| Title |
Author |
Grade
Level |
Rating |
Comments |
|
| The
Art of Keeping Cool |
Janet Lisle
|
6.0 |
  
|
Historically accurate account of a boy whose father is sent off to fight in WWII.
|
| Battlefield
Ghost |
Margery
Cuyler |
4.3 |
|
Accurate historically;
not scary; short and easy |
| By
the Great Horn Spoon |
Sid
Fleischman |
5.1 |
|
Set during the
California Gold Rush; fun reading |
| The Devil's Arithmatic
|
Jane Yolen |
7.5 |
|
One of the most powerful, disturbing, saddest novels I have ever read. Story of the Nazi death camps through eyes of a young Jewish girl. Pretty graphic. VERY mature readers only!
|
| Dear America: A Light in the Storm |
Karen Hesse
|
5.5 |
|
Gives a great explanation of the causes and repercussions of the Civil War through the eyes of a teenage girl.
|
| Esparanza
Rising |
Pam
Munoz Ryan |
5.2 |
|
Great California
history novel; believable characters |
| Fair Weather |
Richard Peck
|
5.5 |
|
Chicago history discussed. Fun characters. Another good book by Peck.
|
| Fever
1793 |
Laurie
Anderson |
5.8 |
|
Historically
accurate; well written; about the outbreak of yellow fever in post-Revolutionary
War Philadelphia |
| The
Great Brain |
John
D. Fitzgerald |
5.7 |
|
Very funny; Tom
Sawyer-like |
| Island
of the Blue Dolphins |
Scott
O'dell |
5.5 |
|
Well-written;
survival themes |
| Jar
of Dreams |
Yoshiko
Uchida |
5.4 |
|
Well-written
but slow |
| Johnny
Tremain |
Esther
Forbes |
6.5 |
|
Difficult read;
some historical background on American Revolution needed |
| Matilda
Bone |
Karen
Cushman |
5.5 |
|
Funny; very
enjoyable; more for girls than boys; another Cushman classic |
| Orphan
of Ellis Island |
Elvira
Woodruff |
4.5 |
|
Easy read about
a boy who goes back in time and immigrates to America |
| Riding Freedom
|
Pam Munoz Ryan
|
4.2 |
|
Great for California history; the story of stagecoach driver Charlie Parkhurst
|
| The Secret
of Sarah Revere |
Ann
Rinaldi |
6.3 |
|
Some mature
themes; for older readers who have some knowledge of Revolutionary War |
| A Single Shard |
Linda Sue Park
|
5.5 |
|
Beautiful story of Korean boy's desire to be a potter. Predictable but touching ending.
|
|
| The
Shakespeare Stealer |
Gary Blackwood
|
6.5 |
|
Some good sword action. A few inappropriate words and mature situations.
|
| True
Confessions of Charlotte Doyle |
Avi |
6.1 |
|
One of my favorites;
slow at the beginning but then picks up; lots of cliffhangers |
|
