http://cavemanenglish.pbworks.com/w/page/8952511/Historical%20Fiction
Important:
As usual, the book you choose needs to be a book at or near your reading level -- usually 100 below to 50 above lexile.
If you're considering a book for which I have not listed a lexile, you can look up many books at lexile.com. Also recommended:
Moon Over Manifest
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Deadly by Julie Chibbaro sounds good.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (950L) is about the Civil War. Homer's family is white, but his brother is sold to be a soldier, and Homer runs away to help him escape. This would be a great companion book to Elijah of Buxton.
1-14-12 I just finished reading The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, (950L) and really enjoyed it. It's full of adventure and excitement. Here are some of the questions I have about the real (nonfiction) background for the book:
Was there really a Colonel Chamberlain in charge of a regiment from Maine?
Did the Battle of Gettysburg happen as it's described in this book?
How many men did die in that battle?
Woods Runner 870L by Gary Paulson
Were the Hessian soldiers really that brutal?
Multicultural: A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park -- based on a true story about life in the Sudan
Historical/Multicultural Fiction -- Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
Alvarez really did grow up in the Dominican Republic during the time period portrayed in this novel. She has fictionalized the events, but kept them close enough to what really happened to show us what it would have been like to grow up in country run by a dictator -- from the perspective of a twelve year-old girl whose adult family members have either left the country or become freedom fighters.
More historical fiction-- recommended by Jessica Day George on Good Reads:
Jessica George gave 4 stars to: The Ransom of Mercy Carter (Laurel Leaf Books) by Caroline B. Cooney
bookshelves: historical-fiction, young adult
"I am a sucker for true stories of white children raised by Native Americans. I used to fantasize about it as a kid: what would it be like to be a puritan, or a product of the Victorian era, and then find yourself kidnaped and raised by natives? This book hits on exactly where the root of my fascination lay: in every single one of these true stories, the girl never returns to her white family, even when she has a choice. Why was that? Was it the carefree lifestyle? Was their new family more loving, more indulgent? This last is what Cooney postulates for Mercy Carter. Raised in a stern, God-fearing home, the people who adopted her were known to treasure their children, who were given only the easiest chores and spent most of their days playing games and being petted. This is a great book, comparing the life of the white settlers to the natives, and detailing what became of Mercy along with the other children who were taken the night of the Deerfield, Massachusetts, massacre. Interestingly enough, some of the children were taken all the way to Canada, and given to French families who wanted to adopt a child! Highly recommened for those who like historical fiction!" -- Jessica Day George
1. The Legend of Jimmy Spoon 790L -- Pioneer life, white boy from Salt Lake City who goes to live with the Shoshoni Tribe
2. Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express 820L --
3. Sacajawea 840L -- The story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition is told to Sacajawea's son by herself and William Clark
4. Anpao: An American Indian Odyssy 880L -- A story of a young warrior's mystical search for his own destiny.
5. Tucket's Travels: Francis Tucket's Adventures in the West, 1847-1849 -- Mr. Tucket 830L --
6. Charlotte's Rose 680L - Handcart pioneers
7. Numbering All the Bones 600L -- The Civil War is nearing its end and 13-year-old Eulinda (a slave whose brother is fighting in the Union army) faces an uncertain world. civil war, prisoners of war, Clara Barton
8. Sounder 900L -- African-American sharecroppers in the South
9. Steal Away . . . to freedom 690L -- A TEENAGE ORPHAN TRANSPLANTED FROM VERMONT TO VIRGINIA AND HER SLAVE DECIDE TO ESCAPE THEIR INDIVIDUAL CAPTIVITIES.
10. Elijah of Buxton 1070L -- The first child born in a community established for escaped slaves in Canada.
11. The Bronze Bow 760L -- THE TORMENTED JOURNEY OF AN ISRAELI BOY'S ALL-CONSUMING HATRED FOR THE ROMANS TO HIS ACCEPTANCE AND ...
12. The Breadwinner 630L -- Story of a girl struggling to survive in war torn Afghanistan
13. All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque, Erich Maria 830L World War I
War Horse --
Book for Boys
See also http://us.penguingroup.com/static/packages/us/yreaders/books4boys/theme_history.php
Many students have enjoyed reading books from Scholastic Press's My Name is America series:
- The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce:A Pilgrim boy, Plymouth, 1620 by Ann Rinaldi
- The Journal of William Thomas Emerson:A Revolutionary War Patriot Boston, Massachusetts, 1774 by Barry Denenberg
- The Journal of Augustus Pelletier:Lewis and clark Expedition, 1804 by Kathryn Lasky
- The Journal of Jedediah Barstow:An Emigrant on the Oregon Trail, Overland, 1845 by Ellen Levine
- The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds:The Donner Party Expedition, 1846 by Rodman Philbrick
- The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung:A Chinese Miner, California, 1852 by Laurence Yep
- The Journal of Sean Sullivan:A Transcontinental Railroad Worker, Nebraska and Points West, 1867 by William Durbin
- The Journal of Joshua Loper:A Black Cowboy, The Chisholm Trail, 1871 by Walter Dean Myers
- The Journal of Brian Doyle:A Greenhorn on an Alaskan Whaling Ship, The Florence, 1874 by Jim Murphy
- The Journal of Rufus Rowe:A Witness to the Battle of Fredricksburg, Bowling Green, VA 1862 by Sid Hite
- The Journal of James Edmond Pease:A Civil War Union Soldier, Virginia, 1863 by Jim Murphy
- The Journal of Jesse Smoke:A Cherokee Boy, The Trail of Tears, 1838 by Joseph Bruchac
- The Journal of Finn Reardon:A Newsie, New York City, 1899 by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
- The Journal of Otto Peltonen:A Finnish Immigrant, Hibbing, Minnesota, 1905 by William Durbin
- The Journal of C.J. Jackson:A Dust Bowl Migrant, Oklahoma to California, 1935 by William Durbin
- The Journal of Ben Uchida:Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp, California, 1942 by Barry Denenberg
- The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins:A World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944 by Walter Dean Myers
- The Journal of Biddy Owens:The Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948 by Walter Dean Myers
- The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty:United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh, Vietnam, 1968 by Ellen Emerson White
- We Were Heroes: The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins, A World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944 by Walter Dean Myers (March 2012)
- Into No Man's Land: The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty, United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh, Vietnam, 1968 by Ellen Emerson White (June 2012) [?]
- The Journal of James Edmond Pease, a Civil War Union Soldier, Virginia, 1863 by Jim Murphy (September 2012)
Thank you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Name_Is_America for the above list.
Important: As usual, the book you choose needs to be a book at or near your reading level -- usually 100 below to 50 above lexile.
If you're considering a book for which I have not listed a lexile, you can look up many books at lexile.com. 