Historical fiction

Diana’s White House Garden by Elisa Carbone, illustrated by Jen Hill

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Published by Viking 

Summary:  World War II is raging, and Diana Hopkins, the 10-year-old daughter of Presidential advisor Harry Hopkins wants to do her part.  Spying and trying to scare off enemies by sticking pins in the couch don’t work out too well, but she’s delighted when she overhears her father and Franklin Roosevelt talking about a new plan to encourage Americans to grow victory gardens.  The first demonstration garden is to be planted right on the White House lawn.  Diana teams up with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to create it.  Before long, Diana is outside watering and weeding almost every day, and even gets her picture in the paper, standing in front of her thriving Victory Garden.  On the last page, the Hopkinses and the Roosevelts sit down to a feast that includes beans, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes from the new garden.  Notes from both the author and illustrator give a bit more information about Diana Hopkins and Victory Gardens, and the research that went into the creation of the book.  44 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  A nice bit of World War II historical fiction.  Diana is a likeable character, with both a mischievous side and an admirable desire to contribute to the war effort.  My mother, just a bit younger than Diana in 1940, would love this book.

Cons:  Diana’s life looks like it was a lot sadder than portrayed in this book…her mother died before this story takes place and her father, just a few years after.

 

Once Was a Time by Leila Sales

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Published by Chronicle Books 

Summary:  10-year-old Charlotte lives in England in 1940.  She and her best friend Kitty love to hear Charlotte’s father talk about the work he does researching time travel.  As World War II intensifies, his work becomes more and more secretive, until one night Charlotte and Kitty are kidnapped by Nazis and taken to her father’s lab.  The Nazis threaten to shoot the two girls if her father doesn’t tell them the secrets of time travel.  At the last second, much to her amazement, Charlotte sees a time-travel portal like her father has described to her many times before.  She runs through it, and finds herself in 2013 Wisconsin.  Knowing she can never travel back to her original time, she does the best she can to make a new life for herself, but she never forgets about Kitty.  Just when she has given up all hope of ever finding her, she opens a library book and finds a postcard from an adult Kitty, which just might be the clue she needs to reconnect.  272 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  An enchanting mix of friendship story, historical fiction, and science fiction.

Cons:  Be prepared to suspend some disbelief for the time travel portions of the story..

The Hero Two Doors Down by Sharon Robinson

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Published by Scholastic Press 

Summary:  Eight-year-old Stephen Satlow is beyond excited when he learns that Jackie Robinson and his family are moving into the house down the street.  As a huge Dodgers fan living in Brooklyn, he can’t believe that one of the most famous members of the team is his new neighbor.  Although there is a bit of resistance to the integration of Stephen’s mostly Jewish community, the Robinsons are welcomed by most of the families on Stephen’s street, and the Satlows and Robinsons soon become good friends.  Written by Jackie Robinson’s daughter and based on a true story, this book includes an afterword about the two families’ friendships and several photos of the main characters from the story.  208 pages; grades 3-6.

Pros:  A quick and engaging read about a true baseball fan, as well as a fun look back at post-World War II Brooklyn.

Cons:  Jackie Robinson comes across as a bit preachy, spouting words of wisdom almost every time he and Stephen have a conversation.

The Nine Lives of Jacob Tibbs by Cylin Busby

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Published by Alfred A. Knopf 

Summary: Narrator Jacob is the runt of his litter, born to seafaring wonder cat Mrs. Tibbs, a champion ratter who also can predict when a storm is coming. All his brothers and sisters find homes on other ships, but Jacob stays behind with his mother.  He’s devoted to Captain Natick, but not so fond of Archer, the new first mate, who’s the son of the shipping company’s owner and doesn’t have a clue about sailing.  On the first day out, Archer persuades the captain to ignore Mrs. Tibbs’ warning of bad weather.  Disaster follows, setting in motion a chain of events that eventually results in accusations of mutiny, and several sailors, including Jacob, being cast adrift.  It’s one adventure after another in this tale of life on the high seas in a nineteenth-century sailing vessel.  272 pages; ages 8-12.

Pros:  From storms to mutiny to shipwreck, the action never stops.  Jacob is an endearing narrator.  This would make an engaging classroom read-aloud.

Cons:  Beloved characters die.

 

The Quickest Kid in Clarksville by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Frank Morrison

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Published by Chronicle Books 

Summary:  Alta’s pretty sure she’s the fastest kid in Clarksville, Tennessee, until Charmaine comes along and challenges her to a couple of races.  Charmaine’s got new sneakers, and Alta’s toes are poking out of hers, but the contest ends in a draw.  Alta’s unhappy about the new girl, until the next day, when she’s racing to get herself and her banner to the parade in time to see Olympic medalist Wilma Rudolph go by.  The two girls work together, and end up with a curbside seat to the parade.  Wilma gives them a wave and a smile, and the two girls find themselves smiling at each other as well.  An author’s note gives a brief history of Wilma Rudolph and her victory parade, which she insisted be open to all races, making it the first major integrated event in Clarksville’s history.  40 pages; ages 5-8.

Pros:  A fun story of friendship, served up with a slice of history.  Frank Morrison occasionally channels Hilary Knight in his action-packed illustrations.

Cons:  Kids will need a little background on Wilma Rudolph before reading this book to fully appreciate the story.

 

Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg

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Published by Nancy Paulsen Books 

Summary:  Terpsichore Johnson’s father has been out of work for months, and there’s barely enough food to feed her and her three younger siblings.  When President Roosevelt announces a plan for families to get free farms in Palmer, Alaska, Mr. Johnson is ready to sign up.  Terpsichore’s mother is much less certain, but she agrees to try it for fifteen months, through two harvest seasons.  Despite cold winds, outhouses, and having to live in a tent for a few months, Terpsichore loves Alaska.  She starts a public library with her new friends, and sets her sights on growing a pumpkin big enough to win the grand prize at the fall fair.  The fair marks the end of the fifteen-month trial period, though, and Mother is still not convinced that she wants to stay in Alaska.  Terpsichore hatches a crazy plan to buy something she thinks might make up her mother’s mind.  Will her idea work?  304 pages; grades 4-6.

Pros:  With a nod to Terpsichore’s favorite books, Little House in the Big Woods and Farmer Boy (Little House on the Prairie is published during the family’s first year in Alaska), this story tells of twentieth-century pioneers working together to build a new community and a more prosperous life for their families.  Readers will root for Terpsichore as she pours her heart into helping her friends and family.

Cons:  It took at least half the book for me to find the mother even a tiny bit likeable.

American Ace by Marilyn Nelson

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Published by Dial Books 

Summary: When Connor’s grandmother Lucia dies, she leaves a letter for his father, revealing that Connor’s grandfather wasn’t the Italian man his father grew up with; instead, he was an American pilot who was in Italy during World War II. Connor’s father was raised in a tight-knit Italian family, and the news is devastating to him at first.  Along with the letter, Lucia left a school ring that belonged to the pilot.  Connor uses the ring to research his grandfather.  Eventually, he learns that this man was African American, one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.  Just as the mystery is about to be solved, Dad has a stroke and is hospitalized.  Connor helps him heal, both physically and emotionally, by learning and sharing more and more of the courageous history of the Airmen.  117 pages; grades 7-10.

Pros:  In an author’s note, Marilyn Nelson writes how she wanted to tell the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, and eventually had the idea to write a book in which the main character gradually learns their history.  She achieves this brilliantly in just 45 poems told in Connor’s voice.  The history is fascinating, and so is the story of this family who must rethink their entire identity in the light of revelations about their cultural heritage.

Cons:  The structure of Part 7, in which Connor tells his father the story of the Tuskegee Airmen while his dad is convalescing in the hospital, is a little bit confusing.

Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban

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Published by Farrar Straus Giroux 

Summary: Ten-year-old Manami lives happily with her parents and grandfather on Bainbridge Island, Washington in 1942. Her whole life changes when her family is ordered to leave the island for a Japanese American prison camp in the desert.  Hardest of all is leaving Yujiin, the family dog.  On an impulse, Manami hides Yujiin under her coat, only to have him confiscated when the family gets to the mainland.  Overcome with grief and guilt, Manami stops talking.  Her family is loving and supportive as they try to adjust to life in the barracks and the harsh desert climate.  Manami is a gifted artist, and she draws many pictures for Yujiin, sending them out on the wind with the hope that they will help him find the family again.  When tragedy strikes her family, Manami must find the courage to move beyond her guilt and try to help those around her.  An author’s note tells a brief history of Japanese immigrants to America and why some of them were imprisoned during World War II.  181 pages; ages 9-12.

Pros:  A beautifully written story of a loving family supporting each other through unimaginably difficult circumstances.  Manami’s present tense voice gives an air of immediacy to the story, and helps the reader watch events unfold through her eyes.

Cons: Although her family members were kind and loving, no one really explained to Manami why they were forced to move.

A Year Without Mom by Dasha Tolstikova

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Published by Groundwood Books 

Summary:  12-year-old Dasha is crushed when she learns that her mother is spending a year at the University of Illinois, leaving Dasha with her grandparents in the Soviet Union.  Her father is living in Los Angeles, so Dasha feels lonely, despite her loving grandparents and two best friends.  During the year, she goes through some friendship difficulties, develops an unrequited crush on an older boy, and works hard to get into a better school.  Meanwhile, political unrest results in a few anxious days until Boris Yeltsin replaces Mikhail Gorbachev as the Soviet leader.  Things are beginning to fall into place by the spring, when her mother returns, announcing that Dasha will be joining her for the second year of her master’s program.  The book ends on an uncertain note, as Dasha arrives in Urbana, Illinois, and meets a girl who just might be a new friend.  168 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  Even though she is from a different place and time, Dasha’s feelings will be familiar to 21st century American tweens.  A cross between a graphic novel and an illustrated chapter book, A Year Without Mom will appeal to both reluctant and avid middle school readers.

Cons: Some of the Soviet references may be a bit confusing for post-Cold War readers.

My Seneca Village by Marilyn Nelson

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Published by Namelos 

Summary:  From 1825 to 1857, Seneca Village in Manhattan was populated by newly-freed African American slaves and immigrants from Ireland and Germany.  The people were poor and life was hard, but there was also celebration, hard work, and hope for the future.  This collection of poems tells the story of those years through the people who lived there.  Each facing page introduces the poem and creates a picture of the person at the moment it is spoken.  Characters are referenced in others’ poems, or come back with their own several years later.  The second to last poem, “The Law of Eminent Domain” quotes the law that ordered the eviction of Seneca Village residents so their land could be used to create Central Park.  The author’s introduction gives the history of Seneca Village; she uses the last few pages to describe the different poetic forms in the book.  87 pages; grades 5 and up.

Pros:  These moving, beautifully crafted poems introduce a little-known chapter in American history.  Footnotes give additional historical context.  The final lines of the last poem bring the inhabitants of Seneca Village into the present:  “I am one who knows that time and we are mist/hiding Light’s ever-changing panorama,/where the future holds a President Obama.”

Cons:  The drab colors of the cover could make this less appealing for young readers to pick up and try.