man brought them, while his classmate Katia strives to learn his secret.  Sequel:  Finding Zasha

Bunting, Eve. Spying on Miss Muller.  1995
At Alveara boarding school in Belfast at the start of World War II, 13-year-old Jessie must deal with her suspicions about a teacher whose father was German and with her worries about her own father's drinking problem.

Coerr, Eleanor. Mieko and the Fifth Treasure.  1993
Staying with her grandparents after the atomic bomb has been dropped on Nagasaki,10-year-old Mieko feels that the happiness in her heart has departed forever and she will no longer be able to produce a beautiful drawing for the contest at school.

Cutler, Jane. My Wartime Summers.  1994
During four wartime summers, Ellen finds that despite her best efforts not to,she is changing and nothing stays the same.

Dahlberg, Maurine. Play to the Angel.  2000
In Vienna in 1938, in the shadow of an increasingly dangerous Nazi Germany,12-year-old Greta pursues her dream of becoming a concert pianist like her dead brother, Kurt, despite a lack of support  from her widowed mother.

Davies, Jacqueline.  Where the Ground Meets the Sky.  2002
During World War II, a 12-year-old girl is uprooted from her quiet, East Coast life and moved to a secluded army post in New Mexico where her father and other scientists are working on a top secret project.

DeJong, Meindert. The House of Sixty Fathers.  1956
A young Chinese boy finds adventure when he tries to find his parents in Japanese-occupied China.

Divakaruni, Chitra.  Neela: Victory Song.  2002
In 1939, 12-year-old Neela meets a young freedom fighter at her sister's wedding and soon after must rely on his help when her father fails to return home from a march in Calcutta against British occupation.

Garrigue, Sheila. The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito.  1985
The fate of a 200-year-old bonsai tree is decided by a young girl and an old Japanese-Canadian gardener who resists being imprisoned in an internment camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Giff, Patricia Reilly.  Lily's Crossing.  1997
During a summer spent at Rockaway Beach in 1944, lily’s friendship with a young Hungarian refugee causes her to see the war and her own world differently. Sequel: Willow Run.

Greene, Bette.    Summer of My German Soldier.  1973
A 12-year-old girl shelters an escaped German prisoner of war in Arkansas.

Hahn, Mary Downing. Stepping on the Cracks.  1991
In 1944, Margaret helps the school bully hide his brother, an army deserter, despite her brother's fighting in Europe.

Hartnett, Sonya.  The Children of the King.  2014
Sent to the English countryside for safety during World War II, Cecily and Jeremy find themselves in the company of a young refugee named May with whom they encounter two mysterious boys in the ruins of a nearby castle.

Hesse, Karen. Aleutian Sparrow.  2003
An Aleutian Islander recounts her suffering during World War II in American internment camps designed to "protect" the population from the invading Japanese.


Hughes, Shirley.  Hero on a Bicycle.  2012
Florence, Italy is under heavy Nazi occupation, but for 13-year-old Paolo, war is a long and boring wait. Too young to fight for the resistance, yet desperate for action and adventure, he sneaks out each night to ride his bicycle along the darkened city streets.

Klages, Ellen.  The Green Glass Sea.  2006
Dewey Kerrigan, an eleven-year-old in 1943, sets out on a train headed west to go live with her father, a scientist involved in a top secret government program.

Kochenderfer, Lee. The Victory Garden.  2002
Hoping to contribute to the war effort during World War II, 11-year-old Teresa organizes her friends care for an ill neighbor's victory garden.

Kudlinski, Kathleen. Pearl Harbor Is Burning! A Story of World War II.  1991
Two fifth-graders, one of whom is Japanese-American, witness the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Larson, Kirby.  Dash.  2014
A Japanese-American girl is separated from her dog upon being sent to an incarceration camp during WWII.

Larson, Kirby.  Duke.  2013
In 1944 Hobie Hanson's father is flying B-24s in Europe, so Hobie decides to donate his beloved German shepherd, Duke, to Dogs for Defense in the hope that it will help end the war sooner--but when he learns that Duke is being trained for combat he is shocked, frightened and determined to get his dog back.

Levitin, Sonia. Journey to America.  1970
A Jewish family fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938 endures innumerable separations before they are once again united.

Lisle, Janet. The Art of Keeping Cool.  2000
In 1942, Robert and his cousin, Elliott, uncover long-hidden family secrets while staying in their grandparents' Rhode Island town, where they also become involved with a German artist who is suspected of being a spy.

Matas, Carol.  Daniel's Story.  1993
Daniel, whose family suffers as the Nazis rise to power in Germany, describes his imprisonment in a concentration camp and his eventual liberation.

Mochizuki, Ken. Passage to Freedom:  The Sugihara Story. (picture book)  1997
In 1940, Chiune Sugihara-a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania-risked his life to issue thousands of exit visas to Jewish refugees fleeing from the Nazis.

Morpurgo, Michael.  Medal for Leroy.  2014
In World War II-era England, Michael learns about his black British Army soldier grandfather, a World War I officer who risked his life to save wounded men but who did not receive special commendations because of his race.

Myers, Anna. Captain's Command.  1997
Even as Christmas approaches and Gail longs to hear that her soldier father has not been killed in World
War II, the sixth-grader helps bring her handicapped uncle back to life.

Paterson, Katherine. Jacob Have I Loved.  1980
Feeling deprived all her life of schooling, friends, mother, and even her name by her twin sister, Louise finally begins to fight back.

Paulsen, Gary. The  Quilt.  2005
During World War II, while his father is in Europe fighting and his mother is working in Chicago, a 6-year­old boy goes to live with his grandmother in a rural Norwegian-American community in Minnesota.

Pearson, Kit. The Sky Is Falling.  1990
In 1940, Norah and her younger brother, Gavin, are sent to live in Canada to escape the bombing of
England and slowly adjust to a new family, school, and country.

Pearson, Kit. The Lights Go on Again.  1994
Two English children, Norah and Gavin, evacuated to Canada in 1940,have different feelings about returning home to England when the war is almost over.

Peck, Richard.  On the Wings of Heroes.  2007
A boy in Illinois remembers the homefront years of World War II, especially his two heroes--his brother in the Air Force and his father, who fought in the previous war.

Propp, Vera.  When the Soldiers Were Gone.  2001
After the German occupation of the Netherlands, Benjamin leaves the Christian family with whom he had been living and reunites with his real parents, who returned from hiding.

Reeder,Carolyn. Foster's War.  1998
When his older brother joins the army during World War II in order to escape the rages of an authoritarian father, 11-year-old Foster fights his battles on the home front.

Roy, Jennifer.  The Yellow Star.  2006
From 1939, when Syvia is four and a half years old, to 1945 when she has just turned ten, a Jewish girl and her family struggle to survive in Poland's Lodz ghetto during the Nazi occupation.

Sachs, Marilyn.  A Pocket Full of Seeds.  1973
During the German occupation of France, a young Jewish girl must cope with the disappearance of her family.

Strickland, Brad. When Mack Came Back.  2000
When his older brother leaves the family farm in order to join the army in 1943, 10-year-old Maury remains behind to deal with his angry father and to care for Ben's injured puppy.

Taylor, Theodore. The Cay.  1969
When the freighter on which they are traveling is torpedoed by a German submarine during World War II, a twelve-year-old white boy, blinded by a blow on the head, and an old Negro are stranded on a small desert island in the Caribbean, where the boy acquires a new kind of vision, courage, and love from his old companion.

Thor, Annika. The Faraway Island.  2009
In 1939 Sweden, two Jewish sisters wait for their parents to flee the Nazis in Austria, but while eight­ year-old Nellie settles in quickly, twelve-year-old Stephie feels stranded at the end of the world, with a foster mother who is as cold and unforgiving as the island on which they live.

Towne, Mary. The Boy on the Beach.  1999
During her family's visits to the beach on Long Island, Ruth makes friends with a lifeguard who helps her handle her worries about the war, an outbreak of polio, and being the youngest girl in sixth grade.

Uchida, Yoshiko. Journey Home.  1978
After their release from an internment camp, Yuki and her family have difficulties when they return to life in Berkeley, California.

Van Stockum, Hilda.  The Borrowed House.  2000
A young German girl goes to live in occupied Amsterdam with her parents and learns the truth about the war.

Yep,  Laurence.   Hiroshima.  1995
Sachi becomes one of the Hiroshima Maidens, suffering effects from the atomic bomb blast over her city in 1945.

Yolen, Jane. The Devil's Arithmetic.  1988
Hannah resents the tradition of her Jewish heritage until time travel places her in the middle of a small Jewish village in Nazi-occupied Poland.


1946-1959


Birtha, Becky. Grandma's Pride. (picture book)  2005
While on a trip in 1956 to visit her grandmother in the South, six-year-old Sarah Marie experiences segregation for the first time, but discovers that things have changed by the time she returns the following year.

Blakemore, Megan.  Spy Catchers of Maple Hill.  2014
Hazel Kaplansky and new student Samuel Butler investigate rumors that a Russian spy has infiltrated their small Vermont town, amidst the fervor of Cold War era McCarthyism, but more is revealed than they could ever have imagined.

Hill, Kirkpatrick. Year of Miss Agnes.  2000
Ten-year-old Fred (short for Frederika} narrates the story of school and village life among the Athapascans in Alaska during 1948 when Miss Agnes arrived as the new teacher.

Holm, Jennifer. Penny from Heaven.  2006
As she turns twelve during the summer of 1953, Penny gains new insights into herself and her family while also learning a secret about her father's death.

Robinet,   Harriette.   Walking the Bus-Rider Blues.  2000
Twelve-year-old Alta Merryfield, his older sister, and their grandmother struggle for rent money, food, and their dignity as they participate in the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott in the summer of 1956.

Shank, Marilyn Sue.  Child of the Mountains.  2013
In the early 1950s, Lydia Hawkins has grown up poor in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia with her widowed mother, brother BJ, who has cystic fibrosis, and her Gran. When Gran and BJ die, her mother is jailed unjustly and Lydia must try to remain strong and clear her mother's name.

Vawter, Vince.  Paperboy.  2013
When an eleven-year-old boy takes over a friend's newspaper route in July, 1959, in Memphis, his debilitating stutter makes for a memorable month.

Yelchin, Eugene.  Breaking Stalin’s Nose.  2011
In the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, ten-year-old Sasha idolizes his father, a devoted Communist, but when police take his father away and leave Sasha homeless, he is forced to examine his own perceptions, values, and beliefs.



1960- 1980


Burg, Shana. A Thousand Never Evers.  2008
As the civil rights movement in the South gains momentum in 1963--and violence against African Americans intensifies--the black residents, including seventh-grader Addie Ann Pickett, in the small town of Kuckachoo, Mississippi, begin their own courageous struggle for racial justice.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. Watson's Go to Birmingham- 1963.  1995
The ordinary actions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they visit Grandma in Alabama in 1963.

Gantos, Jack.  Dead End in Norvelt.  2011
In the historic town of Norvelt, PA, 12-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore. Sequel: From Norvelt to Nowhere

Magoon, Kekla.  Fire in the Streets.  2012
In the aftermath of Dr. King's assassination in 1968, Chicago 14-year-old Maxie longs to join the Black Panthers and is soon caught up in the violence of anti-war and civil rights demonstrations.

Perkins, Lynne Rae.  Criss Cross.  2005
Teenagers in a small town in the 1960s experience new thoughts and feelings, question their identities, connect, and disconnect as they search for the meaning of life and love.

Smiley, Jane.  True Blue. 2012
In 1960s California, eighth-grader Abby Lovitt has trouble with True Blue, the newest horse on her family's ranch, a beautiful dappled gray who is so often spooked, Abby wonders if he is haunted by the ghost of his deceased former owner.

Stead, Rebecca.  When You Reach Me.  2009
As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a 12-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

Tuck, Pamela.  As Fast as the Words Could Fly.  2013
13-year-old African American boy in 1960s Greenville, North Carolina, uses his typing skills to make a statement as part of the Civil Rights movement. Based on true events.

Wiles, Deborah.  Countdown (Sixties trilogy)  2010
Franny Chapman’s best friend is feuding with her, her sister has disappeared, and her uncle is fighting an old war in his head. Worst of all, everyone is walking around just waiting for a bomb to fall. It's 1962, and it seems the whole country is living in fear.  Sequel: Revolution

Wiles, Deborah.  Freedom Summer (picture book) 2001
In 1964, Joe is pleased that a new law will allow his best friend John Henry, who is colored, to share the town pool and other public places with him, but he is dismayed to find that prejudice still exists.

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer.  2010
It is 1968, and three black sisters from Brooklyn have been put on a California-bound plane by their father to spend a month with their mother, a poet who ran off years before and is living in Oakland.  Sequel: P.S. Be Eleven


Series:
American Girl
American Girl Mysteries
Boys of Wartime
Dear America
Freedom Seekers
Girls from Many Lands
Historical House
I Survived
Knight’s Tales
My America
My Name is America
Once Upon America
Return to Titanic
Royal Diaries
Sisters in Time
Tales of Young Americans
We Were Heroes



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