Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
As the lone “young lady” on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
A young orphan boy is ordered by his master to infiltrate Shakespeare’s acting troupe in order to steal the script of “Hamlet,” but he discovers instead the meaning of friendship and loyalty.
Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father – the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway.
The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
In medieval England, a homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardships, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.
An Enemy Among Them by Deborah DeFord
A young Hessian soldier questions his loyalty to his king after fighting with the British in America during the Revolutionary War and spending time as a prisoner in the home of a German American family from Pennsylvania.
Bull Run by Paul Fleischman
Northerners, Southerners, generals, couriers, dreaming boys, and worried sisters describe the glory, the horror, the thrill, and the disillusionment of the first battle of the Civil War.
The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz
Ann Hamilton’s family has moved to the western frontier of Pennsylvania, and she misses her old home in Gettysburg. But when the Hamiltons survive a terrible storm and receive a surprise visit from George Washington, Ann realizes that pioneer life is exciting and special.
Darby by Jonathon Scott Fuqua
In 1926, nine-year-old Darby Carmichael stirs up trouble in Marlboro County, South Carolina, when she writes a story for the local newspaper promoting racial equality.
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Sheltering an escaped German prisoner of war is the beginning of some shattering experiences for a 12-year-old Jewish girl in Arkansas.
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
Young Jethro Creighton grows from a boy to a man when he is left to take care of the family farm in Illinois during the difficult years of the Civil War.
The Evolution of Calpernia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate learns about love from her three older brothers and studies the natural world with her grandfather which leads to an important discovery.
Worth by A. LaFaye
After breaking his leg, eleven-year-old Nate feels useless because he cannot work on the family farm in nineteenth-century Nebraska, so when his father brings home an orphan boy to help with the chores, Nate feels even worse.
The Wind Wagon by Celia Barker Lottridge
Sam Peppard, a blacksmith in 1860s Kansas, builds a prairie schooner that sails to Denver, Colorado, powered by wind.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.
Sarah Plain and Tall (triology) By Patricia McLaughlin
When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.
Parsifal’s Page by Gerald Morris
In medieval England, eleven-year-old Piers’ dream comes true when he becomes page to Parsifal, a peasant whose quest for knighthood reveals important secrets about both of their families.
Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers
Seaman, Meriwether Lewis’s Newfoundland dog, describes Lewis and Clark’s expedition, which he accompanied from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean.
Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park
In Brooklyn in 1951, a die-hard Giants fan teaches nine-year-old Maggie, who is a “Bums” (Dodgers) fan, how to use a technique to keep score of a baseball game which creates a special friendship between them.
Mr. Tucket by Gary Paulsen
In 1848, while on a wagon train headed for Oregon, fourteen-year-old Francis Tucket is kidnapped by Pawnee Indians and then falls in with a one-armed trapper who teaches him how to live in the wild.
Trouble Don’t Last by Shelley Pearsall
Samuel, an eleven-year-old Kentucky slave, and Harrison, the elderly slave who helped raise him, attempt to escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad.
Fair Weather by Richard Peck
In 1893, thirteen-year-old Rosie and members of her family travel from their Illinois farm to Chicago to visit Aunt Euterpe and attend the World’s Columbian Exposition which, along with an encounter with Buffalo Bill, turns out to be a life-changing experience for everyone.
Yankee Girl by Mary Ann Rodman
When her FBI-agent father is transferred to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1964, eleven-year-old Alice wants to be popular, but also wants to reach out to the one black girl in her class in a newly-integrated school.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare
In 1687 in Connecticut, Kit Tyler, feeling out of place in the Puritan household of her aunt, befriends an old woman considered a witch by the community and suddenly finds herself standing trial for witchcraft.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
A black family living in Mississippi during the Depression of the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.
Black Storm Comin’ by Diane L. Wilson
Twelve-year-old Colton, son of a black mother and a white father, takes a job with the Pony Express in 1860 after his father abandons the family on their California-bound wagon train, and risks his life to deliver an important letter that may affect the growing conflict between the North and South.
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
In the early twentieth century a young Chinese boy joins his father in San Francisco and helps him realize his dream of making a flying machine.