Raising Readers
Historical
Across Five Aprils
Irene Hunt
NB 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.
Adam of the Road
Elizabeth Gray Vining
NB Gray
The adventures of eleven-year-old Adam as he travels the open roads of Thirteenth-century England searching for his missing father, a minstrel, and his stolen red spaniel.
All-of-a-Kind-Family
Sydney Taylor
X Taylor
The adventures of five mischievous girls from a poor immigrant family in New York City on the eve of World War I.
Blue Willow
Doris Gates
NB Gates
A little girl, who wants most of all to have a real home and to go to a regular school, hopes that the valley her family has come to, which so resembles the pattern on her treasured blue willow plate, will be their permanent home.
Bronze Bow
Elizabeth George Speare
NB Speare
Daniel seeks revenge from the Romans for the deaths of his parents until he hears the message and teachings of Jesus.
Caddie Woodlawn
Carol Ryrie Brink
NB Brink
The adventures of an eleven-year-old tomboy growing up on the Wisconsin frontier in the mid-nineteenth century.
Crispin: Cross of Lead
Avi
X Avi
Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret.
The Door in the Wall
Marguerite De Angeli
NB De An
When Robin, the son of a nobleman, falls and loses the use of his legs, he is abandoned and left alone. A monk, brother Luke rescues Robin and takes him to the hospice of St. Marks, where is taught woodcarving and, much harder, patience and strength.
Letters from Rifka
Karen Hesse
X Hesse
In letters to her cousin, a young Jewish girl chronicles her family's flight from Russia in 1919 and her own experiences when she must be left in Belgium for a while when the others emigrate to America.
Midwife's Apprentice
Karen Cushman
NB Cushman
In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a fully belly, a contended soul, and a place in the world.
Morning Girl
Michael Dorris
X Dorris
Morning Girl, who loves the day, and her younger brother Star Boy, who loves the night, take turns describing their life on an island in pre-Columbian America; in Morning Girl's last narrative, she witnesses the arrival of the first Europeans to her world.
Sarah, Plain, and Tall
Patricia MacLachlan
NB MacLachlan
When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope she will stay.
The Sign of the Beaver
Elizabeth George Speare
NB Speare
Left alone to guard the family cabin in 18th Century Maine, a boy is hard pressed to survive until local Indians teach him their skills.
The Slave Dancer
Paula Fox
NB Fox
This powerful story of slavery tells the tale of thirteen-year-old Jesse, snatched from the docks of New Orleans and thrown aboard a slave ship to play his fife so that the captured slaves will dance and keep their muscles strong.
The True Confessions of Charlotte
Doyle
Avi
NB Avi
As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.
The Watson's Go to Birmingham 1963
Christopher Paul Curtis
j Curtis
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.