Great Historical Fiction for Middle School
Top 10 Great Historical Fiction for Middle School
: Projekt 1065: A Novel of World War II, Beware, Princess Elizabeth, Doomed Queen Anne, One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Kaiulani: The People's Princess, Hawaii, 1889, Jahanara: Princess of Princesses, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York 1941, Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven, Japan, 1858
Projekt 1065: A Novel of World War II
| Author | Alan Gratz |
| ISBN | 0545880165 |
Infiltrate. Befriend. Sabotage.
World War II is raging. Michael O'Shaunessey, originally from Ireland, now lives in Nazi Germany with his parents. Like the other boys in his school, Michael is a member of the Hitler Youth.
But Michael has a secret. He and his parents are spies.
Michael...
| Author | Carolyn Meyer |
| ISBN | 0152045562 |
Imprisonment. Betrayal. Lost love. Murder. What more must a princess endure?
Elizabeth Tudor's teenage and young adult years during the turbulent reigns of Edward and then Mary Tudor are hardly those of a fairy-tale princess. Her mother has been beheaded by Elizabeth's own father, Henry...
| Author | Carolyn Meyer |
| ISBN | 0152050868 |
Though born without great beauty, wealth, or title, Anne Boleyn blossomed into a captivating woman. She used her wiles to win the heart of England's most powerful man, King Henry VIII, and persuade him to defy everyone--including his own wife—to make her his new queen. But Anne's ambition was her...
One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss
| Author | Barry Denenberg |
| ISBN | 0439095182 |
This special Dear Ameirca edition is actually two stories in a single volume. In part one of a two-part story, Julie Weiss's world is suddenly torn apart by a war that will forever change the face of humanity. Her life as a privileged Jewish girl quickly becomes one of humiliation and terror. In part two,...
| Author | Ellen Emerson White |
| ISBN | 0439129095 |
In their hope to restore Hawaii¹s toppled monarchy and the Hawaiian way of life the people of Hawaii turn to Princess Kaiulani, who is only a young girl. Acclaimed author Ellen Emerson White makes her debut on the Royal Diaries list with this compelling narrative of the tumultuous years following Hawaii¹s...
Jahanara: Princess of Princesses
| Author | Kathryn Lasky |
| ISBN | 0439223504 |
In the 1600s, the Mughal emperors of India were among the greatest rulers of the East. Jahanara is the daughter of one of these ultra-rich and powerful figures, Shah Jahan The Magnificent. The oldest and favorite of his children, she is showered with emeralds, diamonds, and rubies, and is attended by...
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Why is the land so important to Cassie's family? It takes the events of one turbulent year—the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliates Cassie in public simply because she's black—to show Cassie that having a place of their own is the Logan family's lifeblood. It...
| Author | Jim Murphy |
| ISBN | 0590438107 |
Originally, I picked this book up because my great- grandmother was a teenage one room schoolhouse teacher in Louisiana, and I had already read her journal and wanted to compare. What I got was somewhat satisfying.
When a fourteen year old orphan girl named Sarah Jane is almost forced to abandon...
| Author | Mary Pope Osborne |
| ISBN | 0590687158 |
In a diary that brings to life the dramatic happenings on the home front during World War II, Madeline Beck is living in a boardinghouse with her mother while her father is on an aircraft carrier guarding the Pacific Coast. After discovering that a German U-boat has landed near her home--a little-known,...
Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven, Japan, 1858
| Author | Kathryn Lasky |
| ISBN | 0439164850 |
As a princess of Japan in the year 1858, twelve-year-old Kazunomiya lives a life of privilege and luxury. But it is one in which she is a virtual prisoner, kept sheltered behind palace walls, only able to leave for the occasional visit to a temple or shrine. But her predictable life is changing. Japan has...
| Author | Gary L. Blackwood |
| ISBN | 0142400785 |
In 1776, the rebellion of the American colonies against British rule was crushed. Now, in 1777-the year of the hangman-George Washington is awaiting execution, Benjamin Franklin's banned rebel newspaper, Liberty Tree, has gone underground, and young ne'er-do-well Creighton Brown, a fifteen-year-old...
| Author | Kristiana Gregory |
| ISBN | 0439253853 |
Scholastic is proud to present the final installment of The Royal Diaries series. Drama and intrigue explode in the story of young Princess Catherine's incredible journey to greatness.
Fourteen-year-old Prussian princess Sophia finds herself entangled in her mother's efforts to arrange...
| Author | Carolyn Meyer |
| ISBN | 0439249767 |
Carolyn Meyer, author of best-selling ROYAL DIARIES Isabel and Anastasia, now brings to the series this compelling story of Kristina, The Girl King, from 17th-century Sweden.
Upon discovering that their newborn infant was, in fact, female and not male as first thought, Queen Marie Eleonore...
| Author | Katelan Janke |
| ISBN | 0439215994 |
This teen wrote the events of dust bowl panhandle area Texas in her diary. It can be read in one sitting and is super simple language. She relates the weather conditions, her family's difficulties in keeping the dust out of the house (this was truly horrendous) and the crop and economics of the farmers,...
| Author | Barry Denenberg |
| ISBN | 0439555132 |
I think I would have enjoyed this book more had it been a 'real' diary of a girl who lived on Oahu during the attack on Pearl Harbor. But since this was a fictional diary, I had a hard time loving it. I feel the book gives us a possible taste of what life might have been like during this time, but the epilogue of...
Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544
| Author | Kathryn Lasky |
| ISBN | 0590684841 |
This was a reread for me. I believe I originally read this book sometime during middle school and I remembered that I really liked it. I read a bunch of the Dear America and Royal Diaries books but I would always get them from my school library. Now I’m going to try to buy the ones I liked so I can relive my childhood....
Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile - 57 B.C.
Disclaimer: The last time I read this book was in middle school, so my review will be spotty and more nostalgic than any review should be. Oh well.
I avidly read the Royal Diaries series during my middle school years. Like most young girls, I was fascinated with princesses and--maybe not so much...
| Author | Iain Lawrence |
| ISBN | 0440418127 |
Johnny's dad, a toymaker, sends his son letters and carved soldiers from the front in WWI. When Johnny's toy battles seem to foretell his dad's real battles, Johnny fears he controls his father's fate. A poignant narrative of war and its effects on the people who live through it. Ages 10-14.
Ten-year-old...
| Author | G. Neri |
| ISBN | 1328685985 |
When they were younger, Tru and Nelle were best friends, sharing adventures and solving mysteries in Monroeville, Alabama. But then Tru moved to New York City to live his mother and their friendship slowly faded away. Life in the big city wasn't as fun as Tru had hoped it would be. In fact, he ran away, and...
| Author | Ruta Sepetys |
| ISBN | 0399160302 |
World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, many with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance...
| Author | Sherry Garland |
| ISBN | 0606228101 |
Title of Book: Valley of the Moon
Author: Sherry Garland
Summary:
What would it be like to be a servant? Maria Rosalia has been a servant for nine years of her life and her brother Domingo is a stable boy. But they have been well treated by the Medina family and other servants who feel...
From the author of Catherine, Called Birdy comes another spellbinding novel set in medieval England. The girl known only as Brat has no family, no home, and no future until she meets Jane the Midwife and becomes her apprentice. As she helps the sharp-tempered Jane deliver babies, Brat--who renames...
| Author | Karen Cushman |
| ISBN | 0440418224 |
Newbery medalist Karen Cushman assembles a cast of unforgettable characters in a fascinating and pungent setting: the medical quarter of a medieval English Village. To Blood and Bone Alley, home of leech, barber-surgeon, and apothecary, comes Matilda, raised by a priest to be pious and learned,...
In 1881, 12-year-old Rodzina Clara Jadwiga Anastazya Brodski wishes she didn’t have to board the orphan train in Chicago. But she has no home, no family, and no choice. Rodzina doesn’t believe the orphans are on their way out West to be adopted by good families. She’s sure they will become slaves...
| Author | Gene Luen Yang |
| ISBN | 1596433590 |
China, 1898. Bands of foreign missionaries and soldiers roam the countryside, bullying and robbing Chinese peasants.
Little Bao has had enough. Harnessing the powers of ancient Chinese gods, he recruits an army of Boxers--commoners trained in kung fu--who fight to free China from "foreign...
| Author | Kathryn Lasky |
| ISBN | 0590511416 |
As the fight for women's suffrage heats up, Kathleen"Kat" Bowen gets to participate as her mother and her sister, and many others close to her organize and act to win the right to vote.
January 19, 1917
The picket line has been going on for over a week! And people said they would not last a day...
| Author | Gene Luen Yang |
| ISBN | 1596436891 |
China, 1898. An unwanted and unwelcome fourth daughter, Four-Girl isn't even given a proper name by her family when she's born. She finds friendship--and a name, Vibiana--in the most unlikely of places: Christianity.
But China is a dangerous place for Christians. The Boxer Rebellion is...
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
An ocean voyage of unimaginable consequences... Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action offend you, read no more....
| Author | Gary L. Blackwood |
| ISBN | 0141305959 |
Widge is an orphan with a rare talent for shorthand. His fearsome master has just one demand: steal Shakespeare's play "Hamlet"--or else. Widge has no choice but to follow orders, so he works his way into the heart of the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare's players perform. As full of twists and turns...
Al Capone Does My Homework
| Author | Gennifer Choldenko |
| ISBN | 0803734727 |
Alcatraz Island in the 1930s isn't the most normal place to grow up, but it's home for Moose Flanagan, his autistic sister, Natalie, and all the families of the guards. When Moose's dad gets promoted to Associate Warden, despite being an unlikely candidate, it's a big deal. But the cons have a point system...
| Author | Christopher Paul Curtis |
| ISBN | 0439023440 |
Newbery Medalist and CSK Award winner Christopher Paul Curtis's debut middle-grade/young-YA novel for Scholastic features his trademark humor, compelling storytelling, and unique narrative voice.
Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement...
| Author | Beth Seidel Levine |
| ISBN | 0439439825 |
In April of 1917, Simone Spencer's world changes. Her beloved brother Will goes off to war, and Simone seeks a way to help. The passionate daughter of a feisty French mother and a rebellious upper-class father, Simone is not cut out for the society life she is meant to lead. So, when General Pershing calls...
| Author | Christopher Paul Curtis |
| ISBN | 0385323069 |
It's 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud's got a few things going for him:
He has his own suitcase full of special things.
He's the author of Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better...
| Author | Deborah Hopkinson |
| ISBN | 0439221617 |
Angela and her family have arrived in New York City from their village in Italy to find themselves settled in a small tenement apartment on the Lower East Side. When her father is no longer able to work, Angela must leave school and work in a shirtwaist factory. Against the backdrop of the birth of the labor...
| Author | Frances O'Roark Dowell |
| ISBN | 0689846673 |
My name is Dovey Coe and I reckon it don't matter if you like me or not. I'm here to lay the record straight, to let you know them folks saying I done a terrible thing are liars. I aim to prove it, too. I hated Parnell Caraway as much as the next person, but I didn't kill him.
Dovey Coe says what's on her...
Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595
| Author | Sheri Holman |
| ISBN | 0439165865 |
In the late seventh century, the land that we now call Korea was embroiled with political and religious conflicts. Three kingdoms (Silla, Koguryo, and Paekche) fought for supremacy, and three faiths (Shamanism, Buddhism, and Confucianism) battled for dominance. Princess Sondok, the eldest daughter...
Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914
| Author | Carolyn Meyer |
| ISBN | 0439129087 |
This was the book that launched my love affair with Russia. I read it at age 12, fell in love with the Romanov family and Russia, and promptly went out and bought a Teach Yourself Russian in Three Months set (with accompanying CASSETTES, which lets you know how long ago this was!). Ten years later, I graduated...
| Author | Kathryn Lasky |
| ISBN | 0439076668 |
"I look up now into the oval mirror and see barely a trace of the mud-splattered girl tearing through the woodland on her horse, or the barefoot girl wading at Schonbrunn... I have become what Mama set out for me to be. Majestic. A Dauphine and eventually a Queen." So writes the headstrong 13-year-old Maria...
| Author | Carol Matas |
| ISBN | 0689824009 |
""They won't kill everyone in the ghetto right away,"" he continues, his voice matter-of-fact. ""They still need workers. But not for long. After all, they have us Poles to work for them, don't they?"" He paused then, and looked at me. It was frozen like Polish winter. It was cold right through into my...
The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts
| Author | Richard Peck |
| ISBN | 0803727364 |
If there's one thing you can't see at the age of fifteen, it's ahead.
Russell wants nothing more than to leave his tiny hometown in Indiana, and start working on a threshing crew in the Dakotas. Only one thing stands in the way of his dream . . . school. BUT, in a stroke of luck, his horrid teacher,...
| Author | Richard Peck |
| ISBN | 0142401102 |
"I don't think Grandma's a very good influence on us," Mary Alice said.
Every August, Joey Dowdel and his kid sister Mary Alice spend a week at their Granny's house.
She was so big and the town was so small. She was old too, or so we thought -- old as the hills. And tough! She was tough as an...
| Author | Gary D. Schmidt |
| ISBN | 0553494953 |
Not only is Turner Buckminster the son of the new minister in a small Maine town, he is shunned for playing baseball differently than the local boys. Then he befriends smart and lively Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from Malaga Island, a poor community founded by former slaves. Lizzie shows Turner a new...
| Author | Janet Tashjian |
| ISBN | 0805093656 |
The year is 1971 and the place is Laurel Canyon, California. Quinn, a fourteen-year-old music "encyclopedia," writes a music column—called "For What It's Worth"—for his school paper. But Quinn's world is about to change when he is faced with helping a war dodger and must make some tough decisions....
