Historical Fiction K-5

Historical Fiction

 

                              

                      

Historical Fiction books are written with often fictional characters and plots, but they frequently contain information that is historical fact.  Students can often learn or supplement their history knowledge through the information contained in these books.  Frequently, the authors spend time researching the historical information that they plan to incorporate into these books. 

 

Unsinkable, Titanic Bk. 1

Unsinkable

Titanic Series, Book 1

By: Gordon Korman

 


 

Reviewer: Christopher Schiemann

Grade Level: 3-6

Reading Level: 5.7

This first book of Gordon Korman's Titanic series contains the start of a journey by an accidental stowaway on the new ship Titanic.  This book details the excursions of the stowaway, named Paddy, after he finds himself aboard the ship following a run-in that he and his best friend Daniel had with some local gangsters on shore.  Throughout the book, Paddy finds himself in uncompromising situations where he must conceal his identity and find ways to survive aboard the ship without being discovered by the wrong people, including the same people he was running from.  Gordon Korman uses many historical facts throughout the book and included several instances that foreshadow the tragedy of the Titanic.  Books two and three of Korman's series, titled Collision Course and S.O.S. wrap up the series.

May B.: a novel

 

May B.: a novel

By: Caroline Starr Rose

 


 

Grade Level: 3-6

Reading Level: 3.7

From the Publisher: I've known it since last night: It's been too long to expect them to return. Something's happened. May is helping out on a neighbor's Kansas prairie homestead-just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it's hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod house, isolated from family and neighbors, May must prepare for the oncoming winter. While fighting to survive, May's memories of her struggles with reading at school come back to haunt her. But she's determined to find her way home again. Caroline Starr Rose's fast-paced novel, written in beautiful and riveting verse, gives readers a strong new heroine to love.

The Mighty Miss Malone

 

The Mighty Miss Malone

By: Christopher Paul Curtis

 


 

Grade Level: 3-6

Reading Level: 3.8


From the Publisher: "We are a family on a journey to a place called wonderful" is the motto of Deza Malone's family. Deza is the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, singled out by teachers for a special path in life. But the Great Depression hit Gary hard, and there are no jobs for black men. When her beloved father leaves to find work, Deza, Mother, and her older brother Jimmie go in search of him, and end up in a Hooverville outside Flint, Michigan. Jimmie's beautiful voice inspires him to leave the camp to be a performer, while Deza and Mother find a new home, and cling to the hope that they will find Father. The twists and turns of their story reveal the devastation of the Depression and prove that Deza truly is the Mighty Miss Malone.

 


Maggie and Oliver, or A Bone of One's Own

 

Maggie & Oliver, or, A Bone of One's Own

By: Valerie Hobbs

Art by: Jennifer Thermes

 


 

Grade Level: 3-6

Reading Level: 3.7


From the Publisher: Maggie is always full of questions. But a young maid in a fine lady's house isn't supposed to wonder so much, so one day Maggie is thrown out into the street with only a tiny heart-shaped locket for a keepsake. Who is the lady in the locket? A little dog named Oliver is pushing his nose along an icy sidewalk searching for his lost mistress, or at least something to eat. No matter how hard he looks he can't find either one, but he does see a girl with round blue eyes and a golden locket. The girl calls him "Lucky." And perhaps Lucky is the right name after all, for the little dog soon helps Maggie find a warm, wonderful home of her own - and one for him, too.