Crispin: Cross of Lead

Avi

Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret. Gr. 5 - 9.

Caddie Woodlawn

Carol Ryrie Brink

Chronicles the adventures of eleven-year-old Caddie growing up with her six brothers and sisters on the Wisconsin frontier in the mid-nineteenth century. Gr. 4 - 6.

Wheel on the School

Meindert DeJong

The storks are brought back to their island by the schoolchildren in a Dutch village. Gr. 4 - 7.

Matchlock Gun

Walter Edmunds

The exciting, true story of a courageous boy who protected his mother and sister from the Indians of the Hudson Valley. Gr. 3 - 5.

Johnny Tremain

Esther Forbes

After injuring his hand, a silversmith's apprentice in Boston becomes a messenger for the Sons of Liberty in the days before the American Revolution. Gr. 5 - 8.

The Slave Dancer

Paula Fox

Kidnapped by the crew of an Africa-bound ship, a boy discovers to his horror that he is on a slave ship and his job is to play music to help with the exercise periods of the human cargo. Gr. 4 - 7.

Out of the Dust

Karen Hesse

In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl years of the Depression. Gr. 4 - 7.

Number the Stars

Lois Lowry

In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis. Gr. 5 - 7.

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Patricia MacLachlan

When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay. Gr. 3 - 5.

If you enjoy this title, make sure to check out the rest in this series!

The Single Shard

Linda Sue Park

Tree-ear, a thirteen-year old ophan in medieval Korea, lives under a bridge in a potter's village, and longs to learn how to throw the fragile celadon ceramics himself. Gr. 5 - 7.