1900-1928 INCLUDING WORLD WAR I
Armstrong, Jennifer.
Theodore Roosevelt: Letters from a Young Coal Miner. 2000.
Thirteen-year-old Frank Kovacs, a Polish immigrant working in the coal mines of eastern Pennsylvania, begins a correspondence with Theodore Roosevelt after he assumes the presidency on September 14, 1901.
Auch, Mary Jane.
Ashes of Roses. 2002.
Sixteen-year-old Margaret Rose Nolan, newly arrived from Ireland, finds work at New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory shortly before the 1911 fire in which 146 employees died.
Avi.
The Secret School. 2001.
In 1925, fourteen-year-old Ida Bidson secretly takes over as a teacher when the one-room schoolhouse in her remote Colorado area closes unexpectedly.
Ayres, Katherine.
Under Copp's Hill. 2000.
In 1908, eleven-year-old Innie joins the library club at a settlement house that serves immigrant families of Boston's North End, but when items and money disappear from the settlement house, Innie's past as a troublemaker puts her under suspicion. History Mysteries series.
Beard, Darleen Bailey.
Operation Clean Sweep. 2004.
In 1916, just four years after getting the right to vote, the women of Umatilla, Oregon band together to throw the mayor and other city officials out of office, replacing them with women.
Boling, Katharine.
January 1905. 2005.
In a 1905 mill town, eleven-year-old twin sisters, Pauline, who goes to work with the rest of the family, and Arlene, whose crippled foot keeps her home doing the cooking, cleaning, and washing, are convinced that the other sister has an easier life until a series of incidents helps them see each other in a new light.
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker.
The President's Daughter. 2004.
A fictionalized account of ten-year-old Ethel Roosevelt's early experiences in the White House after her father, Theodore Roosevelt, becomes president in 1901.
Buchanan, Jane.
Gratefully Yours. 1997.
In 1923, nine-year-old Hattie rides the Orphan Train from New York to Nebraska where she must adjust to a strange new life with a farmer and his wife, who is despondent over the loss of her two children.
Buckey, Sarah Masters.
Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic. 2003.
In 1925, after witnessing the violent actions of some gangsters, twelve-year-old Emily accompanies her older sister on a trip to a luxurious hotel on the New Jersey shore but worries that the gangsters have come to the same hotel. Includes historical notes on the time period.
History Mysteries series.
Coleman, Evelyn.
Mystery of the Dark Tower. 2000.
In 1928, when her father tears her and her brother from their mother in North Carolina and takes them to live with aunts in Harlem, twelve-year-old Bessie is trapped in a strange place, especially after her father mysteriously disappears.
History Mysteries series.
Drummond, Allan.
The Flyers. 2003.
In 1903, a group of children on the beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, dream of flying and witness the first flight of the Wright brothers. Includes a chronology of milestones in the history of flight.
Durbin, William.
The Journal of Otto Peltonen: A Finnish Immigrant. 2000.
In 1905, fifteen-year-old Otto describes in his journal how he travels from Finland to America, joining his father in a dreary iron mining community in Minnesota and becoming involved in a union fight for better working conditions. Dear America series.
The Journal of C.J. Jackson: A Dust Bowl Migrant. 2002.
Thirteen-year-old C.J records in a journal the conditions of the Dust Bowl that cause the Jackson family to leave their farm in Oklahoma and make the difficult journey to California, where they find a harsh life as migrant workers.
Erickson, John R.
Moonshiner's Gold. 2001.
In Canadian,Texas, in 1927, not long after his father's death, Riley and his fiddle-playing grandfather must find a way to save the family ranch from a group of moonshiners and the men behind their operation.
Fuqua, Jonathon Scott.
Darby. 2002.
In 1926, nine-year-old Darby Carmichael stirs up trouble in Marlboro County, South Carolina, when she writes a story for the local newspaper promoting racial equality.
Glaser, Linda.
Bridge to America. 2005.
Eight-year-old Fivel narrates the story of his family's Atlantic Ocean crossing to reunite with their father in the United States, from its desperate beginning in a shtetl in Poland in 1920 to his stirrings of identity as an American boy.
Glass, Andrew.
The Wondrous Whirligig. 2003.
Inspired by a model helicopter and encouraged by their parents and sister, young Orville and Wilbur Wright attempt to build a life-size helicopter from scrap. PICTURE BOOK
Gundisch, Karin.
How I Became an American. 2001.
In 1902, ten-year-old Johann and his family, Germans who had been living in Austria-Hungary, board a ship to immigrate to Youngstown, Ohio, where they make a new life as Americans.
Hahn, Mary Downing.
Anna All Year Round. 1999.
Eight-year-old Anna experiences a series of episodes, some that are funny, others sad, involving friends and family during a year in Baltimore just before World War I.
Harlow, Joan Hiatt.
Joshua's Song. 2002.
Needing to earn money after his father's death during the influenza epidemic of 1918, thirteen-year-old Joshua works as a newspaper boy in Boston, one day finding himself in the vicinity of an explosion that sends tons of molasses coursing through the streets.
Harris, Carol Flynn.
A Place for Joey. 2001.
In this novel set in early 20-century Boston, a family of Italian immigrants work hard to attain their dream - a farm in the country - but their son Joey can't bear to live the city.
Hesse, Karen.
Witness. 2001.
A series of poems express the views of various people in a small Vermont town, including a young black girl and a young Jewish girl, during the early 1920s when the Ku Klux Klan is trying to inflitrate the town.
Hurwitz, Johanna.
Dear Emma. 2002.
In her letters to a Vermont friend, eighth grader Dossi, a Russian, Jewish immigrant living in the Lower East Side of New York City in 1910, shares her thoughts about her new brother-in-law, the diphtheria epidemic, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
Janke, Katelan.
Survival in the Storm: the Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards. 2002.
A twelve-year-old girl keeps a journal of her family's difficul experiences in the Texas Panhandle, part of the "Dust Bowl," during the Great Depression. Includes a historical note about life in America in 1935. Dear America series.
Jones, Elizabeth McDavid.
The Night Flyers. 1999.
In 1918, caring for her family's homing pigeons while her father is away fighting in World War I, twelve-year-old Pam comes to suspect that a mysterious stranger on her small North Carolina town is a German spy. History Mysteries series.
Secrets on 26th Street. 1999.
In New York City in 1914, eleven-year-old Susan encounters a mystery through an independent-minded female boarder and becomes involved in the growing suffrage movement. History Mysteries series.
Kidd, Ronald.
Monkey Town. 2006.
When her father hatches a plan to bring publicity to their small Tennessee town by arresting a local high school teacher for teaching about evolution, the resulting 1925 Scopes trial prompts fifteen-year-old Frances to rethink many of her beliefs about religion and truth, as well as her relationship with her father.
Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie.
A Doctor Like Papa. 2002.
When the influenza epidemic of 1918 comes to Vermont, eleven-year-old Margaret, who has always wanted to be a physician, finds out what doctoring is like.
Lumber Camp Library. 2002.
Ruby wants to be a teacher, but after her father's death in a logging accident she must quit school to care for her ten brothers and sisters, until a chance meeting with a lonely old blind woman transforms her life.
Lasky, Kathryn.
Dreams in The Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl. 1998.
Twelve-year-old Zippy, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, keeps a diary account of the first eighteen months of her family's life on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1903-1904. Dear America series.
A Time for Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen. 2002.
A diary account of thirteen-year-old Kathleen Bowen's life in Washington, D.C., in 1917, as she juggles concerns about the national battle for women's suffrage, the war in Europe, and her own school work and family. Includes a historical note.
Levine, Beth Seiderl.
When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer. 2002.
Teenage Simone's diaries for 1917 and 1918 reveal her experience as a carefree member of New York Sociey, then as a "Hello girl," a volunteer switchboard operator for the Army Signal Corps in France.Dear America series.
Levine, Gail Carson.
Dave at Night. 1999.
When orphaned Dave is sent to the Hebrew Home for Boys where he is treated cruelly, he sneaks out at night and is welcomed into the music-and cultured-filled world of the Harlem Renaissance.
Lindquist, Susan Hart.
Summer Soldiers. 1999.
After his father goes off to war during the summer of 1918, eleven-year-old Joe, along with his friends, contends with the town bullies and tries to figure out the meaning of courage.
MacBride, Roger Lea.
New Dawn on Rocky Ridge. 1997.
While living on the Rocky Ridge Farm in Missouri, thirteen-year-old Rose Wilder celebrates the turn of the twentieth century and begins to wonder about her future.
McKissack, Patricia C.
Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the Great Migration North. 2000.
Eleven-year-old Nellie Lee Love records in her diary the events of 1919, when her family moves from Tennessee to Chicago, hoping to leave the racism and hatred of the South behind. Dear America series.
Myers, Anna.
Tulsa Burning. 2002.
In 1921, fifteen-year-old Noble Chase hates the sheriff of Wekiwa, Oklahoma, and is more than willing to cross him to help his best friend, a black man, who is injured during race riots in nearby Tulsa.
Nixon, Joan Lowery.
David's Search. 2000.
After eleven-year-old orphan-train rider David Howard settles with a strict Texas farm family, his best friend, an ex-slave, is threatened by the growing presence of the Ku Klux Klan. Orphan Train Children #4.
Reiss, Kathryn.
The Strange Case of Baby H. 2002.
In the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, twelve-year-old Clara finds a baby left on the doorstep of her family's boarding house, and sets out to unravel the surrounding mysteries. History Mysteries series.
Seely, Debra.
The Last of the Roundup Boys. 2004.
In 1885 in Kansas, seventeen-year-old Tom, the son of a poor farmer, is hired as a cowboy on a cattle ranch and faces the challenges of both herding work and a forbidden romance with sixteen-year-old Evie, the ranch owner's independently-minded daughter. Sequel to: Grasslands.
Snyder, Zilpha Keatley.
Gib Rides Home. 1998.
Despite the harsh treatment he has endured at the Lovell House orphanage, ten-year-old Gib Whittaker manages to maintain his hopeful outlook when he is "farmed out" to help with the horses of a wealthy banker in 1908.
Gib and the Gray Ghost. 2000.
In the aftermath of the1906 San Francisco earthquake, twelve-year-old Clara finds a baby left on the doorstep of her family's boarding house, and sets out to unravel the surrounding mysteries.
Tate, Eleanora.
The Minstrel's Melody. 2001.
In 1904, twelve-year-old Orphelia follows her dream by running away from home to join an all-black minstrel show headed for the Saint Louis World's Fair, and learns about her family's troubled past in the process.
Thesman, Jean.
The Tree of Bells. 1999.
While living in a boardinghouse managed by her mother and grandmother in Seattle in 1922, sixteen-year-old Clare decides her future at a time of limited opportunities for women. Sequel to: The ornament tree.
A Sea So Far. 1998.
After surviving the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires, two teenage girls,a wealthy semi-invalid and her hired companion, travel together to Ireland and discover they share much in common, from a love of romance novels to grief over the loss of their mothers.
White, Ellen Emerson.
Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady. 1998.
In her diary in 1912, thirteen-year-old Margaret Ann describes how she leaves her lonely life in a London orphanage to become a companion to a wealthy American woman, sails on the Titanic, and experiences its sinking. Dear America series.
Williams, Barbara.
Making Waves. 2000.
Having survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, twelve-year-old Emily moves to Baltimore, where she encounters child labor, sweatshops, and the workers' struggle to form labor union.
1929-1941 INCLUDING THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Ayres, Katherine.
Macaroni Boy. 2003.
During the Depressiion, in the Ozarks of Missouri, thirteen-year-old Thad has adventures selling moonshine and fishing with a rich visitor.
Bornstein, Ruth Lercher.
Butterflies and Lizards, Beryl and Me. 2002.
In 1936, eleven-year-old Charlotte and her mother move to tiny Valley Junction, Missouri, where Charlotte befriends an eccentric old woman in spite of her mother's and others' warnings.
Cummings, Priscilla.
Saving Grace. 2003.
When Grace's family is evicted from their Washington, D.C., apartment just before Christmas 1932, and she and her younger brothers are sent to the Mission, Grace wonders what will become of her sick older brother, her pregnant mother, and her out-of-work father.
Denenberg, Barry.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: the Diary of Bess Brennan. 2002.
In 1932, a twelve-year-old girl who lost her sight in an accident keeps a diary, recorded by her twin sister, in which she describes life at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertonwn, Massachusetts.
DeFelice, Cynthia.
Nowhere to Call Home. 1999.
When her father kills himself after losing his money in the stock market crash, twelve-year-old Frances, now a penniless orphan, decides to hop aboard a freight train and live the life of a hobo.
DeYoung, C. Coco.
A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt. 1999.
Eleven-year-old Margo fulfills a class assignment by writing a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt asking for help to save her family's home during the Great Depression.
Griffin, Adele.
Hannah, Divided. 2002.
In 1934, a thirteeen-year-old with a gift for numbers is offered the chance to leave her family's dairy farm to spend one term at an exclusive Philadelphia girls' school preparing for a scholarship exam.
Griffis, Moly Levitel.
The Feester Filibuster. 2002.
The war declared by President Roosevelt after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, seems remote to fifth-grader John Allan until he finds out that his classmate Rachel thinks he is a spy for the Japanese and wants him deported to another country.
Haseley, Dennis.
The Amazing Thinking Machine. 2002.
During the Great Depression, while their father is away looking for work, eight-year-old Patrick and thirteen-year-old Roy create a machine to help their mother make ends meet, even as she is helping tramps.
Koller, Jackie French.
Someday.2002.
In 1938, fourteen-year-old Celie must cope with leaving her Enfield, Massachusetts, home and her life-long friend, Chubby, as the day approaches when the Swift River Valley will be flooded to create a reservoir for Boston.
Lasky, Kathryn.
Christmas After All: the Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift. 2001.
In her fictionalized journal, eleven-year-old Minnie Swift recounts how her family dealt with the difficult times during the Depression and how the arrival of an orphan from Texas changed their lives in Indianapolis just before Christmas 1932. Dear America series.
Willis, Patricia.
The Barn Burner. 2000.
In 1933, while running from a bad situation at home and suspected of having set fire to a barn, fourteen-year-old Ross finds haven with a loving family, which helps him make an important decision.
1939-1945 INCLUDING WORLD WAR II
Avi.
Don't You Know There's a War On? 2001.
In wartime Brooklyn in 1943, eleven-year-old Howie Crispers mounts a campaign to save his favoriteteacher from being fired.
Ayres, Katherine.
Voices at Whisper Bend. 1999.
In their Pennsylvania town in 1942 twelve-year-old Charlotte and her classmates collect scrap metal for the war effort only to have it disappear from the school basement.
Buchanan, Jane.
Goodbye Charley. 2004.
In 1943, twelve-year-old Celie's father brings home a rhesus monkey that helps Celie deal with all the difficulties that the war has brought into her life in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Carey, Janet Lee.
Molly's Fire. 2000.
Back home in Maine, Molly refuses to believe the telegram that says her pilot father is presumed dead when his plane is shot down in Holland during World War II.
Cheaney, J.B.
My Friend the Enemy. 2005.
Hating the Japanese was simple before she met Sogoji.
Pearl Harbor was bombed on Hazel Anderson's birthday and she's been on the lookout for enemies ever since. She scours the skies above Mount Hood with her binoculars, hoping to make some crucial observation, or uncover the hideout of enemy spies.
Davies, Jacqueline.
Where the Ground Meets the Sky. 2002.
During World War II, a twelve-year-old girl is uprooted from her quiet, East coast life and moved to a secluded army post in the New Mexico desert where her father and other scientists are working on a top secret project.
Denenberg, Barry.
The Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen #13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp. 1999.
Twelve-year-old Ben Uchida keeps a journal of his experiences as a prisoner in a Japanese internment camp in Mirror Lake, California, during World War II. Dear America series.
One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss. 2000.
During the Nazi persecution of the Jews in Austria, twelve-year-old Julie escapes to America to live with her relatives in New York City. Dear America series.
Douglas, Kirk.
The Broken Mirror. 1997.
After the Nazis destroy his family, 12-year-old Moishe gives up his Jewish faith, calls himself Danny, and is taken to New York where he tries to make the best of his life in a Catholic orphanage.
Foreman, Wilmoth.
Summer of the Skunks. 2002.
Tells the story of ten-year-old Jill, her brothers, sister, and parents and their life on a southern farm in the late 1940s.
Gaeddert, LouAnn.
Friends and Enemies. 2000.
In 1941 in Kansas, as America enters World War II, fourteen-year-old William finds himself alienated from his friend Jim, a Mennonite who does not believe in fighting for any reason, as they argue about the war.
Giff, Patricia Reilly.
Willow Run. 2005.
Meggie Dillon, 11, candidly shares her perspective on the sacrifices and fears experienced on the homefront during World War II. The girl's family moves from Rockaway, NY, to Willow Run, MI, so that her father can work in a plant constructing B-24 bombers.
Harlow, Joan Hiatt.
Shadows on the Sea. 2003.
In 1942, fourteen-year-old Jill goes to stay with her grandmother on the coast of Maine, where she is introduced to the often gossipy nature of small-town life, and discovers that the war is closer than she thought.
Hesse, Karen.
Aleutian Sparrow. 2003.
An Aleutian Islander recounts her suffering during World War II in American internment camps designed to "protect" the population from the invading Japanese.
Kochenderfer, Lee.
The Victory Garden. 2002.
Hoping to contribute to the war effort during World War II, elevn-year-old Teresa organizes her friends to care for an ill neighbor's victory garden.
Lisle, Janet Taylor.
The Art of Keeping Cool. 2000.
In 1942, Robert and his cousin Elliot uncover long-hidden family secrets while staying in their grandparents' Rhode Island town, where they also become involved with a German artist who is suspected of being a spy.
Lurie, April.
Dancing on the Streets of Brooklyn. 2002.
In 1944, a thirteen-year-old girl grapples with the discovery that "Pa" isn't her biologocal father, experiences her first romance, and faces hardships dealt to her friends in Brooklyn's Norweigian community.
Mazer, Harry.
A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor. 2001.
While fishing with his friends off Honolulu on December 7, 1941, teenaged Adam is caught in the midst of the Japanese attack and through the chaos of the subsequent days tries to find his father, a naval officer who was serving on the U.S.S. Arizona when the bombs fell.
A Boy No More. 2004.
After his father is killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, Adam, his mother, and sister are evacuated from Hawaii to California, where he must deal with his feelings about the war, Japanese internment camps, his father, and his own identity.
Heroes Don't Run. 2005.
To honor his father who died during the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor, seventeen-year-old Adam eagerly enlists in the Marines in 1944, survives boot camp, and faces combat on the tiny island of Okinawa.
Mazer, Norma Fox.
Good Night, Maman. 1999.
After spending years fleeing from the Nazis in war-torn Europe, twelve-year-old Karin Levi and her older brother Marc, find a new home in a refugee camp in Oswego, New York.
Myers, Walter Dean.
The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: A World War II Soldier. 1999.
A seventeen-year-old soldier from central Virginia records his experiences in a journal as his regiment takes part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy and subsequent battles to liberate France. Dear America series.
Osborne, Mary Pope.
My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck. 2000.
Thirteen-year-old Madeline' s diaries for 1941 and 1942 reveal her experience living on Long Island during World War II while her father is away in the navy. Dear America series.
Patneaude, David.
Thin Wood Walls. 2004.
When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Joe Hamada and his family face growing prejudice, eventually being torn away from their home and sent to a relocation camp in California, even as his older brother joins the United States Army to fight in the war.
Reeder, Carolyn.
Foster's War. 2000.
When his older brother joins the army during World War II in order to escape the rages of an authoritarian father, eleven-year-old Foster fights his battles on the homefront.
Weston, Elise.
Coastwatcher. 2005.
While eleven-year-old Hugh, his family, and his cousin Tom are spending the summer of 1943 on the South Carolina shore to escape the polio epidemic, Hugh uncovers clues that point to a German plot to sabotage a nearby naval base.
Wolff, Virginia Euwer.
Bat 6. 1998.
In small town, post-World War Oregon, twenty-one 6th grade girls recount the story of an annual softball game, during which one girl's bigotry comes to the surface.
Ylvisaker, Anne.
Dear Papa. 2002.
In September of 1943, one year after her father's death, nine-year-old Isabelle begins writing him letters, which are interspersed with letters to other members of her family, relating important events in her life and how she feels about them.
1950-PRESENT
Armistead, John.
The Return of Gabriel. 2002.
In the summer of 1964, a thirteen-year-old white boy whose best friend is black is caught in the middle when civil rights workers and Ku Klux Klan members clash in a small town .
Coleman, Evelyn.
Circle of Fire. 2001.
In 1958, Mendy puts herself in danger when she discovers that the Ku Klux Klan is planning to bomb the Highlander Folk School in order to disrupt a visit from Mendy's hero, Eleanor Roosevelt.
Elliott, Laura.
Flying South. 2003.
In Charlottesville, Virginia, amidst the social and political turmoil of 1968, eleven-year-old Alice learns when to fight battles and when to let go from her family's elderly gardener, Doc, and begins to connect with her widowed mother.
Hoobler, Dorothy.
The 1960s: Rebels (The Century Kids). 2001.
Inspired after meeting John F. Kennedy at a 1960 campaign fundraiser hosted by the Aldrich family, Chuck defies authoriy at his Pennsylvania boarding school, Sojie takes part in lunch counter sit-ins in Georgia, and Dick finally connects with his father in Hollywood.
Martin, Terri.
A Family Trait. 1999.
Living with her mother and grandparents on their Michigan farm, eleven-year-old Iris tries to find out about her father, who died before she was born, and to solve a local murder mystery involving a friend of her grandmother.
Robinet, Harriette.
Walking to the Bus-rider Blues. 2000.
Twelve-year-old Alfa Merryfield, his older sister, and their grandmother struggle for rent money, food, and their dignity as they participate in the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott in the summer of 1956.
Testa, Maria.
Almost Forever. 2003.
A young girl describes what she, her brother, and their mother do during the year that her doctor father is serving in the Army in Vietnam.
Van Steenwyk, Elizabeth
Maggie in the Morning. 2001.
In 1941, while visiting relatives in Oquawka, Illinois, eleven-year-old Maggie Calhoun is prodded by a spirited neighbor girl to track down a family secret.
White, Ellen Emerson.
The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty, United States Marine Corps. 2002.
An eighteen-year-old Marine records in his journal his experiences in Vietnam during the siege of Khe Sanh, 1967-1968. Includes a
history of Vietnam, war timeline, glossary, and related military information.
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: The Diary of Molly Mackenzie Flaherty. 2002.
In 1968 Massachussets, after her brother Patrick goes to fight in Vietnam, fifteen-year-old Molly records in her diary how she misses her brother, volunteers at a Veterans' Administration Hospital, and tries to make sense of the war in Vietnam and the tumultuous events in the United States.
Woods, Brenda.
The Red Rose Box. 2002.
In 1953, Leah Hopper dreams of leaving the poverty and segregation of her home in Sulphur, Louisiana, and when Aunt Olivia sends train tickets to Los Angeles as part of her tenth birthday present, Leah gets a first taste of freedom.
