Historical Fiction ­ Recommended for Upper ES and in the ISK Library

Cover Image Title Summary Author/ Location

Bluestem With their father away and their mother traumatized by some unknown event, eleven­year­old Polly and her younger sister are left to take care of themselves and their prairie homestead in the 1870s. [USA]

Arrington F (Hist) ARR

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832 , Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious

Avi F (Hist) AVI

A Gathering of Days: a New England girl's journal, 1830­32

The journal of a 14­year­old girl, kept the last year she lived on the family farm, records daily events in her small New Hampshire town [U.S.A.] , her father's remarriage, and the death of her best friend.

Blos F (Hist) BLO

Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out­With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence. [WW II, Germany]

Boyne F (Hist) BOY

For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy

A novel based on the experiences of Suzanne David Hall, who, as a teenager in Nazi­occupied France , worked as a spy for the French Resistance while training to be an opera singer.

Bradley F (Hist) BRA

President's Daughter

A fictionalized account of ten­year­old Ethel Roosevelt's early experiences in the White House after her father, Theodore Roosevelt, becomes the U.S. president in 1901.

Bradley F (Hist) BRA

Lacemaker and the

Princess

Eleven­year­old Isabelle, living with her lacemaker grandmother and mother near the palace of Versailles (France) in 1788, becomes close friends with Marie Antoinette's daughter, Princess Therese, and finds their relationship complicated not only by their different social class but start of the French Revolution .

Bradley F (Hist) BRA

Evvy's Civil War

In Virginia in 1860, on the verge of the Civil War (U.S.A.) , fourteen­year­old Evvy chafes at the restrictions that her society places on both women and slaves.

Brenaman F (Hist) BRE

Caddie Woodlawn

The adventures of an eleven­year­old tomboy growing up on the Wisconsin frontier in the mid­nineteenth century.

Brink F (Hist) BRI

Code Talker After being taught in a boarding school run by whites that Navajo is a useless language, Ned Begay and other Navajo men (Native Americans) are recruited by the Marines to become Code Talkers, sending messages during World War II in their native tongue.

Bruchac F (Hist) BRU

My Brother Sam is Dead Set during the American Revolution , Tim has to make a choice about which side to support.

Collier F (Hist) COL

Under the Hawthorn Tree During the Great Famine in Ireland in the 1840s, three children left alone and in danger of being sent to the workhouse set out to find the great­aunts they remember from their mother's stories.

Conlon­ Mckenna F (Hist) CON

The Midwife's Apprentice In medieval Englan d, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp­tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world

Cushman F CUS

A Letter to Mrs Roosevelt Eleven­year­old 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 in America.

De Young F (Hist) DEY

Stella by Starlight When a burning cross set by the Klu Kux Klan causes panic and fear in 1932 in North Carolina , fifth­grader Stella must face prejudice and find the strength

to demand change in her segregated

town.

Draper F (Hist) DRA

The Broken Blade When an injury prevents his father from

going into northern Canada with f ur traders , thirteen­year­old Pierre decides to take his father's place as a voyageur.

Durbin F (Hist) DUR

The Birchbark House Omakayas, a seven year old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the

perils of winter on an island in Lake

Superior in 1847.

Erdich F (Hist) ERD

Johnny Tremain After injuring his hand, a silversmith's

apprentice in Boston becomes a

messenger for the Sons of Liberty in the

days before the American Revolutio n.

Forbes F (Hist) FOR

The Slave Dancer Kidnapped by the crew of an

Africa­bound ship, a thirteen­year­old

boy discovers to his horror that he is on

a slaver and his job is to play music for

the exercise periods of the human cargo.

[18th C Slave trade]

Fox F (Hist) FOX

The Wonder of Charlie

Anne

In a 1930s Massachusetts town [U.S.A.] torn by the Depression and other hardships, as well as racial tension,

Charlie Anne and Phoebe, the black girl

who moves to the farm next door, form a

friendship that begins to transform their

community.

Fusco F (Hist) FUS

Emil and Karl In Vienna, Austria, in 1940, two

nine­year­old boys, one Jewish and one

Aryan, are classmates and best friends

when events of the Nazi occupation

draw them even closer together as they

fight to survive and escape together.

[WW II, Austria]

Glatshteyn F (Hist) GLA

Race for the Sky: the Kitty Hawk diaries of Johnny Moor

Ordered to practice his writing skills in the blank book his mother gave him, fourteen­year­old Johnny would rather go fishing near his home on North Carolina's Outer Banks and cannot think of anything important to write until two "dingbatters" from Ohio arrive in 1900 and try to build a flying machine. [Invention of the airplane by the Wright Brothers]

Gutman F (Hist) GUT

The Samurai's Tale In turbulent sixteenth­century Japan , orphaned Taro is taken in by a general serving the great warlord Takeda Shingen and grows up to become a samurai fighting for the enemies of his dead family.

Haugaard F (Hist) HAU

Letters from Rifka In letters to her cousin, a young Jewish girl chronicles her family's flight from Russia in 1919 and her own experiences when she must be left in Belgium for a while when the others emigrate to America.

Hesse F (Hist) HES

Minuk Twelve­year­old Minuk's traditional Eskimo way of life is changed forever in 1892 with the arrival of Christian missionaries. [Alaska]

Hill F (Hist) HIL

Our Only May Amelia 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 [U.S.A.] in 1899 .

Holm F (Hist) HOL

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

Recounts the adventures of a nine­year­old Jewish girl and her family in the early 1930's as they travel from Germany to England . [pre­WW II]

Kerr F (Hist) KER

Trouble's Daughter When her family is massacred by Lenape Indians in 1643, nine­year­old Susanna, daughter of Anne Hutchinson, is captured and raised as a Lenape. [Colonial USA, Native Americans]

Kirkpatrick F (Hist) KIR

The Storyteller's Beads During the political strife and famine of the 1980's, two Ethiopian girls, one Christian and the other Jewish and blind, struggle to overcome many difficulties, including their prejudices about each other, as they make the dangerous journey out of Ethiopia .

Kurtz F (Hist) KUR

Dash When her family is forced into an internment camp, Mitsi Kashino is separated from her home, her classmates, and her beloved dog Dash; and as her family begins to come apart around her, Mitsi clings to her one connection to the outer world­­the letters from the kindly neighbor who is caring for Dash. [Japanese internment, USA, WW II]

Larson F (Hist) LAR

Lord of the Nutcracker Men

An English boy during World War I comes to believe that the battles he enacts with his toy soldiers control the war his father is fighting on the front.

Lawrence F (Hist) LAW

The Lions of Little Rock Twelve­year­old Marlee develops a strong friendship with Liz, the new girl in school, but when Liz suddenly stops attending school and Marlee hears a rumor that her friend is actually an African American girl passing herself off as white, the two young girls must decide whether their friendship is worth taking on integration and the dangers it could bring to their families. [USA, Civil RIghts movement]

Levine F (Hist) LEV

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie…

In 1947, a Chinese child comes to Brooklyn, where she starts to feel at home and make friends when she discovers baseball and the Brooklyn Dodgers. [Chinese­American immigration]

Lord F (Hist) LOR

Number the Stars In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark [WW II], ten­year­old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.

Lowry F (Hist) LOW

I Pledge Allegiance (Vietnam series)

Best friends Morris, Rudi, Ivan, and Beck, having been either drafted or enlisted in the military during the Vietnam War , pledge they will come home together, and Morris, a sailor on the USS "Boston," relies on that promise to stay strong while his courage and resolve are tested under attack.

Lynch F (Hist) LYN

Sahwira The interracial friendship between Blessing and Evan, two boys growing up in a Methodist mission in Southern Rhodesia in the 1960s , is put to the test when a local white farmer is murdered by a group of African independence fighters, and officials at Evan's all­white school begin training the students to take up arms against the Africans. [Colonial Zimbabwe]

Marsden F (Hist) MAR

Waiting for Anya Jo and Benjamin devise an elaborate escape plan to save a band of Jewish children in Vichy, France during World War II.

Morpurgo F (Hist) MOR

Nancy's Story: 1765 In 1765, twelve­year­old Nancy worries about effect of the British Stamp Act on her father's silversmith business in Williamsburg and about how to get along with her new stepmother. [Colonial America]

Nixon F (Hist) NIX

Sing Down the Moon A young Navaho girl recounts the events of 1864 when her tribe was forced to march to Fort Sumner as prisoners of the white soldiers. [Native Americans, 19th C]

O'Dell F (Hist) ODE

Island of the Blue Dolphin

Records the courage and self­reliance of an Indian girl who lived alone for eighteen years on an isolated island off the California coast when her tribe emigrated and she was left behind.

O'Dell F (Hist) ODE

Shadow on the Mountain In Nazi­occupied Norway , fourteen­year­old Espen joins the resistance movement, graduating from deliverer of illegal newspapers to courier and spy.

Preus F (Hist) PRE

Joseph: 1861, A Rumble of War

After his stepfather becomes an abolitionist, ten­year­old Joseph struggles with his own thoughts about slavery as he sees its divisive power in his small Kentucky town. [USA, Civil War]

Pryor F (Hist) PRY

Lightning Time Fourteen­year­old Theodore Worth struggles with the decision to leave his home in Boston and join the controversial abolitionist John Brown in the fight against slavery. [USA, Civil War]

Rees F (Hist) REE

Friedrich A young German boy recounts the fate of his best friend, a Jew, during the Nazi regime. [Germany, WW II]

Richter F (Hist) RIC

Amelia's War When a Confederate general threatens to burn Hagerstown, Maryland, unless it pays an exorbitant ransom, twelve­year­old Amelia and her friend find a way to save the town. [USA, Civil War]

Rinaldi F (Hist) RIN

Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule

Born with a withered leg and hand, Pascal, who is about twelve years old, joins other former slaves in a search for a farm and the freedom which it promises. [USA, post­Civil War]

Robinet F (Hist) ROB

Yellow Star 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 . [WW II]

Roy F (Hist) ROY

Echo Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica­­and decades later three children, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny in the darkest days of the twentieth century, struggling to keep their families intact, and tied together by the music of the same harmonica.

Ryan F (Hist) RYA

The Silver Sword Four children struggle to survive the

Nazi occupation of Poland during the second world war , and later journey to Switzerland in search of their parents.

Serraillier F (Hist) SER

Elephant Run Nick's father and others are taken

prisoner when his plantation in Burma is invaded by the Japanese in 1941,

leaving Nick and his friend Mya to risk

their lives in order to free them from the

POW camp. [WW II]

Smith F (Hist) SMI

Calico Captive Based on a true story, this is an account

an American colonial family's capture

during an Indian raid in 1743, during the

French and Indian War. [Colonial America/Native Americans]

Speare F (Hist) SPE

The Sign of the Beaver Left alone to guard the family's

wilderness home in eighteenth­century

Maine, a boy is hard­pressed to survive

until local Indians teach him their skills.

[Colonial America/Native Americans]

Speare F (Hist) SPE

The Nazi Invasion, 1944 In 1944, Max and Zena Rosen escape

from their Polish ghetto and the Nazis

and join up with Jewish resistance

fighters. [Poland, WW II]

Tarshis F (Hist) TAR

Bound for Oregon A fictionalized account of the journey

made by nine­year­old Mary Ellen Todd

and her family from their home in

Arkansas westward over the Oregon Trail [USA] in 1852.

Van Leeuwen F (Hist) VAN

Hide and Seek A young Jewish girl living in Holland tells of her experiences during the Nazi occupation [WW II] , her years in hiding, and the aftershock when the war finally

ends.

Vos F (Hist) VOS

Key is Lost When the Germans occupy Holland in

1940 and begin to persecute the Jews

there, twelve­year­old Eva and her

family assume false names and move

from one hiding place to another.

[Nazi occupation WW II]

Vos F (Hist) VOS

The Machine Gunners After an air raid, a group of English

children find a German machine gun and

hide it from adults who are looking for it.

[England, WW II]

Westall F (Hist) WES

Angel on the Square In 1913 Russia , twelve­year­old Katya

eagerly anticipates leaving her St.

Petersburg home, though not her older

cousin Misha, 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.

Whelan F (Hist) WHE

Indian School In 1839, newly orphaned eleven­year­old

Mary goes to live with her missionary

aunt and uncle who run a school for

Indian children in northern Michigan.

[USA ­ Native Americans]

Whelan F (Hist) WHE

Little House in the Big

Woods (& sequels)

A year in the life of two young girls

growing up in a log cabin on the

Wisconsin frontier, as they help their

mother with the daily chores, enjoy their

father's stories and singing, and share

special occasions when they get

together with relatives or neighbors .

[USA, 19th C]

Wilder F (Hist) WIL

Hetty Feather Set in Victorian Times, Hetty Feather is a

precocious orphan who lives as a foster

child in the country until she returns to

London to work as a servant in the same

hospital where she began her life as an

orphan. [England, 19th C]

Wilson F (Hist) WIL