Historical Fiction
Middle grades historical fiction novels have come a long way from the books available ‘decades’ ago. In fact, this growing genre is now bursting with fantastic, inspiring, and insightful novels. It comes as no surprise that these books are finding their way into middle school ELA curricula…
For Matthew, life in 2020 has gone from isolated to worse. Due to COVID-19, he can’t go to school, see his friends, visit with his Dad (who’s stuck overseas reporting on the pandemic), and must be extra careful since his mom moved his 100-year-old great-grandmother (GG) into the house.
Title: The Windeby Puzzle Author: Lois Lowry Publisher: Clarion Books Release Date: February 14, 2023 The Windeby Puzzle by Lois Lowry weaves together nonfiction, fiction, and the process of storytelling into a unique and memorable narrative. Inspired by the peat bog mummy discovered in Germany in 1952, Lowry contemplates the fate of the young person […]
It’s 1989 and seventeen-year old Cristian Florescu and his family live in Bucharest, the heart of Romania’s repressive, tyrannical regime. Cristi desires change like so many others, but to speak about it puts himself and his family in danger. Living amidst the nefarious underbelly of society forces Cristi to write his revolutionary thoughts in a private notebook.
Kofi Offin loves to swim. The swift and enigmatic river of his Upper Kwanta village allures him and piques his curiosity about life. Kofi enjoys a seemingly normal life – there’s a budding love for a girl named Ama, eagerness for the upcoming rite of passage to adulthood, a swimming contest against his cousin, and hopes that bullying around him stops. However, Kofi’s life takes a dark turn during the annual festival…
Title: We Own the Sky Author: Rodman Philbrick Publisher: Scholastic Press Release Date: September 6, 2022 It is 1924 and Davy and Jo Michaud have just become orphans after the death of their mother. Unsure of what to do or where to go, a distant relative, famous aviator and flying acrobat Ruthie, takes them in. […]
