Out of the Dust

Out of the Dust (Hesse, Karen; 1997; Scholastic; 227 pages; ISBN 9780590360807)

Narrated by Billie Jo, a young girl struggling in Oklahoma during the Great Depression, this novel in verse introduces young readers to poetry and history through the voice of a thoughtful young survivor.

(Ages 11 and up)

Woods Runner

 

Woods Runner (Paulsen, Gary; Random;  2010;  164 pages; ISBN 9780385738842)
 
This novel, set during the Revolutionary War, tells the story of young Samuel, who sets out into the woods of Pennsylvania to try to find his family.  It serves as a realistic look at war and at this historic period.
 

View an interview with the author where he talks about why he writes here.

Fever 1793

Fever 1793 (Anderson, Laurie Halse; 2000, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; 251 p., ISBN 9780689838583)

If the cover art with the close up of a yellowed eye does not grab you, the plot of this gripping novel will.  The story opens with a description of protagonist Mathilda (Mattie) Cook waking up on a sweltering August day in Philadelphia, 1793.  A buzzing mosquito—an ominous sign of the tragedy to come—provides the background noise as Mattie begins her morning routine of dressing and helping her widowed mother with chores.  The Cooks run a coffee house, popular in Philadelphia during this period, as the author explains in the appendix.  Her mother is all work and efficiency with no joy since Mattie’s father died.  Her grandfather, a celebrated war hero, adds humor and the gift of storytelling to Mattie’s life while helping with the coffee house.  But when their assistant, a young, healthy girl, dies suddenly from a fever, things go downhill fast.

The story follows the true account of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia that killed 5,000 people in a matter of months.  Each chapter begins with the date (the story moves ver y quickly, in part because the timeline is so short) and a quote from a Philadelphan from that time which corresponds with the progress of the fever’s plague.  These details, along with mentions of actual politicians such as then President Washington, lend vivid color to this story that is already fascinating, thanks to Anderson’s concise, descriptive writing.  Philadelphia was the nation’s capital at this time, and the images of people boarding up and abandoning their homes and, in some cases, their ill relatives, is especially striking given this fact.

In addition to addressing the health epidemic, the story also includes themes of family, budding love, and the emerging role of free African Americans in the country at this time.  As with all of her books, this is a title to add to the bookshelf of any school library.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

 The Watsons Go to Birmingham (Curtis, Christopher Paul; 1995, Delacorte Press; 210 pages; ISBN 9780385321754)  

The award-winning novelist Christopher Paul Curtis sets this fictional story in Michigan in 1963, and has the family travel to Birmingham just before the time that four young African American girls are killed in a church bombing.  The story is narrated by Kenny Watson, age 10, who details the exploits of his trouble-prone older brother with humor.  The story takes on a serious tone when Kenny’s sister is temporarily missing in the rubble of the bombed church.

Copper Sun

Copper Sun (Draper, Sharon; Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006; 302 pages ISBN 9780689821813)

This is the story of Amari, a 15-year-old girl living happily with her family in Africa and looking forward to marrying her beloved Besa soon.  Amari’s life is devastated in an instant when a group of white slave traders invade her peaceful village, killing many of her neighbors and all of her family as she watches in horror.  Amari goes through the next few weeks in a haze as she is prepared for the long journey across the sea to America where she is sold into slavery, all the while reeling from her tremendous loss of family and homeland.

Draper’s work of historic fiction is readable for younger students, but the subject matter is probably best suited for the upper level of middle readers, mainly because of the violent nature of what Amari experiences.  She is raped aboard the ship, though Draper implies the attacks without describing them.  The plantation owner who buys her labels her as a birthday gift for his teenage son, and she is further abused (again, the reader infers the abuse).  Amari, a sweet and obedient girl, gets along well with the other slaves and even forms an unlikely friendship with a white indentured servant her own age.  The two misunderstand and mistrust each other in the beginning, but form a strong bond when they attempt to escape together.  Ultimately, this is a hopeful tale and an effective way to impart some of the horrors of this part of the country’s history to young students.

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Al Capone Does My Shirts (Choldenko, Gennifer, 2004, 215 p. ISBN 0142403709 $6.99)

This fictionalized account of a family living on Alcatraz island in 1935 is charming, witty, and abundantly sweet.  Twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan narrates the tale of his family’s recent move that has brought his father to work on The Rock as an electrician and guard.  Moose is not happy about the move, which means he must leave behind his best friend and baseball-playing buddies, but his family is hopeful about getting his sister—who has autism, though that name and diagnosis do not yet exist—into a promising new school in San Francisco.  Moose is frequently torn between wanting to move back to his old, familiar life, and wanting to get help for the sister he loves.

Moose meets up with a new group of playmates, including the mischievous Piper—the warden’s daughter—who is always plotting a new scheme that is sure to land Moose in trouble.  The earnest and endearing Moose will appeal to a wide range of readers, including boys and girls from middle school on.  The author includes delightful details (many of which are probably true, as she explains in the notes) about Alcatraz at that time period, including Al Capone’s mother’s visit that sets off the metal detectors and sets the island abuzz.  It is a lovely tale of family loyalty, friendship, and finding one’s way in the difficult age of early adolescence.