Lowry, Lois. 1989. Number the stars. New York: Dell Publishing.

Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think about life before the war. However, in 1943 Copenhagen, the war greets them each morning as they wake up and move throughout their day. When the girls, along with Annemarie’s younger sister are stopped by German soldiers as they raced through the town, events seem to move at a much faster pace. Ellen’s family will be relocated unless they hide, so Ellen moves in with the Johansens and Annemarie finds herself redefining courage. With only enough knowledge to complete a dangerous mission, Annemarie overcomes her fear and saves the life of her best friend and family.  Lowry’s story, inspired by a letter written by a twenty-one year old member of the Resistance is heartwarming and describes a life that only those who have lived through a war will understand completely. With courage and compassion, Lowry’s characters inspire hope and pride in readers of all ages and nationalities.

Fleischman, Sid. Illustrated by Peter Sis. 1986. The whipping boy. New York: Greenwillow Books. 

Jemmy is a young orphan who has been pressed into serving as the whipping boy for the prince. In a time when it is against the law to physically punish members of the royal family, Prince “Brat” as he is known by his subjects does whatever he wants and watches as Jemmy is punished for his crimes. When the prince orders Jemmy to cry during his next punishment, Jemmy decides to run away and escape. However, the prince’s unhappiness with his life prompts him to run away also, and Jemmy is ordered to accompany him. The duo thus begins an adventure that includes two would-be “prince-nappers”, a kindly carriage driver, and a lady with a pet bear. The series of events that follow lead Jemmy to re-examine his life and his opinion of the prince. Sis’ pen and ink illustrations, though somewhat gruesome, bring life to Fleischman’s characters and add detail and balance. Readers will cheer for Jemmy and his clever schemes to get himself out of trouble and will gasp in astonishment at the duplicity and lack of common sense shown by the prince.

Fox, Paula. Illustrated by Eros Keith. 1973. The slave dancer. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 

On the way home from his aunt’s house in New Orleans, 13-year old Jessie Bollier was kidnapped by two sailors and forced to serve on a ship sailing to Africa to pick up slaves. On the voyage, Jessie is forced to play his fife to “dance” the slaves—a practice that kept the slaves muscles strong and their bodies fit so that they would sell for a higher price. Jessie had frequently earned money by playing his fife on the docks near his home, never realizing that his talent and love of music would change his life. While on the slave ship, Jessie learned about human nature, greed, and the extent to which people would go to make money. Along the way, he made a few friends, learned to trust his instincts, and even befriended Ras, one of the slaves being transported on the ship. Set in 1840, this novel by Paula Fox will have readers reexamining their views on human nature, history, and practices of the time. The illustrations by Keith portray both crew and cargo in a shadowy manner that only hints at the horrors that were commonplace during this time period. Fox has provided a wonderful and thought-provoking story that will disturb and enthrall at the same time as readers live Jessie’s horror and fear during his four-month voyage on The Moonlight.

Giff, Patricia Reilly. 2005. Willow run. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

Meggie Dillon lives in Rockaway, New York with her parents and her grandfather. Her brother is fighting in World War II and her grandfather is a German American. When Meggie comes upon two older boys painting a swastika on the window of her home, she bravely chases them away and decides to tell no one. One day Meggie’s father comes home with news that will change Meggie’s life forever. The family will be moving to Willow Run, Michigan so that he can work for a plant that builds B-24 bombers. Despite the fact that Meggie will miss her grandfather terribly, she is convinced that Rockaway is a much safer place for him than Willow Run. After the move, Meggie and her family learn that Meggie’s brother Eddie is missing after the invasion at Normandy, and Meggie,  along with her new friends, is forced to realize, that war affects not only the men and women who are fighting, but also those who are left behind at home.  Giff’s heartwarming story describes in great detail the lives of Americans during World War 2. The descriptions of the apartments where Meggie and her family life along with the details of emotions brought on by the delivery of mail will give readers a glimpse into a period of history that changed our country forever.

Lester, Julius. 2000. Pharaoh’s daughter: a novel of ancient Egypt. New York: Silver Whistle. 

When Pharaoh began sending soldiers to kill Habiru boys, Almah takes her younger brother and hides him in a basket in the bulrushes. With a foreword that explains the author’s attempt to remove Moses from religious history and move him into human history, the story of Mosis is told in two parts. In the first part, Almah is introduced as an intelligent, confident young woman who has a closer relationship with her father than anyone else. When her baby brother is found by Pharaoh’s daughter, Almah goes to the palace along with her mother, Ima, to help care for Mosis. As Mosis grows, so does Almah’s connection with the Pharaoh, his family, and the religious practices of ancient Egypt. As Pharaoh’s adopted daughter, Almah becomes more herself even as Mosis becomes more confused and angry at his inability to fit in anywhere. In part two, Mosis’ frustration with his life becomes clearer as he feels that he is betrayed by those he trusted most. His frustration leads him to murder an Egyptian and banish himself from both the Habiru people and the Egyptians with whom he grew up. Lester’s research of ancient Egypt and his unique storytelling style brings readers into Egypt with all the sights, smells, and feel that must have been a part of the society. Although the story parallels one that readers may find familiar, the point of view from which the story is told will encourage readers to see both sides of a difficult situation and will encourage them to find a way to become more themselves as they read.

MacLachlan, Patricia. 1985. Sarah, plain and tall. New York: Harper Collins Children’s Books.

Although Anna and Caleb’s mom died when Caleb was born, Anna still misses her. When her mother was alive, Papa and Mama sang every day, and now, Papa doesn’t sing at all. To help put his family back together, Papa advertises in the newspaper for a wife and receives an answer from a lady named Sarah. Sarah lives in Maine, and leaves her family and all that she knows to begin a new life with Anna, Caleb and their Papa. Although Sarah seems to love her new family, she still talks a lot about the life she left behind, and when she finally is ready to take the wagon to town on her own, Caleb and Anna worry that she won’t come back at all. In this straightforward story set in the late 1800s, MacLachlan tells a touching story from a young girl’s point of view. Readers will enjoy the way Sarah names the farm animals and makes them pets and will giggle along with Caleb and Anna when Sarah tells about her “three old aunts who all squawk together like crow at dawn”. The story is a tale of hope, happiness and, most of all, of family.

O’Dell, Scott. Illustrated by Ted Lewin. 1960. Island of the blue dolphins. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 

When twelve-year old Karana informed her tribe that a large boat was on the way to the island, she set in motion a series of events that would greatly affect her life. While Karana’s tribe was evacuating her island home, her younger brother became stranded on the island. Against the wishes of her family, Karana dove off of the boat and returned to the island to rescue him. Ramo was killed shortly thereafter by a pack of wild dogs, and Karana was forced to fend for herself while she awaited rescue. For eighteen years, Karana lived alone on the island, feeding herself, finding her own shelter and even learning to make weapons, a chore that was expressly forbidden the women of her tribe. Through great courage and strength, Karana overcomes loneliness and terror to learn self-sufficiency and serenity in O’Dell’s classic story set in the early 1800s. Readers of all ages and genders will continue to be inspired almost 200 years after the events in the story. The full-page watercolor illustrations by Lewin heighten the feeling of fear that Karana felt when her father confronted the Aleut and depict the serenity she found as she truly made the Island of the Blue Dolphins her home.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. 1999. Bud, not Buddy. New York: Delacorte Press. 

When ten-year old Bud is sent to a foster home where he is beaten up by the foster parent’s natural son, he decides to run away. When he meets his old friend Bugs, he decides that fate has taken a hand. With everything he owns, most of which belonged to his mother, Bud sets out on a quest to find his father and, along the way finds himself. This depression-era story finds Bud using a prayer and a hope to convince jazz musician Herman Calloway that he is his father. While Mr. Calloway is older and grouchier than Bud expected, the other members of the band, along with Miss Thomas finally convince Bud that he has come home. The descriptive language used by Curtis takes readers to Flint, Michigan and Grand Rapids, with a stop along the way in Hooverville, one of many cardboard villages that sprang up during the depression. With humor, hope, and memorable personalities, Curtis weaves a story that will catch readers in its web and make them cheer for a boy who learns to enjoy each day of his life for what it is rather than what it is not.