Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction is a story that takes readers to a time and place in the past. How far back in time does an author have to go for their work to be considered Historical Fiction? A good rule of thumb is a minimum of 50 years. The idea is to take readers out of the events of their lifetime. Most book lovers agree that Historical Fiction is the closest we’ll get to actual time travel.
Calico Girl
by Jerdine Nolen
A powerful tale of a slave girl's triumphant journey to freedom with her family during the Civil War. Twelve-year-old Callie Wilcomb and her family are enslaved, and the Civil War gives them hope that freedom may be on the horizon.
Echo Mountain
By Lauren Wolk
After losing almost everything in the Great Depression, Ellie's family is forced to leave their home in town and start over in the untamed wilderness of nearby Echo Mountain. Ellie has found a welcome freedom, and a love of the natural world, in her new life on the mountain.
Freewater
by Amina Luqman-Dawson
Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there's no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail.
My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List
by Joshua M. Greene & Rena Finder
Rena worked as a slave laborer with scarcely any food and watched as friends and family were sent away. Then Rena and her mother ended up working for Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who employed Jewish prisoners in his factory and kept them fed and healthy. But Rena's nightmares were not over.
Runs with Courage
by Joan M. Wolf
Four Winds has been taken away from her family and brought to a boarding school run by whites. It is here she is taught English and learns how to assimilate into white culture. But soon she discovers that the teachers at this school are not interested in assimilation but rather in erasing her culture.
A Place to Hang the Moon
by Kate Albus
Set in England during the early days of World War II, it's the story of three orphaned siblings who hope the wartime evacuation of London will be their chance at a forever home.
Stella by Starlight
By Sharon M. Draper
When the Ku Klux Klan's unwelcome reappearance rattles Stella's segregated southern town, bravery battles prejudice in this Depression-era tour de force from Sharon Draper.
Paperboy
This A+ story is narrated by a young boy who has always been defined by his stuttering. He learns many life lessons during his temporary job as a paperboy (set in the south, during the 60s), and we cheer for him as he stands up for someone he loves, despite extreme peril.