History Reading List Classical Civilizations/Ancient History Brave -Wendy Constance – Paleolithic 13 year olds Wild Horse and Blue Bird, must prove their bravery on a dangerous adventure The Clan of the Cave Bear – Jean.M.Auel. Roman Mysteries - Caroline Lawrence Pompeii - Robert Harris The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland - bitesize Arthurian Legend. Medieval The Seeing Stone, Arthur, King of the Middle March & Gatty’s Tale – The depiction of the medieval setting is meticulous but this is a series of novels about heart and song. It will lift the spirits and move you to tears. A Time Traveller’s guide to Medieval England: A handbook for visitors to the 14th century – Ian Mortimer Tudors A traveler in Time – Alison Uttley – Penelope finds herself slipping back in time to join the inhabitance of 1580 at the time of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. A Time Traveller’s guide to Tudor England: A handbook for visitors to the 15th century – Ian Mortimer How to be a Tudor: A Dawn to Dusk Guide to Everyday Life – Ruth Goodman Stuarts I Coriander - Sally Gardner –A glorious novel set in 17th century London and in the fairy world. No Shame, No Fear - Ann Turnbull – Love against the odds 1662 England. Civil War tale of William and his love for a Puritan girl. Children of the New Forest – Frederick Marryat – Children of a dead Royalist soldier are rescued by loyal servants and hidden in the New Forest until the Civil War has settled. At the Sign of the Sugared Plum – Mary Hooper – Hannah moves to London only to find Plague is sweeping through the city. The Sacrifice - Diane Matcheck – Portrayal of Native American life and a girls struggle for survival. Apache: Girl Warrior - Tanya Landman – Siki is an orphan Black Mountain Apache. She witnesses the death of her little brother and vows to become a warrior to avenge him. The Red necklace – Sally Gardner – Thrilling novel set during the French Revolution with some magic thrown in. Chains – Laurie Halse Anderson – 13 year old slave fights for her freedom. Victorian/Industrial Revolution The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman (first of the Sally Lockhart trilogy set in Victorian London) Little Women - Louisa May Alcott – A family drama following the lives of the March sisters. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte – The story of a young girl’s passage to adulthood in the early nineteenth century. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte – A wild, passionate story set on a lonely moorland. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson-Burnett - An adventure into a secret garden, showing that people can change. The Railway Children - Edith Nesbit – A family move to a House near the railway, after their father is imprisoned having been falsely accused of spying Sherlock Holmes stories - Arthur Conan Doyle, Fascinating tales about a 19th century detective with extraordinary abilities Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens, Classic Dickens tale of the young orphan’s dramatic move through life. Coram Boy - Jamila Gavin, Two boys, from very different backgrounds, end up in a home for parentless children. A challenging story set in the 18th century. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley The door that led to Where – Sally Gardner – Time travel to 1830’s London. Journey to the River Sea - Eva Ibbotson – Orphaned London school girl and her governess journey to South America in 1900. Master and Commander – Patrick O’Brian WWI Private Peaceful - Michael Morpurgo War Horse - Michael Morpurgo Remembrance - Theresa Breslin Cider with Rosie – Laurie Lee -The funny and moving autobiography of a young boy growing up in Gloucestershire just after the 1st World War. Animal Farm - George Orwell Stay where you are and then leave - John Boyne – Warm and moving story about a boys search for his missing father during WWI. 1920s Jazz Age The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald One Summer America 1927 – Bill Bryson Two Brothers – Ben Elton 1930s Great Depression Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry - Mildred Taylor, Tale of family loyalty set against the racist background of 1930s America. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck Al Capone does my shirts – 1935 Matthew Flanagan’s family move to Alcatraz Island. Matthew’s sister has autism. Funny, touching and serious. Ethel & Ernest – Raymond Briggs – cartoon from the man who drew the Snowman. An ordinary couples lives from the 1930’s until the 1980s. WWII Carrie’s War - Nina Bawden Goodnight Mr Tom- Michelle Magorian - A long-bereaved old man grudgingly takes London evacuee into his home Back Home - Michelle Magorian A little Love song - Michelle Magorian A spoonful of Jam - Michelle Magorian Cuckoo in the Nest - Michelle Magorian Sweet Clarinet etc - James Riordan Empire of the Sun – J.G.Ballard Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome Chinese Cinderella – Adeline Yen Mah. Adeline grows up in China during the Second World War in a family which does not seem to love her. A moving story of individual survival. Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne, a Jewish Dutch girl, has to hide from the Germans in a tiny secret room with her family and another family for two years. The Book Thief - Markus Zusack Blitzcat by Robert Westall (WWII told through the eyes of a cat) The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne The Silver Sword / Ian Serraillier – Polish family during WWII. The night the Nazis arrive to take their mother, 3 children escape across the roof tops of Warsaw. The Boy at the top of the Mountain – John Boyne - An account of how one boy was influenced by Nazi ideas and paid the price. Going Solo – Roald Dahl – His account of life as a fighter pilot in the Western Desert and Greece during WWII. Code name Verity – Elizabeth E Wein - Verity is a captured British Spy handing Allied information over to the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit - Judith Kerr – The story of one family’s flight from Nazi Germany in the years before war broke out. The Machine Gunners – Robert Westall –Wreckage of a German Bomber leads to children building their own fortress but war is no game. Cold War & Civil Rights 1950-1970 The Wheel of Surya - Jamila Gavin (Indian independence) Lies we tell ourselves – Robin Talley – Set in 1959, following events in Little Rock. Black students walk to their new high school with police and protestors facing them. The Help – Kathryn Ptockett 1980 -2000 Kiss the Dust - Elizabeth Laird (Kurdish refugees) Notes from a Big Country – Bill Bryson - An American’s very funny perspective on Britain and British culture. The Garbage King / Elizabeth Laird – Deeply moving, gritty story of street children in Ethiopia. The Other Side of Truth / Beverley Naidoo – Set in autumn of 1995 in Nigeria. Tackling issues such as injustice, freedom of speech and political asylum. Refugee Boy / Benjamin Zephaniah – Meet Alem. His mother is Eritrean and his father Ethiopean and with both countries at war, Alem and his family are neither safe nor wanted. The Kite Runner – Set in the city of Kabul in the 1970’s. A stoty of boyhood friendship destroyed by jealousy, fear and evil. (Un)Arranged Marriage - Bali Rai - Set in the UK and India this is a look at one young man’s fight to free himself from his families’ expectations. Ruby Red - Linzi Glass – Love story set in Johannesburg 1976 during Apartheid (when Backs and whites were separated) General Terry Deary, Horrible Histories – The gory aspects of history. Blackadder Scripts – The Whole Damn Dynasty – A surreal and comedic take on English History. My Story – A 25 historical novel collection all written from the perspective of teenagers. From Viking Blood to The Road to War. .