Historical
Fiction
for Grades 7 & 8
The Children's
Library/Mt. Lebanon Public Library
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15228
www.einetwork.net/ein/mtleb
Sounder
William H. Armstrong
After stealing food to feed his hungry family, a man is sentenced to a chain
gang and separated from his wife, his son, and his pet, the great coon dog
Sounder.
1900s, USA
The
Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper
One of the five books which make up the Leather-Stocking Tales. In this novel,
two sisters are assisted in their attempt to join their father, a British
commander in the French and Indian War, by Natty Bumpo and the two Indians Uncas
and Chingachgook– the last of the Mohicans.
1700s, USA
Johnny
Tremain
Esther Forbes
The exciting story of Johnny Tremain’s participation in the American
Revolution, including his role in the
Boston Tea party.
Revolutionary War, USA
The
Slave Dancer
Paula Fox
In 1840, a 13 year old boy is kidnapped and forced to make music on board a
slave ship so the slaves can keep their muscles strong by “dancing.”
1840, USA
The
Summer of My German Soldier
Bette Greene
In Arkansas, a lonely Jewish girl becomes friends with a German prisoner of war.
World War II, USA
Tom
Cringle: The Pirate and the Patriot
Gerald Hausman
A fourteen year old lieutenant in the British Navy faces slave ships,
sharks, battles, pirates, and a swampy wilderness in this historical adventure.
War of 1812, Jamaica
Out
of the Dust
Karen Hesse
Fifteen year old Billie Jo relates the hardships her Oklahoma family faces
during the Dust Bowl years of
the Great Depression.
1900s, USA
I
am Regina
Sally M. Keehn
The story of a young girl’s years of captivity with the Allegheny Indians.
1700s, USA
The
Trumpeter of Krakow
Eric P. Kelly
An exciting adventure set in Poland about a young boy, a trumpet tune, a kind
priest, a fearful villain,
and a powerful king.
1400s, Poland
Lord
of the Nutcracker Men
Iain Lawrence
A young boy begins to believe that the toy soldiers his father carves for him
have the power to change what happens on the frontlines of World War I, where
his father is fighting in no-man’s land.
World War I, Europe
Good
Night, Mr. Tom
Michelle Magorian
When he is evacuated from London, an abused boy finds affection and friendship
for the first time.
World War II, England
The
Glory Field
Walter Dean Myers
The memorable two hundred forty-one year history of one African-American family.
USA
Lyddie
Katherine Paterson
An impoverished Vermont farm girl joins the workforce of women in the mill town
of Lowell, Massachusetts in order to win back her beloved farm and independence.
1840s, USA
Soldier’s
Heart: A Novel of the Civil War
Gary Paulsen
Charley Goddard lies about his age in order to join the First Minnesota
Volunteers, and after four years of fighting amidst the horrors of the war,
returns home aged and “deadened.”
Civil War, USA
A
Long Way from Chicago
Richard Peck
The memorable summers a boy and girl spend with their larger than life
Grandmother in rural Illinois during the Great Depression.
1900s, USA
The
Ruby in the Smoke
Philip Pullman
When a 16 year old girl sets out to solve the mystery surrounding her father’s
death, she becomes involved in a deadly search for a mysterious ruby. The first
of a trilogy.
1800s, England
Words
by Heart
Ouida Sebestyen
Twelve year old Lena learns of the cruelties and injustices of prejudice
when, in 1910, her family becomes the first black family ever to live in Bethel
Springs, Texas.
1910, USA
The
Witch of Blackbird Pond
Elizabeth George Speare
After moving from Barbados to Connecticut in 1697, a young girl’s
safety is endangered by her friendship with an old woman thought to be a witch.
1600s, USA
The
Land
Mildred Taylor
The son of a plantation owner father and a slave mother dreams of owning his own
land. Prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Post Civil War, USA
Roll
of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Mildred Taylor
Nine year old Cassie’s family are the only black landowners in
depression–era Mississippi. This novel tells of Cassie’s awakenings to the
injustices of prejudice, and it also depicts community and family
life in the rural south of the 1930s.
1930s,
USA
The
Ramsay Scallop
Frances Temple
A fourteen year old English girl and her betrothed set off on a memorable
religious pilgrimage to Spain during which they experience
a change of heart about their impending marriage.|
1200s, Europe
Journey
to Topaz
Yoshido Ushida
Yuki, her mother, and her brother are sent to a Japanese-American internment
camp in the Utah desert.
World War II, USA
A
Parcel of Patterns
Jill Paton Walsh
A group of English villagers, helpless to fight the dreaded plague which is
sweeping through their town, decides to quarantine themselves
in order to protect others.
1600s, Great Britain
Bat
6
Virginia Euwer Wolff
In post World War II Oregon, sixth grade girls must face up to bigotry
during a softball game.
Post World War
II, USA
These and other great books are available at
The Children’s
Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
412/531-1913
www.einetwork.net/ein/mtleb
10/01