Historical Fiction - Grade 4

Ninth Ward Rhodes, Jewell Parker Call Letters: F Rh Pgs: 217 Lexile: 470 In New Orleans' Ninth Ward, 12-year-old Lanesha and her adopted grandmother have no choice but to stay and weather the storm as Hurricane Katrina bears down upon them.

Duke Larson, Kirby Call Letters: F Lar Pgs: 225 Lexile: 540 In 1944, Hobie Hanson's father is flying B-24s in Europe, so Hobie decides to donate his beloved German shepherd, Duke, to Dogs for Defense in the hope that it will help end the war sooner--but when he learns that Duke is being trained for combat he is shocked, frightened and determined to get his dog back. Genevieve's War Giff, Patricia Reilly Call Letters: F Gif Pgs: 222 Lexile: 550 In August 1939 Genevieve makes an impulsive decision not to get on train to take her to a boat back to New York and must spend the duration of World War II with her grandmother in a small village in Alsace, France, where she becomes involved with the French resistance. Dash Larson, Kirby Call Letters: F Lar Pgs: 243 Lexile: 570 When her family is forced into an internment camp during WW II, Mitsi clings to her one connection to the outside world--the letters from the neighbor who is caring for her beloved dog, Dash.

Fighting Ground Avi Call Letters: F Av Pgs: 157 Lexile: 580 13-year-old Jonathan goes off to fight in the Revolutionary War and discovers the real war is being fought within himself.

War that Saved My Life Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker Call Letters: F Bra Pgs: 316 Lexile: 580 A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother.

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 (I Survived series) Tarshis, Lauren Call Letters: F Tar Pgs: 96 Lexile: 590 10-year-old George Calder's life changes forever as he, his little sister, Phoebe, and their Aunt Daisy set out across the ocean on the "Titanic" in 1912.

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Ruby Lee & Me Hitchcock, Shannon Call Letters: F Hic Pgs: 207 Lexile: 590 When a formerly segregated North Carolina town hires its first African-American teacher in 1969, two girls--one black, one white--confront the prejudice that challenges their friendship

I Survived Hurrican Katrina 2005 (I Survived series) Tarchis, Lauren Call Letters: F Tar Pgs: 95 Lexile: 590 Barry's family is unable to evacuate when Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans due to his little sister's illness, and when Barry is swept away by the floodwaters, he wonders if he will live to see his family again.

Coastwatcher Weston, Elise Call Letters: F We Pgs: 132 Lexile: 600 While 11-year-old Hugh, his family, and his cousin Tom are spending the summer of 1943 on the South Carolina shore to escape the polio epidemic, Hugh uncovers clues that point to a German plot to sabotage a nearby naval base.

Jackie & Me (series) Gutman, Dan Call Letters: F Gut Pgs: 145 Lexile: 610 With his ability to travel through time by using baseball cards, Joe goes back to 1947 to meet Jackie Robinson, turning into a black boy in the process.

Shark Attacks of 1916 (I Survived series) Tarshis, Lauren Call Letters: F Tar Pgs: 87 Lexile: 610 10-year-old Chet Roscow, who had been thrilled by the news of a great white shark attacking people along the Atlantic coast, goes swimming with his friends in Springfield, New Jersey one day, and wonders if he sees a shark in the water.

Turtle in Paradise Holm, Jennifer L Call Letters: F Hol Pgs: 185 Lexile: 610 In 1935, when her mother gets a job housekeeping for a woman who does not like children, eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to stay with relatives she has never met in far away Key West, Florida.

Storyteller Giff, Patricia Reilly Call Letters: F Gif Pgs: 166 Lexile: 610 Forced to spend months at an aunt's house, Elizabeth feels a connection to her ancestor Zee, whose picture hangs on the wall, and who reveals her story of hardships during the Revolutionary War as Elizabeth comes to terms with her own troubles.

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Lemons Savage, Melissa Call Letters: F Sav Pgs: 308 Lexile: 630 Struggling to stay positive after the death of her mother, Lem moves in with the grandfather she has never met and befriends a kid detective who invites her to be his assistant as he tries to capture a photograph of Bigfoot.

Hero Two Doors Down Robinson, Sharon Call Letters: F Ro Pgs: 202 Lexile: 640 Eight-year-old Steve Satlow is thrilled when Jackie Robinson moves into his Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn in 1948, although many of his neighbors are not.

Into the Killing Seas Spradlin, Michael P. Call Letters: F Spr Pgs: 185 Lexile: 640 In 1945, 12-year-old Patrick and his younger brother Teddy stowaway on the U.S.S. Indianapolis in a desperate attempt to get back to the Philippines where they last saw their parents, but when the ship is sunk they find themselves clinging to a piece of debris without food or water. Keeping Safe the Stars O'Connor, Sheila Call Letters: F Oc Pgs: 295 Lexile: 650 With Old Finn suddenly hospitalized, 13-year-old Pride, an orphan, struggles to keep her younger siblings fed, while maintaining their independence and hiding their grandfather's absence from increasingly suspicious adults.

Way to Stay in Destiny Scattergood, Augusta Call Letters: F Sca Pgs: 179 Lexile: 650 At first music-loving Theo is dismayed when he is shipped off to the small town of Destiny, Florida, to live with his aloof Uncle Raymond, but he begins to embrace life in Destiny after befriending Anabel, a baseball fanatic, and gaining access to the piano at the dance studio in his apartment building. Enemy Above Spradli, Michael P. Call Letters: F Spr Pgs: 232 Lexile: 660 In 1942 12-year-old Anton, his family, and their small community of Jews are hiding from the Nazi troops in a web of underground caves. One officer in particular, Major Karl Von Duesen, is determined to catch or kill every Jew he can find, but as the tide of war turns, a final confrontation between Anton and his enemy is looming. Friendship For Today McKissack, Patricia Call Letters: F Mc Pgs: 172 Lexile: 670 12-year-old Rosemary Patterson learns that she will be attending an all-white school in the fall; but when her best friend is diagnosed with polio, she must face the first day of school alone.

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Lucky Broken Girl Behar, Ruth Call Letters: F Beh Pgs: 243 Lexile: 670 As a young Cuban Jewish girl in 1966. 5th-grader Ruthie is she terribly injured in a car accident. Confined to her bed in a body cast for nearly a year, Ruthie struggles with her loneliness, but finds strength within herself.

Number the Stars Lowry, Lois Call Letters: F Lo Pgs: 137 Lexile: 670 In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, 10-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.

Saving Zasha Barrow, Randi Call Letters: F Bar Pgs: 229 Lexile: 670 In 1945 Russia, those who own German shepherds are considered traitors, but 13-year-old Mikhail and his family are determined to keep the dog a dying man brought them, while his classmate Katia strives to learn his secret.

Bird in a Box Pinkney, Andrea Davis Call Letters: F Pin Pgs: 281 Lexile: 670 In 1936, three children meet at the Mercy Home for Negro Orphans in New York State, and while not all three are orphans, they are all dealing with grief and loss which together, along with the help of the boxing matches of Joe Louis, they manage to overcome.

Best Bad Luck I Ever Had Levine, Kristin Call Letters: F Lev Pgs: 272 Lexile: 680 The last thing Dit expects when brainy Emma comes to town is to become friends, but she sure makes Dit think, especially about the differences between black and white in the 1910s. Soon Dit is thinking about the town barber, who is black and being put on trial for a terrible crime. Together Dit and Emma come up with a daring plan to save his life. Calico Girl Nolen, Jerdine Call Letters: F Nol Pgs: 164 Lexile: 700 Callie struggles to understand slavery when her stepbrother is sold away at the start of the Civil War, but is determined her whole family will be free one day.

Night Diary Hiranandani, Veera Call Letters: F Hir Pgs: 264 Lexile: 700 Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary.

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One Handed Catch Auch, Mary Jane Call Letters: F Auc Pgs: 248 Lexile: 710 After losing his hand in an accident in his father's butcher shop in 1946, 6th-grader Norman uses hard work and humor to learn to live with his disability and to succeed at baseball, art, and other activities.

Lily's Crossing Giff, Patricia Reilly Call Letters: F Gi Pgs: 180 Lexile: 720 During a summer spent at Rockaway Beach in 1944, Lily's friendship with a young Hungarian refugee causes her to see the war and her own world differently.

Like Vanessa Charles, Tami Call Letters: F Ch Pgs: 284 Lexile: 730 It is 1983 and Vanessa Martin, a 13-year-old African American girl in Newark's public housing, dreams of following in the footsteps of the first African American Miss America, Vanessa Williams; but the odds are against her until a new teacher organizes a pageant and encourages Vanessa to enter. Ghosts of the Titanic Lawson, Julie Call Letters: F La Pgs: 169 Lexile: 730 Kevin is transported back in time to the deck of the "Titanic," where he races to save a young woman and her child from a tragic ending.

Rodzina Cushman, Karen Call Letters: F Cu Pgs: 215 Lexile: 740 A 12-year-old Polish American girl is boarded onto an orphan train in Chicago with fears about traveling to the West and a life of unpaid slavery.

Precious Bones Ashley-Hollinger, Mika Call Letters: F Mik Pgs: 344 Lexile: 740 In 1949 in the Florida Everglades, a 10-year-old girl called Bones, whose father is part Miccosukee Indian, tries to discover what really happened when he is accused of two murders and sent to jail.

Stella by Starlight Draper, Sharon Call Letters: F Dra Pgs: 3E+ Lexile: 740 When a burning cross set by the Klan causes panic and fear in 1932 Bumblebee, North Carolina, fifth-grader Stella must face prejudice and find the strength to demand change in her segregated town.

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One Crazy Summer (Newbery Honor Book 2011) Williams-Garcia, Rita Call Letters: F Wil Pgs: 218 Lexile: 750 In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn, NY to Oakland, CA to spend a month with the mother they barely know, 11-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp. War Below Skrypuch, Marsha Call Letters: F Skr Pgs: 240 Lexile: 750 The Nazis took Luka from his home in Ukraine and forced him into a labor camp. Now, Luka has smuggled himself out -- even though he has left behind his dearest friend, Lida. Someday, he vows, he'll find her again.

Sound of Freedom Kacer, Kathy Call Letters: F Kac Pgs: 246 Lexile: 750 In 1936, Anna and her family are Jewish citizens living in Poland. As conditions worsen for people of the Jewish faith, Anna begs her father to flee the country, but he struggles to leave behind his position with the local orchestra. An audition for a new orchestra in Palestine might be Anna and her family's ticket to a better and safer life. Esperanza Rising Ryan, Pam Munoz Call Letters: F Ry Pgs: 262 Lexile: 750 Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere Lamana, Julie Call Letters: F La Pgs: 313 Lexile: 750 At the end of August 2005, ten-year-old Armani is looking forward to her birthday party in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, where she and her extended family live, but Hurricane Katrina is on the way, bringing destruction and tragedy in its wake.

Mighty Miss Malone Curtis, Christopher Paul Call Letters: F Cur Pgs: 307 Lexile: 750 Deza Malone, the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, accompanies her mother and older brother on a trip to find her father, an African American man who left to find work after the Great Depression hit.

Making Bombs for Hitler Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk Call Letters: F Skr Pgs: 230 Lexile: 760 In 1943 ten-year-old Lida is torn away from her home in the Ukraine, separated from her little sister Larissa, and sent to a slave labor camp in Germany, but when she is moved and sent to make bombs she sees a way to strike back at the Nazis.

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Counting on Grace Winthrop, Elizabther Call Letters: F Wi Pgs: 232 Lexile: 760 12-year-old Grace and her friend Arthur, taken out of school and put to work in a Vermont textile mill in 1910, are urged by their teacher to write the National Child Labor Committee, an action only Grace seems to realize will have serious consequences.

Some Kind of Courage Gemeinhart, Dan Call Letters: F Ge Pgs: 234 Lexile: 760 Losing his father to an accident, his mother and sister to illness and his horse to a cruel thief, young Joseph confronts deadly animals, dangerous men and the harsh elements of nature to reclaim the only family he has left.

Sylvia & Aki Conkling, Winifred Call Letters: F Co Pgs: 151 Lexile: 760 At the start of World War II, Japanese-American third-grader Aki and her family are sent to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona, while Mexican-American third-grader Sylvia's family leases their Orange County, California, farm and begins a fight to stop school segregation. The Marvels Selznick, Brian Call Letters: F Sel Pgs: 665 Lexile: 770 In 1766, Billy Marvel is shipwrecked, rescued, and goes on to found a brilliant family of actors that flourishes in London until 1900--and nearly a century later, Joseph Jervis runs away from home, seeking refuge with his uncle in London, and is captivated by the Marvel house, with its portraits and ghostly presences. Day of the Pelican Paterson, Katherine Call Letters: F Pat Pgs: 145 Lexile: 770 In 1998 when the Kosovo hostilities escalate, 13-year-old Meli's life as an ethnic Albanian, changes forever after her brother escapes his Serbian captors and the entire family flees from one refugee camp to another until they are able to immigrate to America.

Rising Star of Rusty Nail Blume, Lesley Call Letters: F Bl Pgs: 270 Lexile: 790 In the small town of Rusty Nail, Minnesota, in the early 1950s, musically talented ten-year- old Franny wants to take advanced piano lessons from newcomer Olga Malenkov, a famous Russian musician suspected of being a communist spy by gossipy members of the community. Under the Egg Fitzgerald, Laura Marx Call Letters: F Fit Pgs: 247 Lexile: 790 Her grandfather's dying words lead thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny to a valuable, hidden painting she fears may be stolen, but it is her search for answers in her Greenwich Village neighborhood that brings a real treasure.

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Inside Out and Back Again (Newbery Honor 2012) Lai, Thanhha Call Letters: F Lai Pgs: 262 Lexile: 800 Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.

Bloodlines: Damage Control (series) Sherman, Zachary Call Letters: F She Pgs: 80 Lexile: 800 To escape from behind enemy lines before North Korea attacks, Corporal Tony Donovan and his companions must rebuild one of the jeeps they were carrying when their plane crashed.

Night Divided Nielsen, Jennifer A. Call Letters: F Nie Pgs: 317 Lexile: 810 When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother were trapped on the eastern side where they were living, while her father, and her other brother were in the West. Four years later, Gerta sees her father on a viewing platform on the western side and realizes he wants her to risk her life to tunnel to freedom. Wonderstruck Selznick, Brian Call Letters: F Sel Pgs: 697 Lexile: 830 Set 50 years apart, two stories--Ben's told in words and Rose's in pictures--weave back and forth until they intertwine, surprise and leave the reader wonderstruck.

Romeo and Juliet Code Stone, Phoebe Call Letters: F Sto Pgs: 300 Lexile: 850 During World War II, 11-year-old Felicity is sent from London to Bottlebay, Maine, to live with her grandmother, aunt, uncle, and a reclusive boy who helps her decode mysterious letters that contain the truth about her missing parents.

Zane and the Hurricane Philbrick, W. R Call Letters: F Phi Pgs: 181 Lexile: 860 A twelve-year-old boy and his dog become trapped in New Orleans during the horrors of Hurricane Katrina.

Kizzy Ann Stamps Watts, Jeri Call Letters: F Wa Pgs: 183 Lexile: 920 Kizzie Ann Stamps is nervous about starting at a new school that was just integrated, and wonders if she and her dog Shag will be allowed to compete in a herding competition because she is African-American.

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Trouble the Water Dowell, Frances O'Roark Call Letters: F Do Pgs: 278 Lexile: 920 In the segregated south in 1953, twelve-year-olds Callie, who is black, and Wendell, who is white, are brought together by an old dog that is clearly seeking something or someone, but they not only face prejudice, they find trouble at a haunted cabin in the woods.

Bud, Not Buddy Curtis, Christopher Paul Call Letters: F Cu Pgs: 245 Lexile: 950 10-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father-- the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

William S. and the Great Escape Snyder, Zilpha Keatly Call Letters: F Sny Pgs: 214 Lexile: 980 In 1938, 12-year-old William has already decided to leave home when his younger sister informs him that she and their brother and sister are going as well, but complications arise as they try to make their way to their Aunt Fiona's house.

Little Cricket Brown, Jackie Call Letters: F Br Pgs: 252 Lexile: 1010 After the upheaval of the Vietnam War reaches them, 12-year-old Kia and her Hmong family flee from the mountains of Laos to a refugee camp in Thailand and eventually to St. Paul, Minnesota.

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