Children's Book Suggestions | Historical Fiction 2025

Some of our favorite new historical fiction books that arrived at the library in 2024! Browse the library catalog for more historical fiction or take a look at last year's recommendation list. Nonfiction is also a great choice for readers interested in history. Biographies are shelved in 921 and history in 930-999.

Updated February 15, 2025
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One big open sky
Cline-Ransome, Lesa
Paper Book
A Newbery Honor Book Three women narrate a perilous wagon journey westward that could set them free--or cost them everything they have--in this intergenerational verse novel that explores the history of the Black homesteader movement. 1879, Mississippi. Young dreamer...
Max in the house of spies
Gidwitz, Adam
Paper Book
An acclaimed Best Book of 2024! Instant New York Times bestseller . Wall Street Journal Best Books of the Year . Booklist Editors' Choice . Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year . School Library Journal Best Books of the Year . Common Sense Best Books...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

The (mostly) true story of Cleopatra's needle
Gutman, Dan
Paper Book
From the author of the My Weird School books, an adventure story that spans centuries and continents. In Central Park, New York, stands Cleopatra's Needle. But what do you know about? Did you know that thousands of people worked in 1461 BCE to build it? Then hundreds more...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Lion of the sky
Hemnani, Ritu
Paper Book
An evocative historical novel in verse about a boy and his family who are forced to flee their home and become refugees after the British Partition of India. Perfect for fans of Other Words for Home.  Twelve-year-old Raj is happiest flying kites with his best friend, Iqbal. As their...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

When we flew away : a novel of Anne Frank before the diary
Hoffman, Alice
Paper Book

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Safiyyah's war
Khan, Hiba Noor
Paper Book

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Light and air
Wendell, Mindy Nichols
Paper Book
It's 1935, and tuberculosis is ravaging the nation. Everyone is afraid of this deadly respiratory illness. But what happens when you actually have it? When Halle and her mother both come down with TB, they are shunned--and then they are sent to the J.N. Adam Tuberculosis...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Mendel the mess-up
LaBan, Terry
Paper Book
Cursed from birth, Mendel Schlotz is the unluckiest kid in his village. He's also the only one who can save it. Ask anyone--twelve-year-old Mendel can't do anything right. When he tries to herd goats, they get out. When he tries to chop wood, he breaks the ax. It's...

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

Lost in the Empire City
Avi
Paper Book
Newbery Medalist Avi is back with a gripping exploration of the immigrant experience at the turn of the twentieth century. A must-read for fans of Moon over Manifest and Echo Mountain. When Santo's father left their tiny town in Italy for America, he made Santo promise to...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

The night war
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker
Paper Book
From the two-time Newbery Honor-winner and a #1 New York Times bestselling author of The War That Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won comes a new middle-grade novel, in which a girl who has lost everything must decide whether to risk her life to bring others to freedom. In 1942, much of France...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

The selkie's daughter
Brennan, Linda Crotta
Paper Book
A cozy, richly imagined fantasy where a young selkie girl must save her family from a vengeful king. Brigit knows all the old fisherman songs and legends by heart: sea goddess, warriors, and people who are not quite human. But Brigit also knows the truth. It's evident in the...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Code Name Kingfisher
Kessler, Liz
Paper Book
From million-copy bestselling author Liz Kessler comes the powerful new landmark World War II novel for fans of Michael Morpurgo and Phil Earle.  When Liv finds a secret box from her grandmother's childhood she uncovers an extraordinary war-time story of...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Swimming with spies
Lucyk-Berger, Chrystyna
Paper Book
As war escalates between the Russians and Ukrainians in the port city of Sevastopol, can one girl and a pod of dolphins prove that communication is the greatest weapon of all? It's February of 2014 in the seaport city of Sevastopol in Crimea. Sofiya Oleksandrivna only wants two...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

A two-placed heart : a memoir in verse
Nguyen, Doan Phuong
Paper Book
Afraid her sister (and maybe even herself) could lose sight of their Vietnamese identity, twelve-year-old Bom writes a poetic memoir to help them both remember--a love letter in verse to sisterhood and the places we leave behind. Bom can't believe that her sister doesn't see herself...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Uprising
Nielsen, Jennifer A.
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Iceberg, Jennifer A. Nielsen inspires readers with a brand-new thriller based on the remarkable true story of a young Polish girl who bravely fought, participating in the Warsaw city uprising, and took a stand in the name of freedom.<...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

The Bletchley riddle
Sepetys, Ruta
Paper Book
A stunning collaboration between award-winning and bestselling authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, this middle grade historical adventure follows two siblings at Bletchley Park, the home of WWII codebreakers, as they try to unravel a mystery surrounding their mother's disappearance.

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Pearl
Smith, Sherri L.
Paper Book
With five starred reviews and numerous accolades, a beautifully crafted and captivating graphic novel from award-winning writer Sherri L. Smith and Eisner-nominated artist Christine Norrie about a Japanese-American girl who must survive years of uncertainty and questions of loyalty in Hiroshima...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)


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