In Historical Fiction, the Author Tells a Story That Could Have Happened During a Specific
Historical Fiction
In Historical Fiction, the author tells a story that could have happened during a specific time in history. The author learns about the time period before writing so that the setting and any famous people, places or events are as accurate as possible.
Picture Books
Borden, Louise. The Little Ships: the Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II. Families in fishing boats joined together to rescue Allied troops in the English Channel.
Fleming, Candace. A Big Cheese for the White House.
Hopkinson, Deborah. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. A young slave girl creates a quilt with a map of the route to freedom.
Joose, Barbara. Lewis and Papa : Adventure on the Santa Fe Trail. Join this father and son as they travel in a wagon train.
Kay, Verla. Iron Horses. The unique scratchboard illustrations in this book help tell the story of how railroads crossed America.
Kirkpatrick, Katherine. Redcoats and Petticoats. This brave family lived on the Connecticut coast and spied for General Washington.
Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us. This story of a Japanese-American boy’s experience in an internment camp during WWII has strength, sadness and baseball.
Yolen, Jane. Encounter. Perhaps Columbus didn’t discover America after all?
Younger Elementary Chapter Books
Avi. Abigail Takes the Wheel. As Abigail travels to school on her father’s freight boat, a series of accidents puts her at the helm.
Balgassi, Haemi. Peacebound Trains. Sumi learns the story of her grandmother’s wartime escape from Seoul as they watch for a special train to arrive.
Hooks, William. Pioneer Cat. Kate keeps a big secret during her adventurous wagon trail trip to Oregon.
MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall. Sarah moves from the coast of Maine to the pioneer home of Anna and Caleb, where she is to wed their widowed father.
Rappaport, Doreen. Trouble At The Mines. Read about Mother Jones and the coal mining strike of 1899.
Turner, Ann Warren. Dust for Dinner. During the Depression, many farms in the Midwest turned to dust, and families had to move away…
Older Elementary Chapter Books
Avi. Crispin and the Cross of Lead. Crispin is only thirteen when his mother dies, he is set up as a target, and he flees to the forests of medieval England.
Choldenko Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts. It’s 1935, and Moose’s dad just got a job at Alcatraz, so he and his family move to the island in the bay.
Cushman, Karen. Rodzina. In 1881, Rodzina is terrified to face the future after boarding an orphan train to the American prairie.
Denenberg, Barry. The Journal of William Thomas Emerson. Read the journal of a young patriot during the Revolutionary War.
Giff, Patricia Reilly. Nory Ryan's Song. When her parents leave Ireland in hopes of finding hope in America, Nory Ryan tries to care for her starving family.
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. This is the story of a young Danish girl and her family who help smuggle Jews away from the Nazis.
Park, Linda Sue. Kite Fighters. Two brothers who love to compete in the ancient Korean sport of kite fighting find themselves training a prince.
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. A lonely young girl in Connecticut finds herself defending a friend who is accused of witchcraft.
Mazer, Harry. A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor. It looked like an ordinary day for the boys to go fishing until they witness the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Thomas, Carroll. Matty’s War. This book begins a series about a young girl from Simsbury who disguises herself to fight in the Civil War.