Some of our favorite historical fiction for school-age children.
Historical Stories
Compiled by:
Children's Services Staff
Younger Elementary
(Juvenile Fiction - J Hopkins)
In Knob Creek, Kentucky, in 1816, seven-year-old Abe falls into a creek and is rescued by his best friend, Austin Gollaher. See more historical fiction by this author, such as the Klondike Kid Trilogy. Recommended for ages 6-9.
(Juvenile First Chapter Books - J Alphin)
In Wyoming in the 1880s, a young boy fulfills his dream of finding a dinosaur skeleton on his father's ranch, outwits a man who would cheat him, and sells his find to a team of fossil hunters. Recommended for ages 6-9.
(Juvenile Picture Books - Ej Bla)
Explores the life of one lighthouse as it beams its message out to sea through shifting seasons, changeable weather, and the tenure of its final keeper. Recommended for ages 6-9.
(Juvenile Nonfiction - J 920 She)
Explores the previously uncelebrated but pivotal contributions of NASA's African American women mathematicians to America's space program, describing how Jim Crow laws segregated them despite their groundbreaking successes. Recommended for ages 6-9.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Maclach)
Series: MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, plain and tall ; 1.
When Papa advertises for a new wife to join his prairie family, Sarah appears from Maine. The children, Caleb and Anna, grow to love her very much but fear she is too homesick and will soon leave them. Read more books by this author about the Witting family and their life on the frontier. Recommended for ages 6-9.
Older Elementary
(Juvenile Fiction – J Appelfe)
Adam and Thomas, two nine-year-old Jewish boys who survive World War II, take refuge in the forest where they learn to forage and survive, soon meeting and helping other fugitives fleeing for their lives. Recommended for ages 9-12+.
(Juvenile Fiction – J Morris)
Series: The Knights' Tales
Relates tales of Sir Lancelot, the bravest knight in King Arthur's court. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Kelkar)
When her mother is jailed for being one of Gandhi's freedom fighters, ten-year-old Anjali overcomes her own prejudices and continues her mother's social reform work, befriending Untouchable children and working to integrate her school. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Yelchin)
In the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, ten-year-old Sasha idolizes his father, a devoted Communist, but when police take his father away and leave Sasha homeless, he is forced to examine his own perceptions, values and beliefs. Recommended for ages 9-12+.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Anderso)
After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War. Recommended for ages 9-12+.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Ryan)
Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica--and decades later three children, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny in the darkest days of the twentieth century, struggling to keep their families intact, and tied together by the music of the same harmonica. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Ryan)
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression. Recommended for ages 9-12+.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Clinera)
Discovering a book of Langston Hughes' poetry in the library helps Langston cope with the loss of his mother, relocating from Alabama to Chicago as part of the Great Migration, and being bullied. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Rhodes)
After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a white police officer, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Preus)
In 1841, rescued by an American whaler after a terrible shipwreck leaves him and his four companions castaways on a remote island, fourteen-year-old Manjiro, who dreams of becoming a samurai, learns new laws and customs as he becomes the first Japanese person to set foot in the United States. Recommended for ages 9-12+.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Robinso)
A tale based on a true story follows the experiences of a young Jewish boy in Brooklyn who befriends new neighbor and baseball icon Jackie Robinson before a well-intentioned mistake helps bridge disparate religious and cultural gaps. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Lai)
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Curtis)
Striking a deal with a formidable local in the aftermath of his father's death, 12-year-old Charlie, the child of sharecroppers, agrees to track down a band of thieves only to confront a difficult moral choice when he learns the true identities and circumstances of his targets. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Levine)
In 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas, painfully shy twelve-year-old Marlee sees her city and family divided over school integration, but her friendship with Liz, a new student, helps her find her voice and fight against racism. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction – J Selznick)
In 1766, a boy, Billy Marvel, is shipwrecked, rescued, and goes on to found a brilliant family of actors that flourishes in London until 1900--and nearly a century later, Joseph Jervis, runs away from home, seeking refuge with his uncle in London, and is captivated by the Marvel house, with its portraits and ghostly presences. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Hiranan)
The 12-year-old daughter of a refugee family forced to flee their home in the aftermath of the 1947 separation of Pakistan and India embarks on a treacherous journey that she records in a series of letters written to her late mother. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Lowry)
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Williams)
Series: Gaither Sisters; 1
In the summer of 1968, eleven-year-old Delphine and her sisters travel from Brooklyn to Oakland, California to spend a month with their mother whom they barely know. There they discover their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Holm)
As the only girl in a Finnish American family of seven brothers, May Amelia Jackson resents being expected to act like a lady while growing up in Washington state in 1899. Recommended for ages 9-12.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Frost)
Twelve-year-olds Anikwa, of the Miami village of Kekionga, and James, of the trading post outside Fort Wayne, find their friendship threatened by the rising fear and tension brought by the War of 1812. Recommended for ages 9-12+.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Gar)
Twelve-year-old Smith is a denizen of the mean streets of eighteenth-century London, living hand to mouth by virtue of wit and pluck. After deftly picking the pocket of an old man, he finds himself in a tough spot, which leads Smith on a breathtaking adventure. Recommended for ages 9-12+.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Avi)
In 1776, after witnessing the execution of Nathan Hale in New York City, newly occupied by the British army, young Sophia Calderwood resolves to do all she can to help the American cause, including becoming a spy. Look for more historical fiction titles by this author. Recommended for ages 9-12+.
(Juvenile Fiction – J Bradley)
A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother. Recommended for ages 9-12+.
(Juvenile Fiction – J Wolk)
Twelve-year-old Annabelle must learn to stand up for what's right in the face of a manipulative and violent new bully who targets people Annabelle cares about, including a homeless World War I veteran. Recommended for ages 9-12+.
