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Books in Aladdin Historical Fiction series

  • The Year of Miss Agnes

    Kirkpatrick Hill

    Paperback (Aladdin Paperbacks, May 1, 2002)
    A year they'll never forget Ten-year-old Frederika (Fred for short) doesn't have much faith that the new teacher in town will last very long. After all, they never do. Most teachers who come to their one-room schoolhouse in remote, Alaska leave at the first smell of fish, claiming that life there is just too hard. But Miss Agnes is different -- she doesn't get frustrated with her students, and she throws away old textbooks and reads Robin Hood instead! For the first time, Fred and her classmates begin to enjoy their lessons and learn to read and write -- but will Miss Agnes be like all the rest and leave as quickly as she came?
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  • Steal Away Home

    Lois Ruby

    Paperback (Aladdin, Jan. 1, 1999)
    When Dana uncovers a skeleton hidden in the wall of her home, she also uncovers a dark secret that stretches back years.When twelve-year-old Dana Shannon starts to strip away wallpaper in her family’s old house, she’s unprepared for the surprise that awaits her. A hidden room—containing a human skeleton! How did such a thing get there? And why was the tiny room sealed up? With the help of a diary found in the room, Dana learns her house was once a station on the Underground Railroad. The young woman whose remains Dana discovered was Lizbet Charles, a conductor and former slave. As the scene shifts between Dana’s world and 1856, the story of the families that lived in the house unfolds. But as pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place, one haunting question remains—why did Lizbet Charles die?
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  • Shadows on the Sea

    Joan Hiatt Harlow

    Paperback (Margaret K. McElderry Books, Jan. 1, 2005)
    1942. The U.S. is at war with Germany. Fourteen-year-old Jill Winter's mother is traveling to Newfoundland and must pass through the treacherous North Atlantic, where German submarines -- U-boats -- stalk like wolves. Jill's father, a famous pop singer, is on tour, so Jill is sent to Winter Haven, Maine, to stay with Nana. Quarry, a local boy, says that "gossip ain't never been so good," and Jill soon discovers he's right -- Winter Haven is full of secrets and rumors. It seems everyone has something to hide -- even Nana! Jill doesn't know whom to trust, and she's worried for her mother's safety. And things get even worse when she finds a wounded carrier pigeon with a coded message attached to its leg. Jill is determined to get to the bottom of all these mysteries, but when she uncovers the biggest secret of all, she finds herself in grave danger -- and must run for her life!
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  • A Boy No More

    Harry Mazer

    Paperback (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, April 1, 2006)
    "WHAT ABOUT WHAT THEY DID TO MY FATHER?... THE JAPS KILLED HIM!" Adam Pelko witnessed something horrible: the sinking of the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor -- with his father aboard. Since then, Adam and his mother and sister have moved to California, where they are trying to rebuild their lives. But no matter where Adam goes, he can't get away from the effects of the war. His best friend, Davi, has asked for help. Davi is Japanese American, and his father has been arrested, taken to Manzanar, a Japanese internment camp. Adam isn't sure what to do. If he goes to Manzanar and starts asking questions, he could be risking his own life. But can he simply do nothing and risk losing Davi's friendship forever? Are Davi, his father, and all the other Japanese Americans taken from their homes responsible for what happened at Pearl Harbor? In this riveting follow-up to his acclaimed book A Boy at War, Harry Mazer explores questions of friendship and loyalty against the backdrop of World War II, a time when boys had to grow up fast.
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  • Joshua's Song

    Joan Hiatt Harlow

    Paperback (Margaret K. McElderry Books, April 1, 2003)
    Boston, 1919. It's been a terrible year for thirteen-year-old Joshua Harper. The influenza pandemic that's sweeping the world has claimed his father's life; his voice has changed, so he can't sing in the Boston Boys' Choir anymore; and now money is tight, so he must quit school to get a job. It's not fair! Joshua begins working as a newspaper boy, hawking papers on the street, but he soon finds himself competing with Charlestown Charlie, a tough, streetwise boy who does not make things easier for Joshua. It seems that fitting in is not as easy as it once was. Then disaster strikes the city of Boston. Joshua must do what he can to help, and in doing so he finds the place -- and the voice -- that he thought he'd lost.
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  • Star in the Storm

    Joan Hiatt Harlow

    Paperback (Margaret K. McElderry Books, Sept. 1, 2001)
    A RISKY SECRET All non-sheepherding dogs have been outlawed from the rocky coastal village where Maggie lives. Unwilling to give up her beloved Newfoundland, Sirius, Maggie defies the law and hides Sirius away. But when a steamer crashes into the rocks during a violent storm and starts to sink with a hundred passengers on board, Maggie faces a difficult choice. She knows Sirius can help rescue the people trapped on the ship, but bringing him out of hiding would put his own life in jeopardy. Is Maggie's brave dog a big enough hero to save the desperate passengers -- and himself?
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  • The Year of Miss Agnes

    Kirkpatrick Hill

    Hardcover (Margaret K. McElderry Books, Aug. 4, 2020)
    A Smithsonian Notable Book for Children A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year “Genius.” —The New York Times Book Review A beautiful repackage marking the twentieth anniversary of the beloved, award-winning novel that celebrates teachers and learning.Ten-year-old Frederika (Fred for short) doesn’t have much faith that the new teacher in town will last very long. After all, they never do. Most teachers who come to their one-room schoolhouse in remote Alaska leave at the first smell of fish, claiming that life there is just too hard. But Miss Agnes is different: she doesn’t get frustrated with her students, and finds new ways to teach them to read and write. She even takes a special interest in Fred’s sister, Bokko, who has never come to school before because she is deaf. For the first time, Fred, Bokko, and their classmates begin to enjoy their lessons—but will Miss Agnes be like all the rest and leave as quickly as she came?
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  • The Point of Light

    John Ellsworth

    Paperback (Independently published, March 11, 2019)
    For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and The Nightingale comes a historical novel about one woman’s gallant, fearless search for war crimes evidence during the most terrible times of World War II.May 1940 - Paris. On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Claire hears the devastating news: the German army has invaded her homeland, and her beloved Paris has fallen. Within months, her life is turned upside-down. She takes in an orphaned Jewish toddler only days before her beloved German-born husband Remy is forcibly conscripted into the Nazi army. In desperation she connects with other young members of the French Resistance, determined to fight back in whatever way she can. Armed only with her wits and her 35mm camera, she looks for the one photograph that will expose the Nazi horror for what it is. When her rebellion is discovered and Claire is sent to Auschwitz, she knows her moment has arrived. A Nazi officer, hiding in the shadows of Auschwitz, commits an unspeakable atrocity, a war crime. Can Claire help bring down the beast who emerged from Auschwitz? Or will her secret evidence die with her as the SS hunts her down?The Point of Light is part of the Historical Fiction series, a collection of John Ellsworth wartime novels. If you love page-turners with thrills, clandestine plotting and a dash of romance, dive into these books today! From USA TODAY bestseller, John Ellsworth.AMAZON HAS SAID, "WE ARE INSPIRED BY THE SUCCESS OF THIS WRITER AND HOW HE IS DELIGHTING READERS"--AMAZON PRESS RELEASE 10/15/18
  • The Art of Keeping Cool

    Janet Taylor Lisle

    Paperback (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, May 1, 2002)
    The War At Home Fear permeates the Rhode Island coastal town where Robert, his mother, and sister are living out the war with his paternal grandparents: Fear of Nazi submarines offshore. Fear of Abel Hoffman, a German artist living reclusively outside of town. And for Robert, a more personal fear, of his hot-tempered, controlling grandfather. As Robert watches the townspeople's hostility toward Hoffman build, he worries about his sensitive cousin Elliot's friendship with the artist. And he wonders more and more about the family secret everyone seems to be keeping from him—a secret involving Robert's father, a bomber pilot in Europe. Will Elliot's ability to detach himself from the turmoil around him be enough to sustain him when prejudice and suspicions erupt into violence? And can Robert find his own way to deal with the shocking truth about his family's past?
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  • Double Dutch

    Sharon M. Draper

    Paperback (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Jan. 1, 2004)
    secrets Delia loves Double Dutch more than just about anything, and she's really good at it -- so good she and her teammates have a shot at winning the World Double Dutch Championships. Delia would die if she couldn't jump -- but Delia has a secret, and it could keep her off the team next year. Delia's friend Randy has a secret too, one that has him lonely and scared. And while Delia and Randy struggle to keep their secrets, their school is abuzz with rumors about what malicious mischief the terrible Tolliver twins -- who just may have a secret of their own -- are planning. Delia and Randy's secrets collide on what should be the happiest day of Delia's life, and the collision threatens to destroy their friendship. Why can't life be as easy for Delia as Double Dutch?
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  • Riding the Flume

    Patricia Curtis Pfitsch

    Paperback (Aladdin, April 1, 2004)
    Don't tell anyone -- the only safety is in secrecy. During the summer of 1894 the giant sequoia trees -- the oldest living things on earth -- are being felled for lumber in northern California. When fifteen-year-old Francie finds a note hidden in the stump of an old sequoia, she immediately recognizes her sister's handwriting. But Carrie died in an accident six years ago. Could Carrie's secret still be important? Francie's search for the truth turns dangerous, and she needs to get to St. Joseph fast. She's faced with the choice of either giving up, or riding the flume, a rickety track that carries lumber from the mills in the mountains to the lumberyard in St. Joseph. Should Francie risk her life for the secret her sister fought to keep?
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  • Betrayed!

    Patricia Calvert

    Paperback (Aladdin, Jan. 27, 2004)
    The final volume in the gripping trilogy follows best friends Tyler Bohannon and Isaac Peerce as they journey to the American West in search of adventure, but when a double-crossing captain sells them to the Sioux Indians, their friendship is put to the test. Reprint.