Historical fiction

The Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie back to the eve of the first Thanksgiving. There they meet the Pilgrims as well as Squanto, a Native American who helped them. The story offers an age-appropriate, in-depth picture of what life was really like for early settlers, as well as the usual Magic Tree House adventure and excitement.

Merlin has asked Jack and Annie to help on another Merlin Mission. This time they head back into history to Venice, Italy, in the 1700s. With the help of some new friends, a research book, and a mysterious rhyme from Merlin, the heroes will save the beautiful city from a flood!

Jack and Annie travel back in time to a desert in the Middle East at the behest of Merlin who has given them a rhyme to help on their mission. There they meet a Bedouin tribe and learn about the way that they live.

Merlin sends Jack and Annie on a mysterious mission to Paris, France, over a 100 years ago. There they must find four magicians and give them an urgent message from Merlin himself. When Jack and Annie land in Paris, they make their way to the 1889 World's Fair. Below the Eiffel Tower, built especially for the fair, there are thousands of exhibits from all over the world.

Jack and Annie are off on another Merlin Mission. This time, Merlin has sent them to rescue a beautiful, magical creature, the unicorn. But when they land in New York City during the Depression of the 1930s, Jack and Annie are confused. Where will they find a unicorn in a big city? And what about the blizzard that's burying New York in snow?

Merlin the Magician will not eat or sleep or speak to anyone in Camelot. What can be done? The enchantress Morgan knows who to ask for help: young Jack and Annie of Frog Creek, Pennsylvania! The brother-and-sister team quickly head off in the magic tree house on another magical and historical adventure. Their mission: discover one of the four secrets of happiness.

Though the question is quite simple,
Simple answers might be wrong.
If you want to know the right one,
Help the genius all day long,
Morning, noon, and afternoon,
Till the night bird sings its song.

Why is the land so important to Cassie's family? It takes the events of one turbulent year, the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliates Cassie in public simply because she is black, to show Cassie that having a place of their own is the Logan family's lifeblood.

Drawing from the rich store of Civil War reminiscences handed down in her family, acclaimed author Patricia Polacco tells the true story of a remarkable wartime friendship between a young white Union soldier, Say Curtis, and a young black Union soldier, Pinkus Aylee. They are captured by Confederate soldiers and sent to Andersonville Prison.

The year is 1904, and Russell is 15. Though he dreams of leaving small-town Indiana to become part of a large farm crew in the Dakotas, he's forced to stay in school, where his sister Tansy has just become the new teacher.

It's the turn of the 20th century in New York's Lower East Side and a sense of adventure and excitement abounds for five young sisters - Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie. Follow along as they search for hidden buttons while dusting Mama's front parlor, or explore the basement warehouse of Papa's peddler's shop on rainy days.

Sydney Taylor grew up among immigrant families on New York City's Lower East Side prior to World War I and wrote the All-of-a-Kind Family series for her daughter. This sequel finds talented Ella, mischievous Henny, studious Sarah, dreamy Charlotte, and little Gertie helping Mama with their new baby brother, Charlie.

Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but 18 years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened.

Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing debut novel has stolen the hearts of reviewers and readers alike with its strong, assured voice. Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed.

Mattie Gokey has a word for everything. She collects words, stores them up as a way of fending off the hard truths of her life, the truths that she can't write down in stories.