Historical Fiction
Recommendations
Historical Fiction
Number the Stars, 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.
Under The Blood-Red Sun, Graham Salisbury
A novel about a group of boys in Hawaii at the start of WWII.
Waiting for Anya, Michael Morpurgo
Young Jo helps smuggle Jewish children to safety in the mountains of southern France during WWII.
With Every Drop of Blood, Collier
During the Civil War a rebel boy and a runaway slave help one another to survive.
Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth George Speare
A high spirited teenage girl rebels against the narrow-minded ways of Puritan Connecticut and befriends a lonely old woman who is subsequently accused of being a witch.
Under A War Torn Sky, L.M. Elliot
A boy flying a B-24 during World War II is shot down by enemies and he is trapped behind enemy lines. He is helped by kind French citizens to escape and get back to his home.
Forbidden City, William Bell
A seventeen-year-old boy accompanies his reporter father to China during the Tiananmen Square uprising.
Year of Impossible Good-byes, Sook Choi
A young Korean girl survives the oppressive Japanese and Russian occupation of North Korea during the 1940’s, to later escape to freedom in South Korea.
West Against the Wind, Liza Murrow
Fourteen-year-old Abby seeks both her father and the secret of a handsome but mysterious boy during an arduous journey by wagon train from the middle of the country to the Pacific coast in 1850.
White Lilacs, Carolyn Meyer
Historical novel about a young black girl’s response to the forced relocation of her family in 1921 Texas.
The Winter of Red Snow, Kristiana Gregory
Eleven-year-old Abigail presents a diary account of life in Valley Forge from December 1777 to July 1778 as General Washington prepares his troops to fight the British.
The Clay Marble, Minfong Ho
In the late 1970’s, twelve-year-old Dara joins a refugee camp in war-torn Cambodia and becomes separated from her family.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Avi Wortis
While on a sea voyage back home to America in 1832, 13-year-old Charlotte Doyle falls under the control of Captain Jaggery, a cruel captain who manages to charm Charlotte before she is able to learn his true nature. He uses her to try to put down a rebellion on his ship. The crew manages to communicate another side of the story to her. She must choose between the two during the treacherous voyage.
Nightjohn, Gary Paulsen
Sarny, a twelve-year-old slave at the Waller plantation, risk terrible punishment when an adult slave called Nightjohn teaches her how to read.
My Brother Sam is Dead, Lincoln & Collier
A novel of American Revolution as a young man is torn between his brother’s patriotism and his father’s Tory sympathies.
A Young Patriot, Jim Murphy
The American Revolution as experienced by one boy.
The Bomb, Theordore Taylor
Chilling novel based on the true story of atomic weapons testing in 1946 in the Pacific Ocean.
The Captive, Joyce Hansen
Shortly after the American Revolution, a young Ashanti nobleman is stolen from his
people and taken to New England as a slave.
Dragon’s Gate, Laurence Yep
In rural China in 1865, fourteen-year-old Otter eagerly sails to California to join her
father on the transcontinental railroad.
Farewell to Manzanar, Janne Wakatsuki Huston
A true story of one Japanese American family and their attempt to survive the indignities of forced detention.
Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse
About this title: A poem cycle that reads as a novel, this Newbery Medal winner tells the story of Billie Jo, a girl who struggles to help her family survive the dust bowl years of the Depression.
The Midwife's Apprentice, Karen Cushman
Set in the fourteenth century, a young homeless girl is taken by the village midwife to be her apprentice and servant. As she spends time with the midwife, learning from her, Alyce finds a sense of self and a name. After a failed delivery, she runs away from the village because she is ashamed. When she delivers a baby in her new home, she realizes that her calling is to be a midwife.