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
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Oregon City Public Library
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The peacock
MacLeod, Jennifer Tzivia
Paper Book
What do you do about a peacock in your backyard? World War II has just ended and Barbara is waiting for things to get back to normal. But, instead, her father has to travel to Europe, leaving their Toronto home behind. His company has a plan to give Jewish refugees jobs as tailors so they...

Bridging Fiction (Grades 2-4)

Paloma's song for Puerto Rico : a diary from 1898
Rivera, Adriana Erin
Paper Book
Created in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Latino, Nuestras Voces shares inspiring Latino stories.It is 1898, and twelve-year-old Paloma lives in Puerto Rico with her Papi, Mami, and little brother, Jorge. They are coffee farmers, and Paloma loves the...

Bridging Fiction (Grades 2-4)

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,...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

When we flew away : a novel of Anne Frank, before the diary
Hoffman, Alice
Paper Book
Bestselling author Alice Hoffman delivers a stunning novel about one of contemporary history's most acclaimed figures, exploring the little-known details of Anne Frank's life before she went into hiding. Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired readers for...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Safiyyah's war
Khan, Hiba Noor
Paper Book
Inspired by the true story of how the Grand Mosque of Paris saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during World War II, this breathtaking tale of suspense, compassion, and courage stars an extraordinary young heroine readers will never forget. "A riveting read for children and adults alike." -...

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)

The songbird and the rambutan tree
Abendanon, Lucille
Paper Book
Batavia, Dutch East Indies, 1942.Emmy has the voice of an angel but hasn't sung a note since a family tragedy. With war looming, her father plans to ship her off to a singing school in England for safety. But all Emmy wants to do is stay in Batavia with her best friend, Bakti, even if it means...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Wings to soar
Athaide, Tina
Paper Book
A historically relevant middle-grade novel-in-verse about a girl's resiliency when faced with hatred towards refugees. Readers of The Night Diary and Inside Out and Back Again shouldn't miss out. It's 1972 and Viva's Indian family has been expelled from Uganda and...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

The luminous life of Lucy Landry
Johnson, Anna Rose
Paper Book
Lucy, a spirited French-Ojibwe orphan, is sent to the stormy waters of Lake Superior to live with a mysterious family of lighthouse-keepers--and, she hopes, to find the legendary necklace her father spent his life seeking... Selena Lucy Landry (named for a ship, as every sailor's...

Children's Fiction (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-winning author of The War That Saved My Life and Fighting Words comes a middle grade novel set at the border between freedom and fear in World War II France, at the Chateau de Chenonceau, where a Jewish girl who has lost everything but her life must...

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)

Warrior on the mound
Headen, Sandra W.
Paper Book
Narrated by twelve-year-old Cato, this intense and evocative story of racial unrest in prewar North Carolina ends with a dramatic match between white and Black little league teams. 1935. Twelve-year-old Cato wants nothing more than to play baseball, perfect his pitch, and meet Mr...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Code name Kingfisher
Kessler, Liz
Paper Book
"A stirring story that will give any reader a boost of bravery in the face of adversity." --Booklist A young girl learns of her grandmother and great-aunt's involvement in the Dutch Resistance during World War II in this "intense story, gorgeously told" (School...

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 kid
Schill, Jeff
Paper Book
The Kid is the quickest draw in the West. Little does anyone know he isn't real. A fast-paced, cleverly woven, witty middle grade western adventure. It's 1881 in Destiny, Colorado. Fourteen-year-old Henry Upton's parents have died, and he's trying to keep his three younger...

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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