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Booklists - Historical Fiction for Children and Teens About Early North American History

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Popular Middle Grade Historical Fiction Books

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Books shelved as middle-grade-historical-fiction: The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell, I...

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I've learned more about the past from reading historical fiction than from classroom lectures; when details are part of a story, they stick much better in the mind. And historical fiction can make the reader care about the past and its people, so that when facts are offered in school, there's an emotional framework to hang them on. There wasn't much historical fiction about the 20th century, though, back when I myself fell into the 9-12 age range (and I probably would have rejected it as being too modern anyway). I've made up for this as a grown-up reader though, and here's some excellent middle grade fiction to accompany learning about some of the major points of 20th century history.

World War I

Stay Where You Are and Then Leave, by John Boyne
Here's a more realistic story of the English home front from the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. On July 28, 1914, Alfie turns 5 and WW I begins. Alfie's dad is one of the first to enlist. Four years later the war has brought changes. The Czechoslovakian owner of the local candy store, and his daughter, Alfie's close friend, are in an internment camp. An old family friend, jailed for being a conscientious objector, is beaten when he returns home. And there are no letters from his Dad. When Alfie finds out his father is in the hospital, he vows to bring him home. But his dreams falter when he visits the hospital, and confronts the reality of life for the soldiers wounded in both body and mind. It's a moving introduction to the way the war affected those at home, and those who came back.

Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #4): A World War I Tale, by Nathan Hale
Though more historical fact than historical fiction, Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales offer a friendly introduction to historical facts with their graphic novel format and lighthearted fictional touches. In this installment, the history of WW I is presented with the help of two narrators, one serious soldier who adds clarifying details, and the other providing comic relief. Though there is humor, the heavy cost of the war is not glossed over. The detailed drawings help make the origins and course of the war clear, imparting information in an enjoyable way; each country, for instance, is represented by a different animal (the Americans are bunnies!).

World War II

Making Bombs for Hitler, by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
As the Nazis expanded the boundaries of their empire in central and eastern Europe, they rounded up thousands of civilians to serves as slaves to power the war machine. Lida, though only nine, is one of a group of Ukrainian kids rounded up and taken to a labor camp to work as a slave. The conditions are brutal, but fortunately for Lida, her skill at sewing keeps her alive. Her nimble fingers are then put to work making bombs for Hitler, bombs that any careless moves might detonate. As the war starts going badly for Germany, Lida and the other girls find ways to cleverly sabotage the bombs. All the while, she never gives up hope that one day she'll find her sister again. This story of the little known slave labor camps broadens young readers knowledge of Nazi atrocities, and is a gripping story of hope and survival in its own right.

Journey to Civil Rights

Stella by Starlight, by Sharon M. Draper
It's the early 1930s in a small town in North Caroline, and Stella and her family experience daily injustices and inequalities that shape their lives. Then the Ku Klux Klan sets to work terrorizing Stella's community. The tension and fear grow as three black men, including Stella's father, claim their right to vote, and what the community dreads most almost comes to past when the KKK burns the house of one of these men. Alongside this external tension, Stella is struggling to find confidence in herself as she dreams of a career as a writer, and the warmth of her family's love brings comfort to Stella (and the reader) even though the outside forces of hatred and racism press hard against the community. It's a great introduction to the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement.

Midnight Without a Moon, by Linda Williams Jackson
Rose is 13, and dreams of someday escaping the heat and poverty of her life in 1955 Mississippi. She lives with her grandmother, who can't stand her, and reviles her for the darkness of her skin. The oppression and despair around her are growing, brought to a head by the murder of Emmett Till, a 14 year old black boy from Chicago. It's a gripping portrayal of the brutality of the Jim Crow South, and for many kids, it will be a real eye-opening one. Rose might have good reason to despair (and her story is indeed a heavy one) but she, and many others, don't give up.

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia
Delphine and her two sisters have been forced to spend the summer of 1968 in Oakland, California, with the mother who walked away from them. Once they get there, their mother does not seem particularly interested in their company; instead, she is focused on her work with the Black Panthers, a new radical civil rights group, and the sisters are packed off to a Black Panther day camp. Seen through Delphine's smart, perceptive eyes, the reader learns about the early days of this part of the Civil Rights movement, and though it might seem a serious subject, the relationship of the three sisters makes it a warm and funny story.
What middle grade historical fiction do you love?

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Middle Grade Fiction That Brings 20th Century History to Life

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I've learned more about the past from reading historical fiction than from classroom lectures; when details are part of a story, they stick much better in the mind.

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Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020

Rowan's family is doing some renovation in their back house, but when the construction crew comes to begin demolition they drop everything and leave suddenly. Rowan and her friend, James go out back to see what's what and discover an old skeleton wrapped in oil cloth that had been buried beneath the house since 1921. Whose body is it? Why was it buried beneath Rowan's house? Was it an accident or a murder?

Will tells his story from the past. He lived in 1920 when Jim Crow laws segregated and discriminated against African Americans. Will's father is white and so he has mostly been raised as a white man, but Will's mother was Osage Indian, so his personal history is a bit more complex than it appears at first.

Will's story casually mentions evidence that was found on the body in present day time, but there are so many twists and turns you never know who the body from the present will turn out to be in Will's story set in the past.

Wednesday, September 4th, 2019

Max has just moved from the U.S. to Belgium with his family. The family is renting a home in Brussels and Max will be attending the local middle school where the language is FRENCH! He doesn't yet speak French which seems like a big problem to Max - it's hard enough to understand a school's culture and make friends in a new school when you DO speak the language, but Max's parents are unsympathetic.

Ahmed has just arrived in Brussels as well, but he is a refugee from Syria. He would give anything to attend school, even if it was in another language, but the more urgent problems for him are finding a place to sleep and food to eat. It is especially tough for anyone who looks Muslim in Brussels because of the recent terror attack, so Ahmed thinks it is best to hide out an lay low for a while. The safe place he finds to hide is a basement room full of boxes... boxes being stored because the home is being rented out to a family from the U.S.

Tuesday, October 9th, 2018

For a while after the war ended, the country of Germany was politically divided, but there was no wall keeping East and West Berlin apart, so people passed from Communist Germany into West Germany as easily as walking across the street. Gerta's father often went into West Germany to find products that could no longer be bought in the east, but one night while Gerta's dad and brother are in West Germany the Berlin wall goes up all in a night! Suddenly her family is divided, and she, her mother and her older brother are suspected of undermining the East German government because her father and brother crossed into the west. Life on the eastern side becomes more and more harsh, and Gerta's family has a black mark on their records. Her older brother feels like he has no future because of this mark, Gerta just wants the family back together, her mother is constantly afraid and money and food are in short supply. When Gerta sees her father waving and dancing to get her attention on the other side of the wall she and her brother have the idea for a Garden of Hope. This is not just a garden, and the hope is not just and idea, it is a plan of action!
If you like war stories you might also enjoy: War and Watermelon , by Rich Wallace, The War That Saved My Life , by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, or Private Peaceful , by Michael Morpurgo.

Tuesday, May 8th, 2018
STUDENT REVIEW
by Markus Zusak, 552 pages, adult audience

Death is a unique narrator. He speaks the truth, while at the same time, gives input on what is happening around him. In The Book Thief , Death spends time observing a little girl named Liesel who was adopted by Rosa and Hans Hubermann in Nazi Germany, after her mother abandoned her. Liesel develops strong bonds with Hans, who steadily teaches her how to read. Slowly, Liesel becomes adjusted to life with her new family. Then, one day, a man comes knocking at their door. His name is Max Vandenburg, and he is in trouble. Being Jewish, he must hide from the Nazis, who would bring him to a concentration camps where he could ultimately die. After Max tells his story, Hans agrees to secretly house him for as long as he can. From that day forward, Liesel had a huge secret kept inside her. Liesel couldn't tell anyone, not even her new friend, Rudy. During the day, she would go to school, and at night, she would talk to Max and take care of him, always in fear of someone coming to take him. Along the way, Liesel also gains a fondness for books, rather stealing books. Any chance she had, Liesel would find books to steal and add to her collection; a dangerous habit in a dangerous time.

If you enjoy books about World War 2, you might also like is Between Shades of Gray , by Ruta Sepetys.

Wednesday, April 25th, 2018

STUDENT REVIEW

by John Boyne, 335 pages, Grades 8 and up

​​ ​Bruno is the son of a high-ranking Nazi officer in Germany during World War II. When he learns his family has to move to the country for his father's work, he is not exited. There isn't much to do, and Bruno doesn't have any friends to play with.

Shmuel is an eight year-old Polish Jew who living in the Auschwitz concentration camp. One day, as he is sitting at the edge of camp near the barbed wire fence, Bruno walks up to him from the other side. As they talk, their forbidden friendship grows, and with it comes dangers they are both oblivious to.

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017

CYRM MOMINEE

Joana, Emilia and Florian are all escaping the Russian invasion of east Prussia toward the end of World War 2. Each refugee narrates their own story and the stories weave together as their lives intertwine on their journey toward the sea. They are all hoping to secure passage on the ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff, which will take them away from the Russians, but the ship is not the safe refuge they thought it would be.

Friday, January 29th, 2016

by Laura Amy Schlitz, 387 pages, Grades 6-8

CYRM NOMINEE 2017

Joan is basically treated like a house slave by her brothers and her father. She cleans, cooks and tends to their animals all day everyday for not a penny. When her mother was alive her father at least allowed the egg money to be hers, but Joan is only 14 and her father cannot see why she would need money of her own. Joan doesn't really need the money, what she really wants is books to read. She has read the three she owns over and over. One day her teacher comes by to see why she no longer attends school. When she sees her father will not be persuaded to send her back she tries to lend Joan a book or two, but Joan's father does not allow; he says reading will make her lazy. Next, Joan tries to demand the egg money without success, and then she decides to go on strike to show her father how hard she works and that they really need her. This plan backfires because instead of learning to appreciate her more, her father burns her books to teach her a lesson; the only thing in her life that bring her joy are gone. That is the last straw; Joan decides to run away and try to become a hired girl in Baltimore. Hired girls make as much as $6.00 a week and certainly she can work as hard as any city girl!
If you enjoy historical fiction with female protagonists you might also enjoy: Oh Pioneers , by Willa Cather, , by Katherine Patterson, or , , by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Friday, January 29th, 2016

In Paris a little girl named Marie Laure becomes blind, and her father creates a miniature city for her, a replica of their neighborhood, so that she can learn to navigate their neighborhood even without sight. In this way her father keeps her safe so he can continue to go to work at the Museum of Natural History, but when the Nazis occupy Paris, Marie Laure's father decides someone blind might not be safe and he takes her to the sea to live with her great-uncle. Her father is building her a new miniature that represents the town by the sea when he is captured and taken away.

In Germany Werner is growing up in an orphanage. Life is not easy, but he and his sister manage and at least they have one another. Werner soon discovers that he enjoys taking things apart; one of the first things he dissembled and rebuilt was a radio. As it turns out, Werner has a special talent for radios and is soon fixing things at the orphanage, in fact, he is so good that the Hitler Youth hear about him. Werner is not really old enough to join, but they want him so much that they add a couple of years to his age so that they can recruit him. Werner is happy to be appreciated, but finds himself working among some of the most despicable people in the Nazi army, luckily he keeps his sister in his heart writing her as often as he can; this may be what keeps him human in the midst of the terrible violence of World War II.

This novel is told by these two narrators whose stories alternate and eventually collide in a nail biting conclusion.

Tuesday, September 8th, 2015

One moment, Magdalie is living an ordinary life in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; she goes to school, spends time with her best friend and cousin Nadine, and helps her auntie with chores around the house. The next moment her world is turned upside down; she has no home, no school, no family and maybe no best friend. When the earthquake hit Haiti in 2010 it caused devastation throughout the region. Magdalie survives the quake but is challenged with surviving the new chaotic world. How can she embrace her future now that everything is different?

P.S. The author is a former student of Piedmont Middle School

If you enjoy books about persevering after a disaster, you might also enjoy: The Red Pencil, by Pinkney, or Mockingbird, by Erksine.

Tuesday, April 14th, 2015

by Deborah Wiles, 495 pages, Grades 6-8

This is book 2 in the Sixties Trilogy by Deborah Wiles.

If you enjoy books about the Civil Rights Movement in American history you might also enjoy: One Crazy Summer , by Rita Williams-Garcia, Lions of Little Rock , by Kristin Levine, or the non-ficiton book called Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice , by Phillip M. Hoose, or the biography called Warriors Don't Cry by Beals

Monday, January 5th, 2015

by Skila Brown, 193 pages, Grades 6 and up

Carlos lives in Guatemala during a civil war. When he is little his village is quiet and peaceful, but as the war comes closer things begin to get frightening. Soldiers make camp nearby and although they seem nice enough, there is a sense that trouble is lurking in their backyard. Eventually, the war separates Carlos from the rest of his family. He is starving and alone when the soldiers find him. Should he trust them? Can he survive without them? When the soldiers were camped outside their village his mother told him he was not old enough to stand up to them, but has he grown up since then? If only he could ask his mother if he was ready, so he would know what to do to save his grandmother's village.
Click here to see if this book is available.
If you like stories of war and courage, you might also like: , by Barbara Parks, or Now is The Time for Running , by Michael Williams.

Saturday, November 22nd, 2014

by Deborah Wiles, 377 pages, Grade 6 and up

Franny is in crisis. Her best friend since forever is ignoring her, her big sister and confident has disappeared, her dad is called to the base more and more often, her mom seems perpetually angry, and her grandpa is crazy and embarrassing. What else could go wrong? If you know anything about U.S. history in 1962 you would know that Franny is about to be living during one of the scariest times in the U.S.: The Cuban Missile Crisis. In the middle of all her personal chaos, the world around her seems to be in disarray as well. People are building bomb shelters, schools are doing duck-and-cover drills every day, and everyone is hoping President Kennedy can keep the country from going to war, or worse, being bombed by the Russians in their own homes!

If you enjoy historical fiction of the 1960s, you might also like the next book by Deborah Wiles called Revolution or , by Rita Williams-Garcia, or The Lions of Little Rock , by Kristin Levine.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Saturday, November 22nd, 2014

by Elizabeth Wein, 343 pages, Grades 8 and up / YA

If you enjoy books about courage in times of war, you might also enjoy: Rose Under Fire , by Elizabeth Wein, or the books Fallen Angels and by Walter Dean Myers.

Saturday, November 22nd, 2014

by Elizabeth Wein, 343 pages, Grades 8 and up / YA

A companion book to Code Name Verity ; this main character is pilot alongside Maddie from the previous story, but this story is all about Rose. She a female pilot ferrying planes during World War 2 when she is captured and sent to a concentration camp. There she faces terrible indignity and unbelievable hardship; her friendship with others and indomitable spirit are put to the test in one of the worst concentration camps of WWII.

Warning: This book has a YA sticker because of violence. The story takes place in wartime and some descriptions may be disturbing.

If you enjoy books about courage in times of war, you might also enjoy: Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein, or the books Fallen Angels and by Walter Dean Myers.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Saturday, October 4th, 2014

by Sue Monk Kidd, 373 pages, Adult audience

Sarah, the daughter of a plantation owner and slave master, is unusual for her time and place. She believes the African Americans enslaved on her father's plantation are people and should not be owned. Unfortunately the rest of her family does not feel the same way she does, in fact, her mother is determined to bring her around to the "correct" way of thinking and presents her with the "gift" of an enslaved girl she calls Hettie on her birthday. Sarah tries not to accept the gift without success.

Hettie is a slave name, but Handfull is what her people call her. Handfull's mother is the cook for Sarah's family and lives in the house as well. Handfull worries about her mother because, in Handfull's opinion, she takes too many risks; these risks have ended in terrible physical abuse and Handfull can't take seeing her mother suffer like that. Sarah learns Handfull's real name and wants to teach her how to read; Handfull's mother encourages this seeing that the benefits of knowledge outweigh the risks of getting caught. For enslaved people punishments are so violent and grave it is hard to imagine how anyone can be so brave; these women know that being enslaved in body and mind is far worse than any physical abuse that might befall them. Freedom is the goal at any cost.

If you enjoy historical fiction about American History you might also enjoy: Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, or The Mighty Miss Malone, by Christopher Paul Curtis, or Uprising, by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Saturday, October 4th, 2014

by Alan Bradley, 385 pages, Adult audience

Flavia de Luce is a spunky 11 year old with a chemistry lab of her own. She lives with her father and sisters, in a large home in the English countryside in the 1950s. Most girls at that time, including Flavia's sisters Ophelia and Daphne, are interested in dressing up and doing their hair, but Flavia is passionate about researching the nature of various poisons (in fact, she has been known to try out a few of her concoctions on her annoying sisters from time to time) and solving mysteries. When a dead bird with a postage stamp in its beak shows up on their front porch, Flavia decides to investigate. Working on her own might prove too dangerous even for the intrepid and intelligent Flavia de Luce.

If you enjoy historical fiction with strong female characters, you might also enjoy The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, or Deadly, by Julie Chibbaro.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

by Amy Timberlake, 257 pages, Grades 6-8

Georgie does not believe her sister, Agatha, is dead even when the sheriff shows her family a body wearing the dress her mother made for Agatha. Georgie and her sister don't always see things the same way: Georgie is planning to take over the family store, and Agatha wants to go to college even though that is unusual for women in 1871, but Georgie knows her sister is too strong willed and smart to end up dead. The facts are that her sister did run off and no one has heard from her, the body has bright red hair just like Agatha's, Georgie's mother believes it is her daughter and proceeds to grieve and bury her accordingly, but Georgie is so convinced that cannot be her sister that she decides to investigate Agatha's disappearance to see if she can scare up the truth and hopefully bring her sister home.

If you like historical fiction taking place in this time period you might also enjoy Lily, by Cindy Bonner, or Sunshine Rider: the First Vegetarian Western, by Ric Lynden Hardman.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Monday, March 31st, 2014

by Walter Dean Myers, 212 pages, Grades 8 and up

It is springtime in 1944. Josiah, Marcus and countless other young men are trained and waiting. They practice getting in and out of boats over and over never knowing when their commanders call them if it is this time it will be the real thing. In a way, they are all sort of hoping the next time they get woken up to do the drill will actually be the real invasion. They all know their instructions backwards and forwards, but even that could not prepare them for what they encounter on the beach at Normandy; no one could prepare for the kind of devastation and terror that occurred on what came to be known as D-day during World War II.

If you enjoy war stories you might like other books by Walter Dean Myers, especially: Fallen Angels, and Sunrise Over Fallujah.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Monday, March 31st, 2014

by Susan Cooper, 328 pages, Grades 6-9

CYRM NOMINEE 2015

It is time for Little Hawk to transition from a boy to a man so he must venture out into the wilderness and survive for a few months bringing along only his tomahawk, bow and arrow, and a knife. This harrowing survival story is only the beginning. When Little Hawk returns to his village ready to rest and visit with his family he finds his village empty; plague has taken everyone but his grandmother. Little Hawk's life is an inspiration to a young white boy named John Wakely who suffers challenges of his own; his life would not follow the path it does without the influence of Little Hawk, and Little Hawk's life is forever changed as well. Even though this is fiction, the story includes a historical timeline of the true events at the end of the book.

If you enjoy historical fiction that takes place in early American history you might also like: Sofia's War, by Avi, or Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Monday, March 31st, 2014

by Kirby Larson, 289 pages, Grades6-8

* STUDENT REVIEW*

It's 1918 and, sixteen year old Hattie Inez Brooks, has just gotten a letter that her mom's brother, Chester, has died and is leaving his claim (a piece of land) for Hattie. Hattie no longer wants to be Hattie Here-and-There so she gets up and leaves Iowa for Montana. When Hattie gets to Montana she has to brave hard weather, a cantankerous cow, old horse, chickens, and try her hand at the cookstove. Also Hattie meets her new neighbors Perilee, Karl, Chase, Mattie, and Fern that turn out to be the best neighbors ever!

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If you enjoy historical fiction about strong young women you might also like: Our Only May Amelia, by Jennifer L. Holm, or Moon Over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Sunday, March 16th, 2014

by Kristin Levine, 298 pages, Grades 6-8

Marlee is growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas the year after the famous Little Rock Nine integration. In the aftermath of that difficult year, the town is pushing back against the federal integration order, and the schools that are refusing to integrate are shut down. Marlee is in middle school and has her own personal struggles. She is great with math, but speaking aloud is a real struggle, in fact to many she appears completely mute. This year there is a new girl in her class and when they are partnered up for a project Marlee finds herself able to talk to Liz; they become close friends. Liz is smart and confident and enjoys Marlee's company as well. Unfortunately, Liz has a secret. A secret so big that she cannot even tell Marlee no matter how much she wants to trust her; a secret so big that it might endanger both girls lives.

If you enjoy reading historical fiction about the civil rights era in the United States, you might also enjoy: The Watson's Go To Birmingham, by Christopher Paul Curtis, or One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Tuesday, March 11th, 2014

by Mark Goldblatt, 275 pages, Grades 6-8

As punishment for bullying Danly Dimmel, Julian Twerski is forced to write an explanation for his English teacher. Julian's "explanation" meanders describing a series of funny and embarrassing events Julian and his friends get themselves into. Somehow Lonnie convinces Julian to write a love letter to the girl Lonnie likes, but when Julian delivers the note, she believes Julian is the real "secret admirer." Another time, when Julian trades partners on the field trip to help out a friend from his block, he gets attacked by a kid who thinks he is trying to steal the girl he likes. Julian's obliviousness makes each of the situations funnier and each of his mistakes are highlighted by his older sister's explanations. Even though some of these situations are humiliating, Julian learns a lot and is grown up enough by the end of his writing-detention to come up with a way to pay for what he had done to Danly, and become a better person for it.

Another book about a kid doing detention is called by Mark Shulman, and book about being an upstander is called The Misfits, by James Howe.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Sunday, October 6th, 2013

by Shirley Hughes, 213 pages, Grades 6-8

Paolo lives with his sister and parents in a village outside of Florence, Italy during the second world war. The city is occupied with Nazi soldiers, and the Partisans (Italians organizing on the side of the allies) roam the hills in hiding waiting for the allied war to come to Italy. Paolo's family has always been considered good citizens even though his mother is English, but when Paolo's father disappears and is suspected of joining the Partisans many of their friends are not allowed to spend time with them. Between this, the curfew, the rations and all the other wartime constraints that Paolo feels cooped up and wants something exciting to do; he begins to sneak out of the house at night on his bicycle to ride into Florence. Soon enough Paolo does not need to go looking for adventure and he realizes boredom was just the calm before the storm.

The author, Shirley Hughes, is British and grew up in Liverpool, but she spent time living in Florence and was inspired by the stories of a family she came to know who had helped escaped Allied soldiers get protection from the Partisans. This is a link to her website: http://www.heroonabicycle.co.uk/p/author.html
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

by Geraldine Brooks, 308 pages, adult fiction, but great for adolsecents.

Anna Frith's is a story of survival during the years of plague beginning in 1666 in Europe. Her life was already filled with hardship even before the plague arrived to their village. Her mother died when Anna was very young, her dad remarried, but the woman was not much of a mother and her father became more and more verbally and physically abusive to his children. Anna got out of the house by marrying young, but even before their second child reached one year old, her husband died in the mines. Anna's tough and optimistic spirit helps her meet all of these challenges and it might be just these qualities that give her the strength to survive the horrors that the Black Plague brings.

If you enjoy historical fiction you might also like: Now is The Time for Running, by Michael Williams, or Looking for Me, by Betsy R. Rosenthal. Also, Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson is another historical fiction novel of survival in a time of devastating disease.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

If you like historical fiction you might like other titles by Christopher Paul Curtis such as: Bud Not Buddy, Elijah of Buxton, or The Watson's Go To Birmingham.

Friday, December 14th, 2012

If you enjoy historical fiction about United States history, you might also like , by Margaret Peterson Haddix, or The Minister's Daughter, by Julie Hearn, or Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
by Michaela MacColl, 262 pages, grades 6 & up
When Beryl's dog was dragged away from her mud hut by a leopard in the middle of the night because she forgot to secure the door flap, Beryl vows to find him... then does. When people start refering to her as a "wild child" and Beryl's dad tries to get her a British nanny, Beryl seeks education alongside the boys from the local Nandi tribe. When she is told that girls don't get to go on lion hunts...

Beryl Markham was the first pilot to fly solo from England to North America. She spent her life defying the rules that society placed on her and other women of the time. Promise the Night is a novel based on Beryl's remarkable childhood in Africa.

If you would like to read Beryl's own story of her life as a pilot, you could read her autobiography, West with the Night.
Click here to see if the book is in the library.
Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

Uprising is told from the point of view of three young women living in New York City in 1911. Two are immigrants, one from Russia, Yetta, one recently arrived from Italy, Bella; both are factory girls living downtown, working long hours, and saving every penny possible to send home to their families in the old country. The other girl, Jane, has grown up privileged; she has a closet full of fancy dresses, servants to dress, feed and drive her.

If you enjoy suspensful historical fiction you might also like Across the Nightengale Floor, by Lian Hearn, or Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Monday, August 13th, 2012

If you enjoy stories about kids overcoming family hardship, you might also enjoy Waiting for Normal, by Leslie Connor, or Absolutely Normal Chaos, by Sharon Creech, or A Dog for Life, by L.S. Matthews.

Friday, June 8th, 2012

If you enjoy historical fiction books about people struggling for justice you might also enjoy Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan, or Homeless Bird, by Gloria Whelan.

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

"School was finally out and I was standing on a picnic table in our backyard getting ready for a great summer vacation when my mother walked up to me and ruined it."

Isn't that a great way to start a book?

The surprise Jack's mom has in store for him is that he will be working this summer for the old lady next door. It seems like that might be boring, but this is no ordinary old lady. When he arrives his first day Miss Volker is boiling her hands in a pot on the stove, next thing you know Jack's breaking-and-entering in a neighbor's house on her orders. Miss Volker is an expert on the town's history; it was founded by Eleanor Roosevelt. She needs Jack's help to write obituaries for all the town's original residents who are suddenly "dropping like flies."

Poor Jack. Between covering for his dad who wants to build an airport in their yard for the plane he is hiding in the garage, trying to avoid arrest for polluting, spying on the Hell's Angels, and working for his crazy neighbor, his summer is not delivering the fun and games he had hoped for.

If you like funny fiction with a bit of history you might also enjoy: A Long Way From Chicago, by Richard Peck, or Walking Across Egypt, by Clyde Edgerton, or The Worst/Best School Year Ever, by Barbara Robinson.
Click here to see if it's available for check out.
Thursday, January 5th, 2012

CYRM NOMINEE 2011

Ling is nine, her parents are both doctors and they live in China surrounded by neighbors who are their friends. Little by little the China they know begins to change around them. The young people call themselves revolutionaries and say they value equality for all, but soon their chants "Down with the bourgeois!" and actions turn against people like Ling's parents who have been educated. Ling faces challenges of school bullies, the disappearance of friends and family, the lack of food and necessities as well as the abuse of loved ones as the China she knew transforms into a different place entirely.

If you would like to read more about this time period you might also enjoy a biography called: Red Scarf Girl, by Ji-ling Jiang, or Little Green: Growing Up During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, by Chun Yu
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Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Rosalind, an English girl growing up in India, prefers to spend her days exploring the city streets and bazaar with her friend Isha, but her parents don't know that. Her father is away at war and her mother is still grieving over Rosalind's brother who died while he was away at school in England. It is her brother's death that made it possible for Rosalind to remain in India - her mother cannot bare to part with her only child now even though most British children are educated in England - but her father is becoming concerned about Rosalind's education and behavior; her disobedient, unconventional ways might get her sent to England after all, and just as she is becoming interested in Indian politics, in particular a dynamic leader working for India's independence through peaceful protest named Ghandi.

If you enjoy this book you may also like other titles by Gloria Whelan including: Parade of Shadows, Homeless Bird, or Angel on the Square. They are all historical fiction novels with strong female characters.
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Thursday, January 5th, 2012

by Linda Sue Park, 120 pages, Grades 5-8

Salva is at school when they attack. The teacher sends the boys running out the back door and into the forest to get away from the invading rebel soldiers.

This is the beginning of Salva's journey through southern Sudan into Ethiopia on the run from the war sweeping his country, and he is on his own; he was separated from his family when their village was attacked.

This novel is based on the true life of Salva Dut who now lives in the United States and has started an organization that digs wells to help people in the country where he grew up.

Sunday, September 4th, 2011

Elijah wishes he was not quite so fragile. He can take off running when he sees a snake, or might feel like crying when someone tells the sad story of escaping from slavery in America. His parents worry that his fragile nature might make his life difficult, but it is that very nature that turns him into a hero.

Buxton was a real town established in 1849 by an American abolitionist who hoped to give people escaping American slavery a place to live as free human beings. The story of Elijah is fictional, but things that happen are realistic for the time and place.

Even though his family thinks he is a delicate soul, Elijah finds courage deep inside himself and takes a lot of risks to do the right thing. It is a dangerous time to be African American; Elijah's adventure is truly heroic.
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Connections: Christopher Paul Curtis is gifted at creating exciting stories that happen to be set in realistic times in history. If you like Elijah of Buxton , you might also like Bud Not Buddy , or The Watson's Go to Birmingham , both by Curtis as well.

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

by Maryrose Wood, 278 pages, Grades 7 and up. Even Jesamine, who is the daughter of the apothecary and a skilled gardener, is not allowed beyond the locked gate of the poison garden. Jesamine lives with her father, who heals the sick in and around London, in a country house in the mid 1800s.

One day the man in charge of the local home for the insane delivers a mysterious young man he calls Weed to their doorstep. Jesamine's father agrees to take him in even though he seems dangerous; he might be to blame for curing those in the asylum, and creating an epidemic of insanity in town.

The arrival of Weed reveals things to Jesamine that she has not realized about herself, about her father, and about the nature of poisons. Her life will never be the same.

If you like romance, mystery and fantasy you might also like Graceling, by Kristin Cashore, Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, or Matched by Allie Condie.

Friday, September 24th, 2010

By Lian Hearn, p. 305 - adult fiction

Takeo has never known his father, who died many years before, and he has been growing up in a remote and peaceful Japanese village surrounded by the rest of his loving family. The rest of Japan is not so; it is a time of warlords, and secret societies in the middle ages, and Takeo's home is attacked and destroyed by a warlord named Iida who is threatening to take over the whole country. When Takeo returns from a walk in the woods and sees his village burning, something inside him takes over. He scares the warlord's horse and causes Iida to fall to the ground. Understanding his fatal blunder, he runs back into the woods chased by the warlord's soldiers. They all run into a man on horseback who fights for Takeo, cutting off the arm of one of Iida's best warriors. This mysterious man turns out to be a lord of the Otori clan, another of the powerful families of Japan.

Takeo's life changes completely from this day forward. He is adopted by the Otori and he discovers his father was a famous assassin. He also finds out his real heritage is the Tribe, a kind of secret ninja society; he possesses some of the Tribe's extraordinary abilities. He can hear details across a crowded courtyard, or through a wooden door, he can make himself "go invisible" and become as silent as a ghost.

In these turbulent times, talents like these are desired by many, and Takeo finds himself pulled in different directions, but he is determined to complete the final task for his adopted father: kill Iida, the same lord who burned his village and killed his family. The trouble is the only way to reach the warlord in his palace is to cross the nightingale floor, a huge room covered in a floor that sings whenever anyone touches it. How can he cross the nightingale floor and avenge his family?

Connections: For other stories taking place in medieval Japan try The Samurai's Tale, by Erik Christian Haugaard, or The Sword that Cut the Burning Grass: A Samurai Mystery, by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler.

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

by Jacqueline Kelly p. 340 Grades 5-8

All twelve-year old Calpurnia Tate wants is to become a scientist. She's spent the long hot summer of 1899 in the small town of Fentress, Texas, as an amateur naturalist recording her observations of and questions about nature in a notebook-questions such as, " Why don't caterpillars have eyelids?" She finally thinks her parents understand her and acknowledge her dream when she begins to unwrap her birthday present from them. It's a book, and the first word of the title is Science. Unfortunately, the whole title is The Science of Housewifery!

Calpurnia is the only daughter in a family of seven children. She has no interest in the traditional home arts a young girl at the turn of the century should be learning to make a good wife. Instead, she develops a close relationship with her reclusive grandfather, who encourages her to use the scientific method in her quest for answers about the natural world and his own quest for a new species.

This is a very entertaining read with an intelligent, spunky protagonist, family humor, sibling rivalry, and good science. Let's hope for a sequel.

Connections: Each chapter of this novel begins with a quote from Darwin's Origin of Species, so you may also want to read Charles Darwin : Naturalist by Margaret J. Anderson or Darwin's Ghost: the Origin of Species updated by Steve Jones. Other good novels dealing with the theory of evolution are The True Adventures of Charley Darwin by Carolyn Meyer and Monkey Town by Ronald Kidd.

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

by Rita Williams-Garcia p. 218 Grades: 5-8

CYRM NOMINEE 2013

It's the summer of 1968, and eleven-year-old Delphine flies from New York to Oakland with her two younger sisters to spend the summer, uninvited, with the mother who walked out on them when Delphine was seven and Fern was just a few days old. Her father feels the girls need to get to know their mother, but that does not make Cecile any more welcoming. In fact, she won't even let the girls into her kitchen. Dinners are take-out food on the living room floor and breakfast is at the Black Panther summer camp. The girls are on their own, but each comes into her own that summer. Told from Delphine's perspective, this is a lively, often humorous, story of resilience with characters you will come to know and love.

Connections: A novel about the Black Panther Party for older readers is The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon. Harlem Summer by Walter Dean Myers is set during the Harlem Renaissance, another significant period in African American history, and tells the story of another crazy summer.

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

By Fran Cannon Slayton, 162 pages Grades 6-10

The B&O Railroad passes just outside Jimmy Cannon's window, and since his dad is the foreman, the engineers hit the whistle every time they pass. Jimmy has learned to sleep with a pillow over his head, but on Halloween night in 1943, his brother Mike snatches away the pillow so they can sneak out and follow the Society to learn their secrets. On Halloween night, 1944, and Jimmy and his buddies (the Platoon) are planning to use some rotten cabbages to get revenge against the local bully, Stubby Mars. On Halloween night, 1946, Jimmy and the team are playing in the championship game of the first undefeated season in Rowlesburg High school history. Halloween happens to be Jimmy's dad's birthday and through Jimmy's teen years the day (and night) always bring him something, including mysteries, antics, and heartache.

Connections: Another historical fiction book about working on the railroad is Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep. For another book set in the country, try reading Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech. Tony Johnston's Bone by Bone by Bone is another historical fiction title with a complicated father and son relationship. To learn more about the book, the author or the railroad, check out the author's website.

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

by Sherri L. Smith p. 271 Grades 6-8

It's World War II, and the Japanese and Germans aren't the only enemies. On the homefront, Ida Mae Jones is fighting racism and sexism. All she wants to do is become a pilot and to help in the war effort. The U.S. government has formed the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots), but they won't accept African Americans ("colored") into what was still the segregated armed services. Risking her life and disappointing her family, Ida Mae decides to pass for white by joining up and reporting for training in Texas, where enforcement of Jim Crow laws was especially harsh. To avoid the constant threat of danger, Ida Mae must skillfully maneuver not only her airplane but also her relationships so that her true identity is not discovered.

Connections: To learn more about women pilots in World War II, read Yankee Doodle Gals: Women Pilots of World War II by Amy Nathan.

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

by Kashmira Sheth p. 272 Grades: 6-8

Twelve-year-old Leela, betrothed at age two and married at age nine, suddenly becomes a widow when the husband whom she's never lived with dies in a tragic accident.

It's 1918 in Gujarat, India, and widows are not allowed to remarry nor to participate in community celebrations or activities. They are viewed as bad luck and must shave their heads and spend the first year in their parents' home "keeping corner." Life seems over for Leela until a tutor arrives to help her get an education. Gandhi is not only working toward freeing India from British rule but also for women's rights, especially rights for young widows. This compelling story shows a young, self-absorbed girl growing into an accomplished, confident young woman against the backdrop of India's independence movement.

Connections: Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelen also tells the story of a teenage widow, but in contemporary India. Neela by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni tells the story of Gandhi and the Independence Movement. Kashmira Sheth's other novels are also excellent: Blue Jasmine and Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet.

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

by M. J. Auch p. 246 Grades: 5-8

The summer before sixth grade, Norm loses his left hand when it gets caught in a meat grinder. Poor kid! His mom's not cutting him any slack, and his dreams of making the baseball team seem hopeless-until he hears about a one-handed major league baseball player and a customer gives him a right-handed baseball mitt. Now it's up to Norm.

Connections: Here's some other great baseball fiction: Hang Tough Paul Mather by Alfred Slote; Some Kind of Pride by Maria Testa; Choosing Up Sides by John Ritter; High Heat by Carl Deuker; and Hard Ball byWill Weaver. Browse 796.357 for baseball nonfiction and search baseball biography in the catalog for famous players.

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

by Shenaaz Nanji, p. 210 Grades: 7-10

What do you do when your whole world seems to be falling down around you? Do you deny that it is happening? In 1972, when President Idi Amin of Uganda gave all foreign Indians 90 days to leave the country, fifteen year-old Sabine didn't think that included her family, as they were all Ugandan citizens. When her uncle disappears mysteriously, she convinces herself that he will turn up soon. When her best friend, Zena turns against her, Sabine hopes she will come around eventually. But, when the soldiers come looking for her father . . .

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

by Kristin Levine, p. 264 - Grades 6-9

While many of the townspeople in early 20th century Moundville, Alabama were shocked at the arrival of the new African-American postmaster, twelve-year old Dit was disappointed when he realized the postmaster's child, Emma, was a girl rather than the playmate he had been hoping for. Adventuresome Dit is sure that he will never enjoy spending time with bookish, refined Emma, but he grudgingly shows her around and eventually the two end up finding common ground in the digging of a fort in Dit's favorite hill mound. With the start of school in the fall, Dit comes to more fully understand the realities of the Jim Crow laws as Emma is forced to go to a different school and his buddies tease him about their friendship. Racial tensions in the town really erupt when the the town's African American barber is charged with a crime against the overtly racist sheriff, and as witnesses to the crime, Dit and Emma can't help but get involved.

Connection: For another story about a friendship challenged by racism, read Tony Johnston's Bone by Bone by Bone.

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

by Donna Jo Napoli, p. 280 - Grades 7-10

Fourteen year-old Calogero lives with his four uncles and one cousin in the small town of Tallulah, Louisiana at the end of the 19th century. He has left his four year-old brother behind in Sicily after the disappearance of his father and the death of his mother. At a time of strong anti-immigrant sentiment and Jim Crow laws, the Sicilians are being forced to keep separate from not only the white but also the black members of the community. Calo's secret crush on an African American girl, Patricia, and the success of the family's produce market provide the fuel to feed the flames of racism in this small town.

Connection: The King of Mulberry Street is another novel, by Donna Jo Napoli, that describes the experience of Italian American immigrants (in New York City).

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Check out this new historical fiction title from a favorite author:

Chains, p. 316 - Grades 6-10

Highlight: Watch this great interview (from Reading Rockets) with Laurie Halse Anderson talking about her life and her books.

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

by Sandy Toksvig, p. 191 - Grades 5-8

Bamse, just 10 when the Germans invaded Denmark, is coming of age during the occupation. He must decide whether to follow his brother in working with the Danish Resistance or listen to his father and stay out of trouble. His mother's acting career and her theatrics provide the structure for the story as well as drama and comic relief. Bamse comes to realize that not all German's are bad nor all Danish good, and why his friend Anton's participation in the resistance is particularly dangerous/courageous. The author's note explains what parts of this work of fiction come from her own family's experiences.

Connection: This book might appeal to those who enjoyed Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. -CRW

Monday, April 27th, 2009

by Louise Erdrich, p. 193 - Grades 5-8

This third book in the series that started with the Birchbark House can stand alone. Omakayas is twelve as her family is forced, by increasing numbers of white settlers, to move westward through northern Minnesota from their original home on Madeline Island. The story picks up quickly with Omakayas and her younger brother being swept far down river through raging rapids. The family faces many dangers (human, nature and animal) while Omakayas moves through the uncharted territory of womanhood (changing relationships, responsibilities and romance).

Connection: Another story of personal growth along with voyages and travel is Sharon Creech's Ruby Holler. -CRW

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Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020 Rowan's family is doing some renovation in their back house, but when the construction crew comes to begin demolition they drop everything and leave suddenly. Rowan and her friend, James go out back to see what's what and discover an old skeleton wrapped in oil cloth that had been buried beneath the house since 1921.

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Middle-grade historical fiction is probably the only kind of historical fiction I enjoy. I'm a contemporary girl through and through when it comes to adult fiction. I'm not sure what it is about middle-grade historical fiction - perhaps because it's written to be more appealing and easier to read? Either way, I'm always on board.

Of course, all of these middle-grade historical fiction recs have more than the his-fic angle going for them. In this list, you'll find recommendations featuring Chinese, American, African-American, Kenyan, Cuban, Chilean history and more! These middle-grade historical fiction picks also tackle other topics such as living with war, grief, moving, children with special needs and more.

The Best Middle-Grade Historical Fiction

Imani knows exactly what she wants as her big bat mitzvah gift: to meet her birthparents. She loves her family and her Jewish community in Baltimore, but she has always wondered where she came from, especially since she's black and almost everyone she knows is white. When her mom's grandmother-Imani's great-grandma Anna-passes away, Imani discovers an old diary among her books. It's Anna's diary from 1941, the year she was twelve-the year she fled Nazi-occupied Luxembourg alone, sent by her parents to seek refuge in Brooklyn. Written as a series of letters to the twin sister she had to leave behind, Anna's diary records her journey to America and her new life with an adopted family. Anna's diary and Imani's birthparent search intertwine to tell the story of two girls, each searching for family and identity in her own time and in her own way.

When eleven-year-old Reenie Kelly's mother passes away, she and her brothers are shipped off to live with their grandmother. Adjusting to life in her parents' Midwestern hometown isn't easy, but once Reenie takes up a paper route with her older brother Dare, she has something she can look forward to. As they introduce themselves to every home on their route, Reenie's stumped by just one-the house belonging to Mr. Marsworth, the town recluse. When he doesn't answer his doorbell, Reenie begins to leave him letters. Slowly, the two become pen pals, striking up the most unlikely of friendships.

Alice is angry at having to move to Rainbow, Georgia-a too small, too hot, dried-up place she's sure will never feel like home. Then she gets put in charge of walking her elderly neighbor's dog. But Clarence won't budge without Miss Millie, so Alice and Miss Millie walk him together. Strolling with Miss Millie quickly becomes the highlight of Alice's day, as she learns about the town's past and meets a mix of its catty and kind residents. As the two become confidantes, Alice is finally able to express her heartache over her father's desertion; and when Miss Millie tells her family story, Alice begins to understand the shameful history of Segregation, and recognize the racism they need to fight against. Navigating the neighborhood with Miss Millie gives Alice new perspective, the wisdom to move on from her anger, and even enables her to laugh again. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32614258-walking-with-miss-millie?ac=1&from_search=true https://amzn.to/2JY144B

It's 1941, and tensions are rising in the United States as the Second World War rages in Europe. Eleven-year-old Gusta's life, like the world around her, is about to change. Her father, a foreign-born labor organizer, has had to flee the country, and Gusta has been sent to live in an orphanage run by her grandmother. Nearsighted, snaggletoothed Gusta arrives in Springdale, Maine, lugging her one precious possession: a beloved old French horn, her sole memento of her father. But in a family that's long on troubles and short on money, how can a girl hang on to something so valuable and yet so useless when Gusta's mill-worker uncle needs surgery to fix his mangled hand, with no union to help him pay?

Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico-she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances-Mama's life, and her own, depend on it.

SoHo, 1981. Twelve-year-old Olympia is an artist-and in her neighborhood, that's normal. Her dad and his business partner Apollo bring antique paintings back to life, while her mother makes intricate sculptures in a corner of their loft, leaving Ollie to roam the streets of New York with her best friends Richard and Alex, drawing everything that catches her eye.

Then everything falls apart. Ollie's dad disappears in the middle of the night, leaving her only a cryptic note and instructions to destroy it. Her mom has gone to bed, and she's not getting up. Apollo is hiding something, Alex is acting strange, and Richard has questions about the mysterious stranger he saw outside. And someone keeps calling, looking for a missing piece of art. . .

Stella lives in the segregated South-in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Others she can't. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn't bothered them for years.

But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they're never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination. As Stella's community-her world-is upended, she decides to fight fire with fire. And she learns that ashes don't necessarily signify an end.

Celeste Marconi is a dreamer. She lives peacefully among friends and neighbors and family in the idyllic town of Valparaiso, Chile-until one day when warships are spotted in the harbor and schoolmates start disappearing from class without a word. Celeste doesn't quite know what is happening, but one thing is clear: no one is safe, not anymore.

The country has been taken over by a government that declares artists, protestors, and anyone who helps the needy to be considered "subversive" and dangerous to Chile's future. So Celeste's parents-her educated, generous, kind parents-must go into hiding before they, too, "disappear." Before they do, however, they send Celeste to America to protect her.

As Celeste adapts to her new life in Maine, she never stops dreaming of Chile. But even after democracy is restored to her home country, questions remain: Will her parents reemerge from hiding? Will she ever be truly safe again?

In Detroit, 1945, eleven-year-old Betty's house doesn't quite feel like home. She believes her mother loves her, but she can't shake the feeling that her mother doesn't want her. Church helps those worries fade, if only for a little while. The singing, the preaching, the speeches from guest activists like Paul Robeson and Thurgood Marshall stir African Americans in her community to stand up for their rights. Betty quickly finds confidence and purpose in volunteering for the Housewives League, an organization that supports black-owned businesses. Soon, the American civil rights icon we now know as Dr. Betty Shabazz is born.

It's 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders.

Half-Muslim, half-Hindu twelve-year-old Nisha doesn't know where she belongs, or what her country is anymore. When Papa decides it's too dangerous to stay in what is now Pakistan, Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first by train but later on foot to reach her new home. The journey is long, difficult, and dangerous, and after losing her mother as a baby, Nisha can't imagine losing her homeland, too. But even if her country has been ripped apart, Nisha still believes in the possibility of putting herself back together.

Told through Nisha's letters to her mother, The Night Diary is a heartfelt story of one girl's search for home, for her own identity...and for a hopeful future.

For fans of Jennifer Holm ( Penny from Heaven, Turtle in Paradise), a heartfelt and unforgettable middle-grade novel about an irresistible girl and her family, tragic change, and the healing power of love and friendship. In 1972 home is a cozy nest on Cape Cod for eleven-year-old Naomi "Chirp" Orenstein, her older sister, Rachel; her psychiatrist father; and her dancer mother. But then Chirp's mom develops symptoms of a serious disease, and everything changes.

In the small town of Alcolu, South Carolina, in 1944, 12-year-old Ella spends her days fishing and running around with her best friend Henry and cousin Myrna. But life is not always so sunny for Ella, who gets bullied for her light skin tone, and whose mother is away pursuing a jazz singer dream in Boston.

So Ella is ecstatic when her mother invites her to visit for Christmas. Little does she expect the truths she will discover about her mother, the father she never knew and her family's most unlikely history.

And after a life-changing month, she returns South and is shocked by the news that her schoolmate George has been arrested for the murder of two local white girls.

Auma loves to run. In her small Kenyan village, she's a track star with big dreams. A track scholarship could allow her to attend high school and maybe even become a doctor. But a strange new sickness called AIDS is ravaging the village, and when her father becomes ill, Auma's family needs her help at home.

Soon more people are getting sick-even dying-and no one knows why. Now Auma faces a difficult choice. Should she stay to support her struggling family or leave to pursue her own future? Auma knows her family is depending on her, but leaving might be the only way to find the answers to questions about this new disease.

Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica.

Decades later, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each, in turn, become interwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together. And ultimately, pulled by the invisible thread of destiny, their suspenseful solo stories converge in an orchestral crescendo.

Twelve-year-old Nova is eagerly awaiting the launch of the space shuttle Challenger -it's the first time a teacher is going into space, and kids across America will watch the event on live TV in their classrooms. Nova and her big sister, Bridget, share a love of astronomy and the space program. They planned to watch the launch together. But Bridget has disappeared, and Nova is in a new foster home.

While foster families and teachers dismiss Nova as severely autistic and nonverbal, Bridget understands how intelligent and special Nova is, and all that she can't express. As the liftoff draws closer, Nova's new foster family and teachers begin to see her potential, and for the first time, she is making friends without Bridget. But every day, she's counting down to the launch, and to the moment when she'll see Bridget again. Because Bridget said, "No matter what, I'll be there. I promise."

Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada's twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn't waste a minute-she sneaks out to join him.

So begins a new adventure for Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan-and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?

Love historical fiction? Then you'll love this list of 35 middle-grade historical fiction picks featuring Chinese, American, African-American, Kenyan, Cuban, Chilean history and more! Click To Tweet

Twelve-year-old Callie Wilcomb and her family are slaves, and the Civil War gives them hope that freedom may be on the horizon. On May 23, 1861, the State of Virginia ratified their vote to secede from the Union. In Virginia, a window was opened where the laws of the land no longer applied. Because of the Contraband Law, slaves no longer had to be returned to their owners, granting them a measure of protection and safety. With the possibility of Callie and her family escaping their bonds forever, Callie is eager to learn and become educated and hopes to teach others one day. Through hardship and loss-with love and strong family ties-Callie proves that freedom is in her stars.

From the time he is a young boy, Neftalí hears the call of a mysterious voice. Even when the neighborhood children taunt him, and when his harsh, authoritarian father ridicules him, and when he doubts himself, Neftalí knows he cannot ignore the call. He listens and follows as it leads him under the canopy of the lush rain forest, into the fearsome sea, and through the persistent Chilean rain on an inspiring voyage of self-discovery that will transform his life and, ultimately, the world.

Ten-year-old Sugar lives on the River Road sugar plantation along the banks of the Mississippi. Slavery is over, but laboring in the fields all day doesn't make her feel very free. Thankfully, Sugar has a knack for finding her own fun, especially when she joins forces with forbidden friend Billy, the white plantation owner's son.

Sugar has always yearned to learn more about the world, and she sees her chance when Chinese workers are brought in to help harvest the cane. The older River Road folks feel threatened, but Sugar is fascinated. As she befriends young Beau and elder Master Liu, they introduce her to the traditions of their culture, and she, in turn, shares the ways of plantation life. Sugar soon realizes that she must be the one to bridge the cultural gap and bring the community together. Here is a story of unlikely friendships and how they can change our lives forever.

With the rise of the Berlin Wall, Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.

But one day on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Gerta concludes that her father wants her and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

This story of Thomas Jefferson's children by one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, tells a darker piece of America's history from an often unseen perspective-that of three of Jefferson's slaves-including two of his own children. As each child grows up and tells his story, the contradiction between slavery and freedom becomes starker, calliing into question the real meaning of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This poignant story sheds light on what life was like as one of Jefferson's invisible offspring.

Hà has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope-toward America.

This moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing received four starred reviews, including one from Kirkus which proclaimed it "enlightening, poignant, and unexpectedly funny."

Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block . . . for the fourth time. California's Newport Beach is her family's latest perch, and she's determined to shuck her brainy loner persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name-Cindy. It's the late 1970s, and fitting in becomes more difficult as Iran makes U.S. headlines with protests, revolution, and finally the taking of American hostages. Even mood rings and puka shell necklaces can't distract Cindy from the anti-Iran sentiments that creep way too close to home.

Eleven-year-old Delphine is like a mother to her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern. She's had to be, ever since their mother, Cecile, left them seven years ago for a radical new life in California. But when the sisters arrive from Brooklyn to spend the summer with their mother, Cecile is nothing like they imagined.

While the girls hope to go to Disneyland and meet Tinker Bell, their mother sends them to a day camp run by the Black Panthers. Unexpectedly, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern learn much about their family, their country, and themselves during one truly crazy summer.

The year is 1966. The Vietnam War rages overseas, the Beatles have catapulted into stardom, and twelve-year-old Rhode Island native Trudy Mixer is not thrilled with life. Her best friend, Michelle, has decided to become a cheerleader, everyone at school is now calling her Gertrude (her hated real name), and the gem of her middle school career, the Beatles fan club, has dwindled down to only three other members-the least popular kids at school. And at home, her workaholic father has become even more distant.

Determined to regain her social status and prove herself to her father, Trudy looks toward the biggest thing happening worldwide: the Beatles. She is set on seeing them in Boston during their final world tour-and meeting her beloved Paul McCartney. So on a hot August day, unknown to their families, Trudy and crew set off on their journey, each of them with soaring hopes for what lies ahead.

Berlin, Germany. How did Wendy end up in such a place? Just a few months ago, she was enjoying her time in Maine, supporting the American war effort.

But she was kidnapped, then betrayed by her own mother, who is actually a Nazi spy. As a new Berliner-and now a German-Wendy is expected to speak in a language she's never known and support a cause she doesn't believe in.

There are allies, though, among the Germans. Allies who have been watching over Wendy since she arrived. And Wendy, along with her new German shepherd puppy, must confront them. If only she can find them.

It's 1946. Langston's mother has just died, and now they're leaving the rest of his family and friends. He misses everything- Grandma's Sunday suppers, the red dirt roads, and the magnolia trees his mother loved.

In the city, they live in a small apartment surrounded by noise and chaos. It doesn't feel like a new start, or a better life. At home he's lonely, his father always busy at work; at school he's bullied for being a country boy.

But Langston's new home has one fantastic thing. Unlike the whites-only library in Alabama, the Chicago Public Library welcomes everyone. There, hiding out after school, Langston discovers another Langston-a poet whom he learns inspired his mother enough to name her only son after him.

Ami lives on Culion, an island in the Philippines for people who have leprosy. Her mother is among the infected. Ami loves her home: with its blue seas and lush forests, Culion contains all she knows and loves. But the arrival of malicious government official Mr. Zamora changes her world forever. Islanders untouched by sickness are forced to leave for a neighboring island, where the children are placed in an orphanage.

Banished across the sea, Ami is desperate to return to Culion before her mother's death. She finds a strange and fragile hope in a colony of butterflies. Can they lead her home before it's too late? Heartrending yet hopeful, celebrated newcomer Kiran Hargrave's novel is a story about loss, perseverence, and faith.

Twelve-year-old Charlie is down on his luck: His sharecropper father just died and Cap'n Buck - the most fearsome man in Possum Moan, South Carolina - has come to collect a debt. Fearing for his life, Charlie strikes a deal with Cap'n Buck and agrees to track down some folks accused of stealing from the cap'n and his boss.

It's not too bad of a bargain for Charlie... until he comes face-to-face with the fugitives and discovers their true identities. Torn between his guilty conscience and his survival instinct, Charlie needs to figure out his next move - and soon. It's only a matter of time before Cap'n Buck catches on.

Every boy in the neighborhood knows Katy Gordon is their best pitcher, even though she's a girl. But when she tries out for Little League, it's a whole different story. Girls are not eligible, period. It is a boy's game and always has been. It's not fair, and Katy's going to fight back. Inspired by what she's learning about civil rights in school, she sets out to prove that she's not the only girl who plays baseball.

With the help of friendly librarians and some tenacious research skills, Katy discovers the forgotten history of female ball players. Why does no one know about them? Where are they now? And how can one ten-year-old change people's minds about what girls can do?

In the village of Huanan, in medieval China, the deity that rules is the Great Huli Jing. Though twelve-year-old Li Jing's name is a different character entirely from the Huli Jing, the sound is close enough to provide constant teasing-but maybe is also a source of greater destiny and power. Jing's life isn't easy. Her father is a poor tea farmer, and her family has come to the conclusion that in order for everyone to survive, Jing must be sacrificed for the common good.

She is sold as a bride to the Koh family, where she will be the wife and nursemaid to their three-year-old son, Ju'nan. It's not fair, and Jing feels this bitterly, especially when she is treated poorly by the Koh's, and sold yet again into a worse situation that leads Jing to believe her only option is to run away, and find home again. With the help of a spider who weaves Jing a means to escape, and a nightingale who helps her find her way, Jing embarks on a quest back to Huanan-and to herself.

When thirteen-year-old Lora tells her parents that she wants to join Premier Castro's army of young literacy teachers, her mother screeches to high heaven, and her father roars like a lion. Nora has barely been outside of Havana - why would she throw away her life in a remote shack with no electricity, sleeping on a hammock in somebody's kitchen? But Nora is stubborn: didn't her parents teach her to share what she has with someone in need? Surprisingly, Nora's abuela takes her side, even as she makes Nora promise to come home if things get too hard. But how will Nora know for sure when that time has come?

Shining light on a little-known moment in history, Katherine Paterson traces a young teen's coming-of-age journey from a sheltered life to a singular mission: teaching fellow Cubans of all ages to read and write, while helping with the work of their daily lives and sharing the dangers posed by counterrevolutionaries hiding in the hills nearby. Inspired by true accounts, the novel includes an author's note and a timeline of Cuban history.

Twelve-year-old Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift in a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow's only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar.

Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but it isn't until the night a mysterious fire appears across the water that the unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart. Soon, an unstoppable chain of events is triggered, leading Crow down a path of discovery and danger.

World War II has ended, but while America has won the war, twelve-year-old Hanako feels lost. To her, the world, and her world, seems irrevocably broken.

America, the only home she's ever known, imprisoned then rejected her and her family-and thousands of other innocent Americans-because of their Japanese heritage, because Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Japan, the country they've been forced to move to, the country they hope will be the family's saving grace, where they were supposed to start new and better lives, is in shambles because America dropped bombs of their own-one on Hiroshima unlike any other in history. And Hanako's grandparents live in a small village just outside the ravaged city.

The country is starving, the black markets run rampant, and countless orphans beg for food on the streets, but how can Hanako help them when there is not even enough food for her own brother?

Hanako feels she could crack under the pressure, but just because something is broken doesn't mean it can't be fixed. Cracks can make room for gold, her grandfather explains when he tells her about the tradition of kintsukuroi -fixing broken objects with gold lacquer, making them stronger and more beautiful than ever. As she struggles to adjust to find her place in a new world, Hanako will find that the gold can come in many forms, and family may be hers.

In this unforgettable multicultural coming-of-age narrative-based on the author's childhood in the 1960s-a young Cuban-Jewish immigrant girl is adjusting to her new life in New York City when her American dream is suddenly derailed. Ruthie's plight will intrigue readers, and her powerful story of strength and resilience, full of color, light, and poignancy, will stay with them for a long time.

Ruthie Mizrahi and her family recently emigrated from Castro's Cuba to New York City. Just when she's finally beginning to gain confidence in her mastery of English-and enjoying her reign as her neighborhood's hopscotch queen-a horrific car accident leaves her in a body cast and confined her to her bed for a long recovery. As Ruthie's world shrinks because of her inability to move, her powers of observation and her heart grow larger and she comes to understand how fragile life is, how vulnerable we all are as human beings, and how friends, neighbors, and the power of the arts can sweeten even the worst of times.

Check out 35 of the best middle-grade historical fiction novels, featuring work by @eklages, @veryCeleste, @nielsenwriter, NicWritesBooks, @veerahira, @annenesbet, and many more! Like this? Share this post!

That's all for this list of 35 middle-grade historical fiction novels! While some of these are popular, I hope you've found one new to you. If you enjoyed this book list, you may like these others:

Do you enjoy historical fiction? What are your favorite middle-grade historical fiction novels?

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35 Best Middle-Grade Historical Fiction Novels to Read in 2020

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Middle-grade historical fiction is probably the only kind of historical fiction I enjoy. I'm a contemporary girl through and through when it comes to adult fiction. I'm not sure what it is about middle-grade historical fiction - perhaps because it's written to be more appealing and easier to read?

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Historical Fiction for Middle & High School Students - Johnson County Library

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Historical Fiction for Middle & High School Students by YA_Hudson - a community-created list

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When my not-quite-12-year-old hears the phrase "historical fiction," her nose immediately crinkles as if she just smelled bad milk. You can almost see the curtain of disapproval drop in front of her eyes as she starts to tune the rest of the sentence out. Boring.

But then I remind her that historical fiction only means that you're reading a book that takes place in the past. It doesn't force you to learn things (I leave out the "...but you will" part). It doesn't mean dry and boring. It doesn't mean you'll have nothing in common with the characters. On the contrary, it makes you realize that some things - especially coming-of-age things - don't change much with the passage of time.

The ten books below are great examples of moving historical fiction for tweens that will connect them with the past and make them empathize with characters who aren't so different from them after all.

What historical novels would you recommend for middle grade readers? Let us know in the comments below!

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Connecting with the Past: 10 Moving Historical Novels for Tweens | Brightly

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When my not-quite-12-year-old hears the phrase "historical fiction," her nose immediately crinkles as if she just smelled bad milk. You can almost see the curtain of disapproval drop in front of her eyes as she starts to tune the rest of the sentence out. Boring.

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50 Must-Read Historical Fiction Books for Kids | Book Riot

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Make history come alive with these 50 must-read historical fiction books for kids! Features books for young readers and historical fiction chapter books.