The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

Joan Skraggs is a heroine who siezes her destiny with both hands. At the beginning of the story, set in 1911,  Joan’s mother has been dead for three years. Joan believes that her mother, a delicate woman, died of overwork on the farm. Joan has a sense that if she, too, remains on the farm, […]




Captain Rosalie

Captain Rosalie

Captain Rosalie is the heartbreaking story of one girl’s experience of World War I. It is told from a 5 year old’s point of view and it was originally a short story, now expanded to a very short novel by brilliant illustrator Isabelle Arsenault. But don’t be fooled. Although the text is short & simple […]


A Place to Belong

A Place to Belong

So devastating and yet so gorgeous.  This book takes a unique approach to the story of Japanese Internment. The story opens when the World War II is over. Hanako’s parents have agreed to renounce their US Citizenship and  move to Japan to live with her grandparents. Jiichan (grandfather) and Baachan (grandmother) are tenant subsistence farmers […]


Queen of the Sea

Queen of the Sea

Fantastic story of a queen in exile as told by a young girl raised in the nunnery that is her prison. Thrilling and full of unexpected twists and turns, this gorgeously illustrated graphic novel is a joy to read. This story is based on the early life of Queen Elizabeth I, and her kingdom of […]


Hardscrabble

Hardscrabble

2019 Wrangler Award for Outstanding Juvenile Book Winner 2019 Spur Award – Western Writer’s of America Finalist  This is a nicely plotted,  heartfelt Middle Grade Western that looks into the lives of folks homesteading in 1910 Colorado. Belle Martin is 12 years old and excited about the adventure of trying to farm the Colorado prairie. […]


Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang

Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang

1908 Shanghai As the last Chinese dynasty collapses, a young mixed race girl awaits the return of her mother, hiding in the Western Residence of the house on Dragon Springs Road. Using Chinese magical realism and gritty historical detail, author Janie Chang tells the coming of age story of young Jialing, from that time awaiting […]


Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell

Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell

Cornwell is the author of many historical books including the bestselling Saxon Tales which serve as the basis for the hit television series, The Last Kingdom. He’s very good with tales of the sword and the sea,  but can we trust him with Shakespeare? Yes! This is a fast paced, well written, gorgeously researched book […]


The War that Saved My Life by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley

Cruel and neglectful are the kindest things to say about these two English children’s mother. When they are evacuated to the countryside to avoid the Blitz, they are immigrants in a new, strange land. Understated, sad and triumphant, this is an important book for adults and children.


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