Historical Fiction Books
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet GrayIn 13th century England, Adam travels far and wide looking for his missing father and beloved spaniel, Nick.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
This classic tale relates the adventures and misadventures of young Tom Sawyer and his black friend, Jim, who run away from home and float down the Mississippi River on a homemade raft.
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman
Much to her dismay, Lucy Whipple must move with her family from Massachusetts to California in 1849. She plans and schemes to find a way back "home."
Bull Run by Paul Fleischman
Several different types of characters including a slave, a doctor, a horse lover, an artist, and a black man, passing as a white man, tell of their experiences at the bloody first battle of the Civil War.
The Bomb by Theodore Taylor
Sixteen-year-old Sorry Rinamu sees what others don't when the Americans prepare to perform atomic bomb testing on the Pacific island where he lives in the Bikini Atoll. He knows that his island will never be the same and does everything he can do to stop the powerful Americans but is it enough? Based on true facts.
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
Growing up in the middle ages was not easy and especially not easy for the heroine of this book who was a feisty young girl determined not to do and not to be what was expected of her!
Children of the River by Linda Crew
After fleeing Cambodia for the freedom of the United States, Sundara tries to maintain her old culture to please her parents and grandparents. Although not allowed to even speak to "white" boys, she falls in love with Jonathan which forces both Sundara and her family to consider what is truly important.
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane YolenThis book could be similar to other Holocaust books but there is a huge difference - Hannah has time-traveled to 1940 Poland and has been sent to a death camp. She alone knows what the future holds for the people there. Can she save her new friends?
A Family Apart (The Orphan Train series) by Joan Lowery Nixon
In the 1800s, poor parents in eastern cities put their children on "Orphan Trains" going west in hope that their children would have a better life after being adopted by a loving, generous family. Unfortunately it didn't always work out that way. This title, the first in the Orphan Train Quartet, is based on true events.
The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers
Five generations of an African American family are portrayed in this book as they protect their precious land, the Glory Field, through trials and triumphs of slavery, the Civil War, the end of segregation, and modern day drug use/abuse.
Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
Mr. Tom reluctantly agrees to house a small, painfully shy, war refuge from London during World War II but never planned to actually form a relationship with him or to care deeply about him.
Island on Bird Street by Uri Orlev
After his mother disappears from the Warsaw ghetto where the Jews are forced to live during World War II and his father is taken prisoner by the Nazis, Alex fends for himself in the abandoned, war-torn buildings staying one step ahead of the Nazi head-hunters while hoping against hope that his father will someday return.
Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte
Young, independent Jane Eyre is hired by Mr. Rochester, in early 19th century England, to act as governess and companion for this motherless daughter. Eventually Jane falls in love with her employer but then begins to hear rumors of terrible secrets in his house.
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
In this classic tale, a 14-teen-year-old injured silversmith apprentice finds himself entangled in the unsettling events leading up to the American Revolution which is more action than he was looking for or knew how to handle.
Kiss the Dust by Elizabeth Laird
Taking place during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980's, this book relates the ordeal of a Kurdish family forced to flee their prominent home in northern Iraq and eventually settle, though temporarily, in a refugee camp in Iran. All of the horrors of war are described but the love of the family and the culture shine through.
Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor
Set in the 1930's, during the Depression, four very poor African American children experience a high level of racial segregation but learn the lessons of love and self-respect from their strong families.
Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott
In this classic American tale, Mrs. March and her daughters, each completely different than the others, try to hold things together in the family and the community while Mr. March is away fighting in the Civil War.
Lyddie by Katherine Paterson
When her father abandons her family and their small farm, Lyddie must be sent out to work the mills in Lowell, Massachusetts during the 1840s.
The Man Who Was Poe by Avi
After his mother and his aunt have been missing for days, Edmund goes out in search of food for himself and his sister but he discovers that she, too, is missing and he must rely on a strange man he meets on the street for assistance in locating his family.
Mississippi Bridge by Mildred D. Taylor
It takes a tragic accident to reconcile a small Mississippi town in the 1930s that is split by racial prejudices and segregation.
My Brother, My Sister and I by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
Yoko and her brother and sister use courage, love, and nerve to travel on after they are forced from their middle-class home and into poverty including homelessness, hunger, and hurt. Their mother has died and their father has not yet returned from fighting in World War II though his possible return is what keeps them going through the toughest of times.
My Brother Sam is Dead by James L. Collier
This classic tale of the American Revolution tells of one family's tragedy when their son sets out to fight for the Rebel cause.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Young Annemarie Johansen cannot begin to understand why her best friend, Ellen Rosen, is suddenly supposed to be her arch enemy as the Nazis become more and more interested in the events of the Rosen's Jewish household during World War II.
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Using free-verse poetry, Billy Jo describes the very grim life of the Oklahoma "dust bowl" which is made even harsher by the horrific death of her mother and the alienation of her father.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Cassie and her family continue to do everything they can to hold on to their family farm in the South during the Depression. This task is made much more difficult due ot the fact that her family is black and they are, therefore, constantly harassed and threatened. Can they hold out while their father works on the railroad away from home?
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
This very short biography tells of the death of a young Japanese girl who dies as a result of radiation poisoning from the bombing of Hiroshima by the United States during World War II.
Sarah Bishop by Scott O'Dell
Sarah's father and brother fight on opposite sides of the American Revolution and after their deaths she must survive alone in the wilderness as she flees from the British who aim to arrest her.
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
While on his way home in the evening in New Orleans, 14-year-old Jessie is kidnapped and forced aboard an American slave ship bound for Africa.
Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell
Bright Morning, a young Navajo maiden, tells the horrifying tale of the forced relocation of her people from their homeland to Fort Sumner and of the troubles, both physical and emotional, that they experienced.
Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
Based on true facts, the very brave children of Nazi-occupied Norway devise and carry out a plan to smuggle the country's gold out of Norway before the Nazis discover it.
Summer of my German Soldier by Bette Greene
Having, perhaps, too much free time on her hands, young Patty Bergen, an unhappy Jewish girl living in a small Arkansas town, befriends an escaped German POW and must learn to deal with her own feelings as well as his and those of her family and friends. Morning is a Long Time Coming is the sequel.
Trouble River by Betsy Byars
When awakened by very loud noises in the vicinity of their wilderness cabin, young Dewey and his grandmother know exactly what they must do -- flee! And flee they do on a handmade river raft hidden just for this purpose.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
When 13-year-old Charlotte Doyle finds herself the only female and the only passenger on a ship sailing from Europe to Boston, she wonders why the ship's cook quietly hands her a sharp knife but soon learns that she will need it to defend herself from the evil captain and his crew.
Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
The Watson family is so weird that even they call themselves "the Weird Watsons" as they customize their old "brown bomber" and take off for their grandmother's house in Alabama where they hope to leave their wayward son/brother Byron with relatives.
Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare
It didn't take much to be accused of being a witch in the northeast of the United States in 1687 as Kit Tyler found out when she befriended a sad and lonely old woman in her town.
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Jody Baxter gets lonely sometimes living with his parents in the scraggly Florida swamps so he is thrilled to find a tiny fawn which he adopts making reality all that much harder for him in the end.