Historical+Fiction

=This page is for reading recommendations. Please add a review when you find a great historical fiction "read."=


 * HANG A THOUSAND TREES WITH RIBBONS** by Ann Rinaldi - This is the story of the first African-American to have a book published. Enslaved at age 8, Phillis Wheatley was purchased in Boston in 1761. Her owners named her Phillis after the name of the ship she arrived on and Wheatley after themselves. Phillis was given the same education as the Wheatley's children and proved to be very intelligent. She wrote her first poetry at age 12. Due to rampant racism in America (no one would publish works by African-Americans), her family took her to London where her book of poems was published around 1773.

This story imagines what it must have been like to have been given many privileges, but always knowing you were a slave. I think it is amazing she even survived without going crazy. It was sad to hear what happened at the end of her life. Read this book to find out about this important inspiration to folks who believed in the abilities of African-Americans.


 * THE ART OF KEEPING COOL** by Janet Taylor Lisle - Robert, his mom and his sister go east to live near his paternal grandparents during World War II. His father is flying with the Royal Air Force of Great Britain. His aunt, uncle and cousin Elliot live with Grandma and Grandpa due to financial bad luck. Robert's hopes that he will learn about his father's boyhood are dashed when he realizes that the rest of the family acts like his father doesn't exist. His name is never mentioned. Meanwhile, Elliot, who has great artistic talent, seems to have a very quirky personality that gets him out of doing his share of the work. Grandpa is a doctor who has a terrible temper.

As the story unfolds, the two boys are keen to watch the comings and goings at a nearby coastal military fort. There are German subs sinking ships off the U. S. in the Atlantic Ocean. And there is a German artist who lives in their town. Could he be a German spy? There is a lot to think about while you read this story. Who would you trust in wartime? Could you stay 'cool' or would your fears get the best of you? And how would you handle relatives who didn't confront abuse when it was right in your family? Why do they all act like Robert's father doesn't exist? Read this thrilling book to find out.


 * ONE-HANDED CATCH** by M. J. Auch -Now that the World War II is over, life is slowly getting back to normal. Things are going great until Norm gets his hand caught in a meat grinder while working at his father's store. Even though the author clearly describes the experience, it's not so gross that you can't stand it. Most of the story tells how Norm develops a normal life with only one hand. This is a little bit based on the real life of the husband's author.


 * THE COASTWATCHER** by Elise Weston - It's 1943, World War II is raging, and 11-year-old Hugh and his family are living on the Atlantic coast in South Carolina. German subs have been actively sinking American ships near the East coast, and so many folks are keeping an uneasy eye on the ocean. They are called Coastwatchers, and Hugh is one. He believes he spies a German submarine's periscope off shore, but adults won't take him seriously. When he uncovers other evidence of Germans nearby, the story gets very exciting. Is he imaging it or has the enemy landed?


 * A MIND WITH WINGS: THE STORY OF HENRY DAVID THOREAU** by Gerald and Loretta Hausman - Thoreau only lived to his mid-forties, but his writing inspired conservationists and civil rights heroes such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. This story gives you a feel for what the times were like during his life (1817-1862). He was surrounded by great thinkers.


 * LIZZIE BRIGHT AND THE BUCKMINSTER BOY** by Gary Schmidt - It's 1911. Turner Buckminster is a minster's son. He hates the new small town in Maine where his father has been called to lead a church. The other kids are not very welcoming and everything goes wrong when he tries to join in with them. So he mostly spends his time alone until he meets Lizzie Bright. She is an African American girl from a nearby island that was settled by former slaves. The residents of this island mostly live in poverty in shacks, and the town "fathers" want them gone to make way for a tourist attraction. As the battle between the whites and blacks heats up, Turner finds himself right in the middle. It is very shocking how things get totally out of control in this story. You won't believe how it ends!


 * THE GREEN GLASS SEA** by Ellen Klages - It's World War II, and Dewey has been living with her grandmother while her dad works as a scientist on a secret project. When grandma has a stroke, Dewey has to go live with her dad, which turns out to be in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The scientist are working on the top-secret Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear bomb. Life is not easy for Dewey and she is a very strong girl. If you are interested in what it might have been like during World War II, you will love this book.


 * THE WATSON'S GO TO BIRMINGHAM - 1963** by Christopher Paul Curtis - This is one of my favorite books of all. It's told from the viewpoint of younger brother Kenny. At the beginning of the story, Big brother is getting into bad behavior, but the author describes it in a way that it is so funny I laughed out loud. The parents decide the boys would benefit from a family trip to their old home in Birmingham, Alabama, so they all pile in the car and drive down there from Michigan. The south is still segregated at this time, so the boys get insight into a whole different way of life. When white supremacists blow up a church, people's lives are changed forever.