Books for Kids - Historical Fiction

Check out this list generated by our Youth Services Librarians for the Scotch Plains Public Library's annual summer reading challenge.


Updated May 8, 2023
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Beyond the bright sea
Wolk, Lauren
Paper Book
- Winner of the 2018 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction -  From the bestselling author of Echo Mountain and Newbery Honor-winner Wolf Hollow, Beyond the Bright Sea is an acclaimed best book of the year. An NPR Best...
Bear and Fred : a World War II story
Argaman, Iris
Paper Book
The true story of a Jewish boy in hiding during World War II, as told by his teddy bear. I felt Fred's small hand grab me.He patted me and whispered,"Bear, I won't leave you here all by yourself.You are my best friend." Based on true events and beautifully illustrated,...
Let the children march
Clark-Robinson, Monica
Paper Book
This powerful picture book introduces young readers to a key event in the struggle for Civil Rights. Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Award. In 1963 Birmingham, Alabama, thousands of African American children volunteered to march for their rights after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King...
Catherine's war
Billet, Julia
Paper Book
"A shining story of a young girl who struggles to come of age and find her place in a world fraught with danger." --Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hitler Youth * Winner of the Youth Prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival (voted by readers) * Winner...
Show me a sign
LeZotte, Ann Clare
Paper Book
Don't miss the companion book, Set Me Free CRITICS ARE RAVING ABOUT SHOW ME A SIGN Winner of the 2021 Schneider Family Book Award * NPR Best Books of 2020 * Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2020 * School Library Journal Best Books of 2020 *...
Hello lighthouse
Blackall, Sophie
Paper Book
A beloved picture book from two-time Caldecott Medal award-winner Sophie Blackall that transports readers to the seaside in timeless, nautical splendor! Watch the days and seasons pass as the wind blows, the fog rolls in, and icebergs drift by. Outside, there is water all around....
Finding Langston
Cline-Ransome, Lesa
Paper Book
A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction When eleven-year-old Langston's father moves them from their home in Alabama to Chicago's Bronzeville district, it feels like he's giving up everything he loves.
Players in pigtails
Corey, Shana.
Paper Book
A winning new picture book about the All American Girls Professional Baseball League--written with sass and style by all-star Shana Corey with illustrations from promising young rookie Rebecca Gibbon. Did you know that one of America's favorite songs, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game,...
Titanicat
Crisp, Marty.
Paper Book
Young Jim Mulholland can't believe his good luck: He has signed on as a cabin boy to the world's finest ocean liner, the Titanic, and can't wait for the history-making voyage across the sea to America. As part of his duties Jim is in charge of the ship's cat, a beautiful tortoiseshell that also...
The other side of the river
Dobbs, Alda P.
Paper Book
From the award-winning author of Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna, Alda P. Dobbs, comes a compelling new novel about building a new life in America. Strong and determined, Petra Luna returns in a story about the immigrant experience that continues to be relevant today. Petra Luna is in...
War and Millie McGonigle
Cushman, Karen
Paper Book
The Newbery Award-winning author of Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice tells a heartfelt and humorous story of WWII on the homefront. Millie McGonigle lives in sunny California, where her days are filled with beach and surf. It should be perfect-...
It ain't so awful, falafel
Dumas, Firoozeh
Paper Book
Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block...for the fourth time. California's Newport Beach is her family's latest perch, and she's determined to shuck her brainy loner persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name--Cindy. It's the late 1970s, and fitting in...
Bea and the new deal horse
Elliott, Laura
Paper Book
This lyrical middle grade historical novel set during the Great Depression from award-winning author L. M. Elliott is a moving tale of the spirit of American persistence, found family, and the magical partnership between girl and horse. Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for...
Full of Beans
Holm, Jennifer L.
Paper Book
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award Five Starred Reviews! A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids, 2016 Grown-ups lie. That's one truth Beans knows for sure. He and his gang know how to spot a whopper a mile away, because they are the savviest bunch of barefoot...
My life as an ice cream sandwich
Zoboi, Ibi Aanu
Paper Book
National Book Award-finalist Ibi Zoboi makes her middle-grade debut with a moving story of a girl finding her place in a world that's changing at warp speed. Twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace Norfleet has lived with her beloved grandfather Jeremiah in Huntsville, Alabama ever since she...
Turtle in paradise : the graphic novel
Holm, Jennifer L.
Paper Book
A graphic novel adaptation of the beloved, bestselling Newbery Honor-winning novel. Eleven-year-old Turtle is smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935 and money-and sometimes even dreams-is scarce. So when Turtle's mother...
Sky boys : how they built the Empire State Building
Hopkinson, Deborah.
Paper Book
This Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book and ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book provides a riveting brick-by-brick account of how one of the most amazing accomplishments in American architecture came to be. It's 1930 and times are tough for Pop and his son. But look! On the corner of 34th Street...
Three keys
Yang, Kelly
Paper Book
The story of Mia and her family and friends at the Calivista Motel continues in this powerful, hilarious, and resonant sequel to the award-winning novel Front Desk.Mia Tang thinks she's going to have the best year ever. She and her parents are the proud owners of the Calivista Motel, Mia gets...
The tortoise and the soldier : based on true events
Foreman, Michael
Paper Book
As a boy, Henry Friston dreamed of traveling the world. He thought he was signing up for a lifetime of adventure when he joined the Royal Navy. But when World War I begins, it launches the world, and Henry, into turmoil. While facing enemy fire at Gallipoli, Henry discovers the strength he needs...
The war that saved my life
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker
Paper Book
*Newbery Honor book *Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award  *Forbes 25 Top Historical Fiction Books Of All Time selection This #1 New York Times bestseller is an exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War II,...
The lucky ones
Jackson, Linda Williams
Paper Book
Award-winning author Linda Williams Jackson pulls from her own childhood in the Mississippi Delta to tell the story of Ellis Earl, who dreams of a real house, food enough for the whole family--and to be someone. It's 1967, and eleven-year-old Ellis Earl Brown has big dreams. He's...
The legend of Auntie Po
Khor, Shing Yin
Paper Book
A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST Part historical fiction, part fable, and 100 percent adventure. Thirteen-year-old Mei reimagines the myths of Paul Bunyan as starring a Chinese heroine while she works in a Sierra Nevada logging camp in 1885. Aware of the racial tumult...
Wind flyers
Johnson, Angela
Paper Book
Three-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Angela Johnson and New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long introduce readers to a band of under-celebrated World War II heroes--the Tuskegee Airmen. All he ever wanted to do was fly. With...
The Parker inheritance
Johnson, Varian
Paper Book
A Boston Globe / Horn Book Honor winner * Four Starred Reviews * Over Ten Best-of-Year Lists"Powerful.... Johnson writes about the long shadows of the past with such ambition that any reader with a taste for mystery will appreciate the puzzle Candice and Brandon must solve." -- The New York Times...
Letters from Cuba
Behar, Ruth
Paper Book
Pura Belpré Award Winner Ruth Behar's inspiring story of a young Jewish girl who escapes Poland to make a new life in Cuba, while she works to rescue the rest of her family The situation is getting dire for Jews in Poland on the eve of World War II. Esther's father has fled to...
The night diary
Hiranandani, Veera
Paper Book
A 2019 NEWBERY HONOR BOOK "A gripping, nuanced story of the human cost of conflict appropriate for both children and adults."                                          ...
A place where sunflowers grow = Sabaku ni saita himawari
Lee-Tai, Amy
Paper Book
While she and her family are interned at Topaz Relocation Centre during World War II, Mari gradually adjusts as she enrols in an art class, makes a friend, plants sunflowers and waits for them to grow.
Coming up Cuban
Manzano, Sonia
Paper Book
From Pura Belpré Honoree and Emmy-award winning actor Sonia Manzano--best known as "Maria" from Sesame Street--comes the expansive and timeless story of four children who must carve out a path for themselves in the wake of Fidel Castro's rise to power.Fifteen-time Emmy Award winner and Pura Belpre...
The bicycle spy
McDonough, Yona Zeldis
Paper Book
Can Marcel make the ride of his life?Marcel loves riding his bicycle, whether he's racing through the streets of his small town in France or making bread deliveries for his parents' bakery. He dreams of someday competing in the Tour de France, the greatest bicycle race. But ever since Germany's...
Rescue on the Oregon trail
Messner, Kate
Paper Book
Meet Ranger! He's a time-traveling golden retriever who has a nose for trouble . . . and always saves the day!Ranger has been trained as a search-and-rescue dog, but can't officially pass the test because he's always getting distracted by squirrels during exercises. One day, he finds a mysterious...
New shoes
Meyer, Susan
Paper Book
Ella Mae is used to wearing her cousin's hand-me-down shoes--but when her latest pair is already too tight, she's thrilled at the chance to get new shoes. But at the shoe store, Ella Mae and her mother have to wait until there are no white customers to serve first. She...
One crazy summer
Williams-Garcia, Rita.
Paper Book
Set during one of the most tumultuous years in recent American history, One Crazy Summer is the heartbreaking, funny tale of three girls who travel to Oakland, California, in 1968 in search of the mother who abandoned them.It's an unforgettable story told by a distinguished author...
Iceberg
Nielsen, Jennifer A.
Paper Book
As disaster looms on the horizon, a young stowaway onboard the Titanic will need all her courage and wits to stay alive. A thrilling tale from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen! Hazel Rothbury is traveling all alone from her home in England aboard...
Gittel's journey : an Ellis Island story
Newman, Lesle a
Paper Book
A 2020 Sydney Taylor Honor Book! A 2019 National Jewish Book Award Winner! Gittel and her mother were supposed to immigrate to America together, but when her mother is stopped by the health inspector, Gittel must make the journey alone. Her mother writes her cousin's...
Alice on the island : a Pearl Harbor survival story
Poe, Mayumi Shimose
Paper Book
In 1941, thirteen-year-old Alice's days are filled with swimming in the Hawaiian sea, going to school, and helping watch her younger siblings. But on December 7, everything changes when she experiences an act of war, the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As the United States enters World War II, Alice's...
Betty before X
Shabazz, Ilyasah
Paper Book
*A New York Public Library Best Children's Book of 2018!* *A Washington Post Best Children's Book of 2018* *A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018* In Detroit, 1945, eleven-year-old Betty's house doesn't quite feel like home. She believes...
The blackbird girls
Blankman, Anne
Paper Book
NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD WINNER A SYDNEY TAYLOR MIDDLE GRADE HONOR BOOK Like Ruta Sepetys for middle grade, Anne Blankman pens a poignant and timeless story of friendship that twines together moments in underexplored history. On a spring morning, neighbors...
Zora and me : the cursed ground
Simon, T. R.
Paper Book
A 2019 Edgar Award Nominee A powerful fictionalized account of Zora Neale Hurston's childhood adventures explores the idea of collective memory and the lingering effects of slavery. "History ain't in a book, especially when it comes to folks like us. History is in...
Yonder
Standish, Ali
Paper Book
From Ali Standish, award-winning author of The Ethan I Was Before, August Isle, How to Disappear Completely, and The Mending Summer, comes a captivating historical fiction middle grade novel about a boy on the home front in World War II who must solve the mystery of the disappearance of his best...
Winterkill : a novel
Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk
Paper Book
From acclaimed author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, this incredibly gripping and timely story set during the Holodomor in 1930s Ukraine introduces young readers to a pivotal moment in history-- and how it relates to the events of today. Nyl is just trying to stay alive. Ever since the...
Hoops
Tavares, Matt
Paper Book
As seen on the Today show A work of fiction inspired by a true story, Matt Tavares's debut graphic novel dramatizes the historic struggle for gender equality in high school sports. It is 1975 in Indiana, and the Wilkins Regional High School girls' basketball...
Island of spies
Turnage, Sheila
Paper Book
"The Dime Novel Kids are spunky, spirited, smart, sassy--and so is Sheila Turnage's writing. It sizzles and sparkles." --Lauren Wolk, author of Newbery Honor Book Wolf Hollow From the Newbery Honor-winning author of Three Times Lucky comes a middle grade WWII spy...

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