Historical Fiction and Picture Books for Older Readers

Henry's Freedom Box

Ellen Levine

This is a fictionalized account of Henry "Box" Brown who was a slave in the 1840's grew up without knowing when his birthday was.  Slaves did not have birthdays and never had anything to celebrate.  Henry dreams of his freedom, but his dream continues to get pushed away because he is taken away from his family to work in a warehouse.  Even after Henry marries and starts a family of his own, the dream of freedom continues to diminish.  His family is sold in a slave auction and Henry is left with nothing.  One day while working at the warehouse, Henry lifts a craft and has an amazing idea.  He will mail himself to Philadelphia and become a free man.  After the long journey in the crate, Henry arrives in the North and celebrates his new birthday as a free man!

Chico

Sandra Day O'Connor

In this story, inspired by true life events, Sandra is a young girl who loves riding her horse Chico and loves living on her family's ranch.  One day, Sandra took her pony for a ride to see a new calf that had just been born.  On the ride Sandra encounters a rattlesnake and Chico becomes frightened.  Frightened by the snake, Sandra rides off very quickly and heads home.  Later on her father asks if she would like to return to see the new calf and Sandra conquers her fear of the snake and makes the journey to see the baby calf.  Sandra's experiences on the ranch as a young girl helped her become the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. 
 
Pop's Bridge

Eve Bunting

When the idea of the Golden Gate Bridge came to light, everyone thought it could not be done.  But for Robert's father, building the bridge was his job and it would be a very big accomplishment.  Robert's father is an iron worker and robert believes his father has the most important job out of all the workers.  When something does not go according to plan, it takes the entire work team to bring everything and everyone to safety.  Robert learns that every man on the job plays an important role in building the beautiful bridge.

The things they carried

Tim Obrien

Is a Historical fiction set in Vietnam.  Although the book is technically a work of fiction many of the stories are based on real life events that Tim Obrien (Author) has experienced, Obrien went as far as to name the protagonist after himself, and they both share the same career (writer).  The book is actually several different stories put together.

Fever! 1793

Laurie Halse Anderson

This book takes place in Philadelphia during the Yellow Fever scare of 1793.  The main character is a likable teenage girl named Mattie.  Before the epidemic Mattie lives with her Mother and Grandfather in an upstairs apartment above a coffee house the family owns.  Once the fever starts to spread chaos begins to descend upon Philly and Mattie and her Grandfather try to escape the city but are quarantined because guards believe her Grandfather has contracted to the disease.  How will Mattie survive when everyone around her getting sick and her home and life are in jeopardy?

Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane

The Red Badge of Courage is the Story of an 18 year old named Henry who has joined the Union during the American Civil War seeking glory.  When Henry sees his first battle he flees only to hear his commanding officer lay claim to victory as he is running.  Henry feels like a coward and the rest of the book is about him wrestling with his feelings of cowardice while still engaging in different battles.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead

Avi

Crispin is an award winning book about a boy who is growing up a servant in 12 century England.  Crispin is chased from his village after his mother dies because he is accused of stealing, which he did not.  While on the run he meets a traveler named bear and begins to learn the mysteries about the lead cross he was given by priest after his mother died.

Street Lit

Slam By Walter Dean Myers Is a story of a basketball player named Greg “Slam” Harris. Slam has a goal to play basketball in college and beyond.  He is from Harlem NY, and is constantly struggling to stay free of the distractions that could potentially ruin his dream.  Despite the best efforts of his mother, Slam’s grades are slipping and he is at risk to not be allowed to play ball.  Add to the drama a girlfriend and a best friend who is beginning to make some poor life choices and you have a recipe for a good book!

Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri this is the story of Coltrane, an African American teenager from Detroit.  After getting expelled from school, Cole’s mother realizes that she is losing him and can’t handle the stress of raising a misbehaving son alone.  After the meeting with the principal Cole’s mother doesn’t take Cole home, she drives through the night to Philadelphia, where a man named Harper lives, Cole is about to meet his father for the first time.  Harper is a cowboy, loves taking care of horses more than anything else.  At the same time Cole is “dumped” in Philly, Harper’s stall gets a new horse that doesn’t trust anybody, except Cole.  This is a coming of age story where Cole learns to forgive his father and mother because of the hard work he has to do to take care of Boo, the horse that chose him.

Native Son by Richard Wright Is a book about Bigger Thomas, black young man who lives in the Ghetto with his Mother and two siblings.  Bigger’s family rely on him for support so everyone is excited when he gets a well-paying job as a chuffer for a prominent white family.  Bigger is treated as an equal by his new bosses and it is confusing and frustrating for him.  One night when driving his boss’ daughter around town with her communist boyfriend, bigger is “pushed to the edge” by their kindness.  The Daughter gets drunk and is intimate with her boyfriend in the back of the car while Bigger is driving.  The daughter is so drunk that when it is time to go home she cannot walk and Bigger must carry her to her room.  When he puts her down he cannot resist the urge to kiss her.  That’s when the daughter’s blind mother walks in, Bigger panics and places a pillow over the girls face so that she does not make any noise.  When the Mother leaves, Bigger realizes that he has accidentally suffocated the young women…

A Child Called “it” by David Pelzer

This is the Autobiographical novel depicting the story of a young child named Dave and his survival of the horrors of his home.  According to the book, young Dave was treated like an animal, or worse, by his alcoholic mother for no apparent reason or wrong doing of his own.  He was tortured, starved, neglected and abused and it took years for anyone in the outside world to suspect anything, and if they did they kept their opinions to themselves.  There is controversy surrounding the validity of some of Pelzer’s claims, but even if this is a complete work of fiction, it would steal be a heart wrenching tear jerker.

We Are The Ship : the Story of Negro League Baseball  by Kadir Nelson, forward by Hank Aaron
This is a story about the Negro Baseball League and the talented young men who wanted to pursue major league careers despite the discrimination and cruelty.  The narrator discusses the beginning of the Negro Baseball League in the 1920s up until Jackie Robinson's crossover in the majors in 1947.  The oil paintings in the book are stunning and help bring to life the story of these talented men.

Bad News for Outlaws by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
This a biography about Bass Reeves who was a peace officer and hero in the Old West.  Bass Reeves always caught the men whose warrants he had.  Criminals feared him and law abiding citizens were grateful for his bravery.  This story is very detailed and will grab the attention of young readers.  It discusses growing up in slavery then to grow up and be a feared and respected lawman.

Push by Sapphire
Told from the perspective of Precious Jones, a young poor black woman living in Harlem, New York.  Precious lives with her overweight dead beat mother who has been torturing and molesting Precious since she was little.  Precious' father, who does not live with the family, only comes over when he wants to have sexual relations with his daughter.  Precious has her first child at twelve and her second child just a few years later.  She gets suspended from school after becoming pregnant with her second.  Her father is also the father of both her children.  Precious is enrolled in an after school program where each girl is told to keep a journal.  The journal helps Precious with her children, standing up to her mother and becoming an independent woman for herself and her children.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Steve Harmon, a sixteen year old is put on trial for a murder after being accused for being the lookout for another young man who robbed a drug store and killed the clerk.  The book is written as a screenplay and handwritten comments by Steve who is trying to stay sane will waiting his trial in jail.  His entries describe in detail the horror of prison life and how terrified this young man is of spending the rest of his life in this hell.

And the winner is...

The Graveyard Book by Neal Gaiman
Publisher: New York: HarperCollins, c2008
Grades: 6-8One night a man names Jack sneaks into a family's home and murders everyone except for the baby.  The young infant climbs out of his crib and crawls out of the house and into a graveyard in the neighborhood. The graves people protect the boy and Silas, not quite dead or alive, escorts the man Jack out of the graveyard and erases his memory.  The young boy is adopted by the ghosts of Mr. and Mrs. Owens and they call the boy Nobody Owens, Bod for short.  Bod is given the freedom of the graveyard and can learn cool tricks while staying guarded by Silas.  Bod cannot leave the graveyard or he will be killed by the man Jack.  When Bod wants to go to a school with humans, what decision will his graveyard family decide?

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
New York: Wendy Lamb Books, c2009
Grades: 6-8

Miranda is a latch key kid living in New York City with her single mother who cannot stand her job.  Miranda and her best friend Sal know their way around the city and stick together when going anywhere.  When Sal gets punched by thew new kid at school, something sets him off and he completely shuts Miranda out of his life.  He will not even look at her in school or walk home with her in the afternoons.  When the apartment key that Miranda's mother hides for emergencies disappears, a note is found in its place.  It reads: I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own. I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.  The notes continue to surface and Miranda believes that the person sending them knows everything about her, even things that have not happened yet.  The notes lead Miranda to believe that she is the key to stopping a horrible death.  Will she be able to prevent a death, or will it be too late?

Holes by Louis Sachar
New York: Dell Yearling, c1998
Grades: 6-8

Stanley Yelnats is a kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Stanley is sent away to Camp Green Lake which is a juvenile detention center, for a crime he did not commit.  Every day the boys at the camp must dig holes in the heat as their punishment.  Stanley soon realizes that they are out digging in the Texas desert because the Warden is looking for something.  Stanley meets other boys at the camp and soon learns about his family's curse and why the Warden is looking for something buried in the desert.  He discovers the relationship between Katherine and Sam and how racism kept them apart.  His friend Zero is also linked to his family's curse and may be the only person that can help lift the curse.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
New York: First Second, 2006
Grades: 9-12
This graphic novel is a multinarrative story about a boy named Jin Wang who has a hard time accepting his culture and fitting in at his new school.  Soon, Jin is not the only Asian American at his school. Wei-Chen arrives and at first Jin does not want to be his friend. But after countless time passes without any friends, Jin decides to take Wei-Chen’s friendship.  Three narratives alternate throughout the novel and the story begins to intertwine at the climax of the story.  Jin realizes how important it is to be true to yourself and your culture and he looks at his life in a new light.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2002

Grades: 8-10
Matteo Alcracn was born a clone of the most powerful drug lord the world has ever known, El Patron.  This book is about the struggle to find yourself in a world where you are different.  Matt doesn’t know that he is a clone at first he just knows that he is treated differently and has to fight to maintain his close relationships.  When Matt finds out the reason for his existence is to be used for spare parts for El Patron, escape is the only option.

 
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
New York: Wendy Lamb Books, c2004
Grades: 6-8

Daisy is a teenage girl who is sent from Manhattan to live with her aunt and cousins in London.  Soon after her arrival, her Aunt leaves on business and the cousins are left to manage on their own.  A war breaks out in London, bombs exploding, and the family farm slowly crumbling every day.  The military soon invades their isolated village and the cousins become separated.  Daisy and her cousin Edmond have fallen in love and tearing them apart leaves Daisy uncertain of their future.  She sets out to find Edmond and reunite with her family.

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2011
Grades: 9-12

 A love story written through dictionary entries that follows the relationship of the nameless narrator and his significant other.  This book is written for an adult audience but it can also be appropriate for high school students.  It is a quick read and allows the reader into the world of love and relationships.

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
New York: Vintage Contemporaries, c2003
Grades: 9-12

 The main character Christopher, who is living with autism, discovers his neighbors Poodle Wellington dead in the yard.  He begins to think that the dog was murdered and sets off on his own adventure to try and solve the murder.  He begins to chronicle his discoveries by recording it in a book, which is the book we are reading, and we get to see his perspective in the autistic world.  Christopher begins to uncover more than just murder evidence when he finds letters written to him from his supposedly deceased mother.  He feels betrayed by his father who has hidden these letters and lied about his mother dying.  Christopher runs off to find his mother in London and reunites with her.

Must reads: Classics and Caldecotts

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, NY. c1961
Grades: 3-5

When young James Henry Trotter becomes an orphan he is sent to live with his two horrible aunts named Sponge and Spiker.  He misses his old life with his family, but is now treated like a slave by his mean old aunts.  After receiving magic crystals from a mysterious old man, James drops the crystals underneath a peach tree.  Strange things begin happening and James will begin the greatest journey of his life.  The magic crystals help a giant peach grow at the top of the peach tree and it grew to be the size of a house.  James finds a secret entry way and meets fantastic friends named Old-Green-Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug and Miss Spider.  The peach breaks of the tree and sets sail on an amazing adventure and James finds a place where he truly feels at home.

 

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Publisher: Harper Trophy, NY.  c1947
Grades: Pre-K -2

In a great big green room there is a little bunny getting ready to go to sleep.  He looks around the room and discovers all the toys, animals and noises in his room.  Before he falls asleep the little bunny says goodnight to everything in his green room.  "Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere."  This picture book is the perfect bedtime story and can be enjoyed by young children and beginner readers.



Corduroy by Don Freeman


Publisher: Viking, NY.  c1968
Grades: K-2

Corduroy is a toy Teddy Bear that sits on the shelf of a toy store dreaming about being bought by a child.  One day his dream almost comes true when a young girl tells her mother that she wants to take Corduroy home.  Her mother tells her that they have already spent all their money and that the Teddy Bear is missing a button and they leave the store.  When the store closes for the night, Corduroy jumps of his shelf and searches for his lost button.  He looks everywhere and even tries to take a button from a mattress, but he doesn't succeed.  While he is trying to steal the mattress button, he falls off the mattress and knocks over a lamp.  The security guard finds him and brings him back to his shelf.  The next day the little girl comes back to the toy store and buys Corduroy even though he has a missing button.  When she brought Corduroy home, she sewed on a brand new button and gave her new Teddy Bear a great big hug.


The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Publisher: Collier Books, NY.  c1950
Grades: 4-6

Though this is not the first book C.S. Lewis wrote for, nor is it the first chronologically in The Chronicles of Narnia series, it was the first to be published, and often times the first to be read. The story is about Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy finding the magical world of Narnia while playing hide and seek in an old wardrobe. When they get to Narnia they come to realize that something is wrong, Narnia has been cursed by the evil White Witch so that is snows forever.  To make things more interesting, the children realize that they have to return Narnia to its former glory and break the Witches curse of “Always winter but never Christmas.

 
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston MA. c1985
Grades: K-2

On Christmas Eve, a boy lies in his bed carefully listening for Santa's sleigh bells.  His friend has told him that Santa does not exist and there are no sleigh bells that come on Christmas Eve.  In the middle of the night, the boy does not hear sleigh bells, but looks out his window to find a steam engine right outside his house.  The conductor asks him to take a ride on the Polar Express which is heading to the North Pole.  When they reach the North Pole after their long journey Santa is ready to give out the first Christmas gift of the year.  The boy is chosen to receive the first gift of Christmas.  He asks Santa for a silver bell from the reindeer harness.  Santa has an elf cut off one of the bells and hands it to the boy.  When the clock struck midnight Santa took off on his sleigh and all the children boarded the Polar Express.  When the boy went to reach for the bell in his pocket he only found a hole in his bathrobe.  There was no turning back, and the train was no stopping.  When he returned home, the boy was sad and waved goodbye to the Polar Express.  On Christmas morning, the boy opened up one of his gifts from Mr. C.  He was delighted to find the silver bell waiting for him under the Christmas Tree.

 
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Publisher: Scholastic Press, NY.  c2007
Grades: 4-7

Hugo is a twelve year old boy who lives in Paris in 1931.  After his parents died, he is sent to live with his uncle who operates the clock at a train station.  Both Hugo and his uncle live in a secret apartment behind the clock where old employees used to live years ago.  After his uncle disappeared, Hugo had to live in secret and continue to work the clock so he would not be taken away to an orphanage.  While fixing the clock, Hugo is also working on something called an automaton that his father had found before he died. The automaton was found in a fire that happened in the museum and is burned badly. Hugo is trying to fix it in hopes that there is a secret message that the automaton will write from his father once it is repaired. Hugo begins stealing toys from the toy shop at the train station and meets a girl named Isabelle whose godfather owns the toy shop.  He begins working at the toy shop after getting caught stealing.  His father's sketch book is taken away and Hugo has to work off his debt in order to get his notebook back.  Without the sketch book, Hugo will not be able to repair the automaton and receive his father's message.


Hey, Al by Arthur Yorinks illustrated by Richard Egielski


Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, NY. c1986
Grades: K-2

Al is a janitor who lives on the West Side of NYC in a tiny apartment with his dog Eddie.  They are living in a cramped space and are constantly bickering back and forth because they want to live someplace nicer.  One morning, when Al was getting ready for work a large bird offered to take Al and Eddie to a paradise where they could life worry and stress free.  Al and Eddie decided that they needed a change, so the next day the bird appeared and took them to an island in the sky.  Al and Eddie ate, swam, relaxed and played with all tropical animals.  This island was too good to be true, one morning Al and Eddie woke up and realized that they were starting to transform into birds.  The both decided to head back to their tiny apartment so they flapped their new wings and flew home to NYC.  Eddie was so tired that he could not fly for long and fell into the open sea.  Al made it home without his friend as was tired and upset.  Luckily, Eddie was a talented swimmer and made it home where they went back to their old life and were happier than ever.


Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
Publisher: G.P. Putman's Son, NY. c1995
Grades: K-2

Officer Buckle always shares his safety tips with the students at Napville School.  No one ever listened to the safety rules and they usually fell fast asleep.  When the police department buys a police dog named Gloria, Officer Buckle has to take her to the school to teach about safety.  Children begin paying attention because Gloria stands behind Officer Buckle and mimics everything he does. Officer Buckle is surprised to see the children so attentive, even clapping and laughing.  But each time he looks back, Gloria is sitting like a good dog.