Historical

2008 Newbery Medal winner.
96 pages, Grades 4-7
related subjects:  9th-13th Century

A retelling of the Shakespeare play Macbeth, told from the perspective of a teenaged girl living in Macbeth's castle when the King is murdered.
281 pages, Grades 8 and up
related subjects:  Murder Mysteries, Witches, 9th-13th Century

Part of the Time Warp Trio series. Join Joe, Fred, and Sam as they travel back in time to meet a young Genghis Khan and explore the Mongolian Empire. Will the Time Warp Trio find The Book in time, or will they be stuck in the thirteenth century forever?
80 pages, Grades 3-5
related subjects:  9th-13th Century, Funny, Time Travel

In 1299 in England, fourteen-year-old Elenor finds her betrothal to an ambitious lord's son launching her on a memorable pilgrimage to far-off Spain.
310 pages, Grades 6 and up
related subjects:  9th-13th Century

The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.
224 pages, Grades 5-7
related subjects:  9th-13th Century

Fifteen-year-old Giacomo, servant to Leonardo da Vinci, helps his procrastinating master finish painting The Last Supper while also trying to discover who his real parents are in fifteenth-century Milan, Italy.
390 pages, Grades 5-8
related subjects:  14th-15th Century

In 1452, a man appears at Gutenberg's home with a mysterious chest which can only be opened when the fangs of its serpent's-head clasp taste blood. Centuries later, in an Oxford library, a boy touches a strange book and feels something pierce his finger. The book is blank, but then words begin to appear on the page, words only the boy can see.
400 pages, Grades 4-7
related subjects:  14th-15th Century, Museum Mysteries, Secret Codes

Elaborates on the tale of "The Pied Piper," told from the point of view of a boy who is too ill to keep up when a piper spirits away the healthy children of a plague-ridden town after being cheated out of full payment for ridding Hameln of rats.
272 pages, Grades 8 and up
related subjects:  Fairy Tales, 14th-15th Century, Witches

In Korea in 1473, eleven-year-old Young-sup overcomes his rivalry with his older brother Kee-sup, who as the first-born son receives special treatment from their father, and combines his kite-flying skill with Kee-sup's kite-making skill in an attempt to win the New Year kite-fighting competition.
144 pages, Grades 4-6
related subjects:  Korea, Brothers, 14th-15th Century

In 14th Century England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.
128 pages, Grade 4-7
related subjects:  14th-15th Century, Homelessness

Frustrated with the restrictions her gender imposes on her life, fourteen-year-old Donata, disguised as a boy, sneaks out of her noble family's house to roam the streets of late sixteenth-century Venice and then must confront the repercussions of her actions.
275 pages, Grades 5 and up
related subjects:  16th Century

Nell is a wild child: friend of fairies and piskies...and, some say, a witch. Grace is everything Nell is not. She is the Puritan minister's daughter: beautiful and refined, innocent and sweet...to those who think they know her. But she is hiding a secret that will bring everlasting shame to her family should it ever come to light.
263 pages, Grades 7 and up
related subjects:  17th Century, Fairies, Mean girls, Witches

In 17th century London, Coriander, a girl who has inherited magic from her mother, must find a way to use this magic in order to save herself and an inhabitant of the fairy world where her mother was born.
280 pages, Grades 4 and up
related subjects:  17th century, Fairies, Witches

Two sisters, aged ten and twelve, are accused of witchcraft in Andover, Massachussetts in 1692, and await trial in a miserable prison while their mother desperately searches for some way to obtain their freedom.
211 pages, Grades 5 and up
related subjects:  17th century, Sisters, Witches

In 17th century England, Susanna, a young Quaker servant girl, falls in love with seventeen-year-old Will, an apprentice from a wealthy family. With Quakers being persecuted and imprisoned, can their bond survive, no matter what?
304 pages, Grades 6 and up
related subjects:  17th Century, Love

In 1659, fourteen-year-old Mary Newbury keeps a journal of her voyage from England to the New World and her experiences living as a witch in a community of Puritans near Salem, Massachusetts.
261 pages, Grades 7 and up
related subjects:  17th Century, Witches

Impatient with the constraints put on her as an aristocratic girl living in Korea during the seventeenth century, twelve-year-old Jade Blossom determines to see beyond her small world.
112 pages, Grades 4-6
related subjects:  Korea, 17th Century

In 1687 in Connecticut, Kit Tyler, feeling out of place in the Puritan household of her aunt, befriends an old woman considered a witch by the community and suddenly finds herself standing trial for witchcraft.
256 pages, Grades 4 and up
related subjects:  17th century, Witches

A mysterious stranger who can spin straw into gold promises to make Charlotte's money problems disappear, but what does he want in return?
400 pages, Grades 7 and up
related subjects:  Fairy Tales, 18th Century, Ghosts

Part of the Royal Diaries series. Fourteen-year-old Sophia is engaged to the nephew of the Russian empress Elizabeth. She must travel to Russia where she is renamed Catherine and married, but she watches helplessly as her family is torn from her, her own mother is involved in a spying ring against the empress, and all that is familiar to her disappears.
176 pages, Grades 4-7
related subjects:  18th Century, Princesses, Russia

The true story of Washington's use of espionage in gathering intelligence to defeat the British in the Revolutionary War.
192 pages, Grades 5 and up
related subjects:  18th Century, Spies

Nancy Kington, daughter of a rich merchant, suddenly orphaned when her father dies, is sent to live on her family's plantation in Jamaica. Disgusted by the treatment of the slaves and her brother's willingness to marry her off, she and one of the slaves, Minerva, run away and join a band of pirates.
340 pages, Grades 6 and up
related subjects:  18th Century, Pirates, Sea Adventures

1793, Philadelphia. The largest city in North America is devastated by an incurable disease, cause unknown. This true story describes the illness and the toll it took on the city's residents.
256 pages, Grades 6 and up
related subjects:  18th Century, Disease Epidemics

Book 3 of the High Seas Trilogy. Sixteen-year-old John sails from England in his schooner, the Dragon, to the Caribbean, where he and the crew encounter pirates, storms, fever, and a strange man who may be cursed.
256 pages, Grades 5-8
related subjects:  18th Century, Pirates, Sea Adventures

In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.
256 pages, Grades 6 and up
related subjects:  18th Century, Disease Epidemics

Book 2 of the High Seas Trilogy. In eighteenth-century England, after his father buys a schooner called the Dragon, sixteen-year-old John sets out to sail it from Kent to London and becomes involved in a dangerous smuggling scheme.
208 pages, Grades 5-8
related subjects:  18th Century, Pirates, Sea Adventures

Book 1 of the High Seas Trilogy. Shipwrecked after a storm, fourteen-year-old John attempts to save his father and himself from the murderous community who lure storm-tossed ships to crash on rocks of their shore so they can steal their loot.
224 pages, Grades 5-8
related subjects:  18th Century, Pirates, Sea Adventures

On San Francisco Bay in 1866, when a mysterious shipwreck survivor - a young, feverish boy who claims to be a pirate - washes into their cove, secrets that have been tranquilly hidden across generations are suddenly threatened.
207 pages, Grades 5-7
related subjects:  Pirates, 19th Century

In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the South, uses his wits to try to bring justice to the lying preacher who stole money that was saved to buy a family's freedom.
288 pages, Grades 4-7
related subjects:  19th Century, Funny, Slavery

Sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels.
448 pages, Grades 8 and up
related subjects:  19th Century, ESP

Book 2 of the Solomon Snow series.
256 pages, Grades 3-6
related subjects:  Foundlings, Funny, 19th Century

The alternating narratives of art tutor Samuel Godwin and governess Charlotte Agnew, who work for the wealthy Farrow family in 1898 England, reveal the secrets that almost everyone in the household is hiding.
358 pages, Grades 8 and up
related subjects:  19th Century

Three teens and a curator of unclassifiable artifacts at the British Museum match wits with a madman determined to reanimate the dead, both humans and dinosaurs.
336 pages, Grades 6 and up
related subjects:  19th Century, Museum Mysteries, Zombies, Evil Scientists

Sequel to The Convicts. As Tom Tin sails through islands of headhunters and cannibals to Australia, where he's to serve a lengthy sentence for a murder he didn't commit, he and his fellow convict, Midgely, plot their escape.
240 pages, Grades 6-8
related subjects:  Sea Adventures, 19th Century, Boy Bullies

When his father lands in debtors' prison, Tom, 14, tries to survive on the rough streets of early-nineteenth-century London.
208 pages, Grades 6-8
related subjects:  19th Century, Boy Bullies

Sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty.
560 pages, Grades 8 and up
related subjects:  19th Century, ESP

A cabin boy on a pirate ship finds himself in San Diego in 1846 as war breaks out between the United States and Mexico.
194 pages, Grades 3-6
related subjects:  Mexico, Pirates, 19th Century, Wild West Pioneers

Ten-year-old Solomon Snow, a foundling who was discovered with a distinctive silver spoon in his mouth, sets out to find his parents and receives help along the way from an aspiring writer, a precocious young circus star, and several Orphans.
289 pages, Grades 3-6
related subjects:  Foundlings, Funny, 19th Century

Twelve-year-old Annika was abandoned as a baby and found by two kind servants in a professor's house. They took her in and loved her. Then one day a glamorous stranger arrives, claiming to be Annika's mother. Annika is no servant, she learns, but an aristocrat whose true home is an ancient castle. But at crumbling Spittal, Annika discovers that all is not as it seems in the lives of her newfound family.
416 pages, Grades 4 and up
related subjects:  Foundlings, Mothers, 19th Century

Trapped by the famous blizzard of 1888, a young girl and her family struggle on as even the smallest daily routines of life in the city grind to a halt; electric and telegraph lines go down, trains and buildings alike are buried in the snow, and the streets are impassable, with no way to deliver fresh food, milk, or coal for heat.
32 pages, Grades 3-4
related subjects:  19th Century, Blizzards

After the mysterious suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off to boarding school in England where she discovers her own unexplainable power.
416 pages, Grades 7 and up
related subjects:  Mean Girls, 19th Century, ESP

Part of the Girls of Many Lands series. Called boyish by her new family for being able to read and write, twelve-year-old orphaned Spring Pearl's odd ways help save the family during the 1857 Opium War in China.
224 pages, Grades 4-7
related subjects:  China, 19th Century

Presents a history, based on personal accounts and newspaper articles, of the massive snow storm that hit the Northeast in 1888, focusing on the events in New York City.
136 pages, Grades 5 and up
related subjects:  Blizzards, 19th Century

When a terrible blight attacks Ireland's potato crop in 1845, twelve-year-old Nory's courage and ingenuity help her family and neighbors survive.
176 pages, Grades 4-7
related subjects:  19th Century, Famine, Ireland

In 1849, twelve-year-old California Morning Whipple, who renames herself Lucy, is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a rough California mining town.
352 pages, Grades 4-6
related subjects:  19th Century, Wild West Pioneers

A true account of Chicago's Great Fire of 1871.
144 pages, Grades 5 and up
related subjects:  Fires, 19th Century

Sequel to Mountain Light. When he accidentally kills a Manchu, a fifteen-year-old Chinese boy is sent to America to join his father and other Chinese working to build a tunnel for the transcontinental railroad through the Sierra Nevada mountains in 1867.
352 pages, Grades 5 and up
related subjects:  China, 19th Century, Wild West Pioneers, Racism

As the only passenger, and the only female, on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, thirteen-year-old Charlotte finds herself accused of murder.
240 pages, Grades 5-7
related subjects:  Sea Adventures, 19th Century, Murder Mysteries

Book 3 of the Sally Lockhart Trilogy. In London in 1881, twenty-four-year-old Sally finds her young daughter assailed by an unknown enemy, while a shadowy figure known as the Tzaddik involves her in his plot to exploit the hordes of Jewish immigrants pouring into the country.
416 pages, Grades 8 and up
related subjects:  19th Century, Detectives

Book 2 of the Sally Lockhart Trilogy. In 1878 in London, Sally, now twenty-two and established in her own business, and her companions Frederick and Jim try to solve the mystery surrounding the unexpected collapse of a shipping firm and its ties to a sinister corporation called North Star.
368 pages, Grades 8 and up
related subjects:  19th Century, Detectives

Book 1 of the Sally Lockhart Trilogy. In nineteenth-century London, sixteen-year-old Sally, a recent orphan, becomes involved in a deadly search for a mysterious ruby.
230 pages, Grades 7 and up
related subjects:  19th Century, Detectives, Murder Mysteries

Book 1 of the Little House series. A year in the life of two young girls growing up on the Wisconsin frontier, as they help their mother with the daily chores, enjoy their father's stories and singing, and share special occasions.
224 pages, Grades 3-5
related subjects:  Sisters, 19th Century, Wild West Pioneers

When orphaned Mary comes to live at her uncle's house, she finds it full of secrets. At night, she hears the sound of crying down one of the corridors. Outside she meets a boy who can charm animals. Then, with the help of a friendly robin, Mary discovers a secret garden which has been forgotten for years.
384 pages, Grades 5-8
related subjects:  19th Century

Part of the Royal Diaries series. While her father is in hiding after attempts on his life, twelve-year-old Cleopatra records in her diary how she fears for her own safety and hopes to survive to become Queen of Egypt some day.
224 pages, Grades 4-7
related subjects:  Ancient Egypt, Princesses

While living in Pharoah's palace in ancient Egypt, Miriam, the sister of Moses in the Hebrew scriptures, struggles to remain loyal to her people and her God.
192 pages, Grades 4-6
related subjects:  Ancient Egypt

Part of the Time Warp Trio series. The Time Warp Trio ends up in Ancient Egypt.
80 pages, Grades 3-5
related subjects:  Funny, Ancient Egypt, Time Travel

Orpheus, a musician who is loved and admired by the gods and humans, attempts to use his musical power to rescue his wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld after she dies from a serpent bite on their wedding day.
144 pages, Grades 5-7
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Mythology

Hermes, Prince of Thieves and son of Zeus, relates why the seasons change, the history of the Trojan War, his friendship with Pegasus, and many more adventures.
229 pages, Grades 6 and up
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Mythology

The adventures of Odysseus, including his encounters with the evil Cyclops, the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, the beautiful sorceress Circe, and the vengeful god of the sea, Poseidon.
128 pages, Grades 5-7
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Mythology

Phaeton is the natural offspring of Apollo, god of the Sun, but no one in his village believes him. So he undertakes a long journey to find and confront his father and prove his worth.
128 pages, Grades 5-7
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Mythology

Book #7 of the Myth-O-Mania series. The true story of Hercules, who had big muscles, but an itty-bitty brain.
192 pages, Grades 3-6
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Funny, Mythology

Book #6 of the Myth-O-Mania series. Pandoraa tells what really happened when she lifted the lid off the box.
176 pages, Grades 3-6
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Funny, Mythology

Book #5 of the Myth-O-Mania series. That story about Theseus finding his way through the labyrinth and slaying the Minotaur? Bull hooey! The only thing Theseus did inside the labyrinth was get lost. That's because he forgot to bring along the ball of string the king's daughter had given him.
176 pages, Grades 3-6
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Funny, Mythology

Book #4 of the Myth-O-Mania series. That story about Cupid falling in love with the beautiful Psyche? What malarkey! He did accidentally prick himself with one of his own arrows and fall in love-but with himself!
192 pages, Grades 3-6
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Funny, Mythology

Book #3 of the Myth-O-Mania series. That story about Perseus whacking off the head of the horrible snaky-haired Gorgon, Medusa? Oh, please. He got turned into a hunk of stinky cheese- gorgon-zola, of course!
208 pages, Grades 3-6
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Funny, Mythology

Book #2 of the Myth-O-Mania series. What really happened when Persephone was kidnapped into the Underworld.
160 pages, Grades 3-6
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Funny, Mythology

Book #1 of the Myth-O-Mania series. Hades tells the real story about the gods and goddesses.
160 pages, Grades 3-6
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Funny, Mythology

When her father commands that she produce an heir, the huntress Atalanta gives her suitors a seemingly impossible task in order to uphold her pledge of chastity, as the gods of ancient Greece look on.
192 pages, Grades 6 and up
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Mythology

Atalanta, Andromeda, and Psyche, three female characters in Greek mythology, tell the stories of their marriages.
200 pages, Grades 6 and up
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Mythology

Fourteen-year-old Princess Xenodice tries to prevent the death of her half-brother, the Minotaur, at the hands of the Athenian prince, Theseus, who is aided by Icarus, Daedalus, and her sister Ariadne.
194 pages, Grades 6 and up
related subjects:  Ancient Greece, Mythology