Grades 4- 6

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Fever 1793 (Simon&Schuster, 2000) 14-year-old Matilda Cook is the narrator of this gripping adventure story that takes place during the 1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic.

Curtis, Christopher Paul Bud, Not Buddy  (Delacorte Press, 1999)  Bud, 10, is on the run from the orphanage and from a cruel foster family. His mother died when he was 6, and he  wants to find his father. Set in Michigan during the Great Depression, this is an Oliver Twist kind of foundling story. Newbery Award Winner.

DeFelice, Cynthia. Weasel  (Macmillan, 1990)  Set in the Ohio frontier, this is the spell-binding tale of 11 year old Nathan and his younger sister who must  not only survive on their own as their father lies near death, but outwit a murderous hunter.

Hahn, Mary Dowling. Promises to the Dead  (Clarion Books, 2000)  Aiding and abetting an escaped slave is against the law, and it goes against everything 12 year old Jesse Sherman has been taught, but  he has promised a dying runaway that he will take her seven-year-old son, Perry, to safety in Baltimore.

Holland, Elizabeth. Behind the Lines  (Scholastic, 1994)   Katie,  a 14 year old Irish immigrant who works as a kitchen maid for a wealthy family,  risks everything to aid a young African-American man who is caught up in New York's brutal draft riots of the 1860s.

McGill Alice. In the Hollow of Your Hand (Houghton Mifflin, 2000) An illustrated collection of 13  lullabies sung by African Americans to their children at the end of the slavery period.

Peck, Richard. A Long Way from Chicago  (Dial Books, 1998)  This Newbery Honor book is set in a small Illinois town during the Depression.  Each chapter tells the adventures of Joey, the narrator, and his sister when they leave the big city to visit their grandmother for summer vacations.

Polacco, Patricia . Pink and Say   (Philomel, 1994)  Unforgettable Civil War story about Sheldon Curtis, a white Union soldier, and Pinkus Aylee, a black soldier who  develop a deep friendship that tests their courage as they try to flee capture by Southern troops.

Ringgold, Faith. Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky  (Crown, 1992)  A fantasy about a modern day sister and brother who dream they meet Harriet Tubman who takes them on a journey to show them how their ancestors escaped by following the Underground Railroad.

Taylor, Theodore. The Cay   (Doubleday, 1987)  Blinded by a blow to the head when Germans torpedo his ship in 1942, eleven-year-old year old Philip finds himself stranded on a desert isle with an old West Indian sailor and a cat.
 
 

Grades 1-3

Baer, Edith. This is the Way We Go to School: A Book About Children Around the World  (Scholastic, 1990)  Join children as they travel to school by cable car, train, gondola, and more. Locations are marked on a globe and a map.

Cherry, Lynne. The Shaman's Apprentice: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest  (Gulliver Books, 1998)   Based on a true story,  this is the lushly illustrated tale of  young Kamanya, who dreams of becoming his tribe's next shaman. Kamanya spends his time following the current shaman into the forest and learning the secrets of  medicinal plants.

Harness, Cheryl. Three Young Pilgrims  (Bradbury, 1992)  This fictionalized account of the founding of Plimoth Plantation follows the story of three children who sail to the New World  on the Mayflower.

Hopkinson, Deborah. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt  (Knopf, 1993)  Sarah, a 12 year old slave, sews a quilt with a map that shows the route of the Underground Railroad to those she leaves behind when she escapes.

Lobel, Anita. Away From Home  (Greenwillow, 1994)  Each of 26 boys visits a different major city of the world that starts with the first letter of his name.

Priceman, Marjorie. How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World   (Knopf, 1994)  Follow a girl who travels to, among other countries, France, England, Jamaica, and the United States to gather the best ingredients for her apple pie.

Ringgold, Faith. Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky  (Crown, 1992)  A fantasy about a modern day sister and brother who dream they meet Harriet Tubman who takes them on a journey to show them how their ancestors escaped by following the Underground Railroad.

Rockwell, Anne. Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth (Knopf, 2000) A retelling of Truth's autobiography.

 Singer, Marilyn. Nine O’ Clock Lullaby  (HarperCollins, 1991)  If it’s 10:00A.M. in Moscow, what time is it in Brooklyn, San Juan, or Guangzhou? The illustrations show  what’s going on in the world as we travel the time zones.