More Historical Fiction Favorites
From my early love of the Little House series, I’ve enjoyed historical fiction. For me, there’s no better way to understand the past then get to walk through a story with these characters. For half a year in middle-school social studies class, instead of working from a textbook, the teacher had us learn from historical novels. I loved this approach. Novels set in the past give me a bigger picture of what life was like, and often focus on people in the margins. Here are some favorite historical fiction picks in middle grade and young adult.
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (2006)
A great book for kids who have grown up with Little House on the Prairie. Hattie inherits a homestead in Montana when she is sixteen. In order to keep the land, she has to “prove up” in nine months, which requires paying fees, planting crops, and putting up fencing. Set during World War I, the book explores distrust of immigrants through Hattie’s friendship with a German family.
The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (2017)
In this sequel to The War that Saved My Life (see previous post), siblings Ava and Jamie continue to live in the English countryside after being evacuated from London. Ava has surgery to fix her club foot. When the war intensifies, they must adjust to sharing their house with others, including a Jewish refugee.
The Art of the Swap by Jen Malone and Kristine Asselin (2018)
Body swapping fun! Hannah is a modern-day kid whose dad is the caretaker of a museum in Rhode Island. Maggie is an heiress who is the subject of a painting stolen in 1905. Thanks to a magic mirror, the two swap places and discover the wonders that the other time period holds. Hannah tries to prevent the painting from being stolen, and Maggie enjoys the freedoms modern girls enjoy.
The Killing Code by Ellie Marney (2022)
Kit is a codebreaker in Virginia during World War II when she stumbles into a murder scene. She and her fellow workers team up to solve the murder and protect their team. Kit is determined to find the truth, even as it may expose secrets she never wanted to come to light.