Book picks similar to
Whistle for the Crossing by Marguerite de Angeli


historical-fiction
location-kids-room
railroad
juvenile

Emmy's Journey (Two Feather's Legacy Book 2)


Lila M Beckham - 2015
    Determined to do exactly what she sets her mind to, she explores the mountains and valleys around her home with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and a keen eye that misses nothing. When her mother dies, Emmaline, Emmy for short, is thrust into the mystical, spiritual world of her mother’s native peoples, the Tsalagi, better known as the Cherokee. Given the power of observation and shape shifting by her immortal g-great-grandfather Two Feathers, who is the keeper of the Sacred Fire’s Ashes, Emmy is told that she must carry on her mother’s duties and is charged with the task of becoming the family “Ka no he ha Ka no Ge sdi,” the Storyteller. She is supposed to remember and pass down her family’s history and tell about their ancestors. As Emmy grows older and matures, her explorations become more advanced. She discovers a hidden path that takes her beyond an ancient willow tree to a layer of the world that at first seems much like her own, but she soon discovers that it is quite different… When she stays longer than allowed a mortal, she discovers that her grandfather can travel between space and time and communicate with all peoples between the layers of her world. Emmy’s Journey is a voyage through time and into the mysterious spiritual and mystical realms of the Cherokees and a world that most never knows exists.

Mattie: The Story of an Australian Convict Child


Sheila Hunter - 2015
    She meets another convict woman who at her death gives Mattie a chance for a new life. Mattie makes the most of everything that comes her way. She earns her freedom, falls in love, marries and becomes a mother. Life is not kind to her. She meets bushrangers; moves to the Gold Fields in Bathurst and starts a store. Mattie is the kind of woman that made Australia what it is today.

The Lost Wagon


Jim Kjelgaard - 1955
    Every member of the family will enjoy this tale of wagon trains, cowboys, settlers, love, romance, and did I mention wagons?

Framed! A Young Boy's Fight to Survive in the Wild Australian Bush


M.E. Skeel - 2017
    He lives rough on the streets of Sydney until his father is pardoned. Together, they begin a new life and open a butcher shop. Richard’s job is to bring in beasts for slaughter. At 15 he is framed for stealing cattle and sentenced to hang. He escapes into the vast and dangerous Australian wilderness and has to survive or die with only his indomitable will to help him. How he eventually triumphs and succeeds in life is a “ripping good yarn”.

Samurai's Apprentice


David Walters - 2011
    All this seems far removed from Kami, a boy who quietly goes about his everyday life in his farm village until one day he trips over the unconsious body of a warrior hidden in the long grass.That discovery will lead him on an adventure across the warring kingdoms, facing assassins and enemy soldiers as he journeys to the capital to face the new Shogun. Through his travels he aspires to become a samurai, and in his many challenges he eventually comes to understand what it means to be one.

Saving Dr. Warren


Jeffery McKenna - 2020
    ✯ The American Revolution ✯ WWII ✯ 9-11 What About Today?How do we share Patriotism with America's Future?The novel Saving Dr. Warren...A True Patriot answers that question through the eyes of a 14 year old boy.Steve O'Dell loves to write and does it well. But as an eighth-grade student at Needham Middle School, his talent sometimes seems more an embarassment than a blessing.Then, on Veterans Day 2001, Steve's award-winning essay propels him into an adventure twisting through Revolutionary battles and bloodshed. Thanks to the bizarre bequest of a manuscript and a musket ball from a long-lost family war hero, Steve's journey with the Revolutionary War hero Dr. Joseph Warren begins.A time-traveling talisman missing from the archives of one of Boston's oldest historical societies takes Steve through portals of history, where he walks side by side with a real Boston patriot. He makes house calls with Dr. Warren on March 5, 1770 and stumbles onto the bloodstained streets of the Boston Massacre. From the killings of March 5, to boarding tea ships in 1773, Steve's history book explodes to life as he helps Dr. Warren and forges a friendship with Boston's True Patriot. Steve watches Dr. Warren launch Paul Revere on his midnight ride, and he helps Dr. Warren dodge British musket balls in the first battles of the War for Independence. With each adventure, Steve tastes the light that ignites The Revolution.Steve will eventually convince others that the Revolutionary relic he was given really does open portals through time, but he faces his most difficult quest alone-saving Dr. Warren from the onslaught at Bunker Hill. Can he do it? And if he fails, will he ever return to this century?Saving Dr. Warren...A True Patriot rips through the pages of history. From the Revolutionary War to the vanishing veterans of World War II, to the ashes of September 11, 2001, Saving Dr. Warren demonstrates to both old and young that patriotism, standing like an old oak tree on a grandfather's farm, has and will endure.★ ☆ ★ ☆Author's NoteI love Historical fiction; it is a wonderful tool for learning. Saving Dr. Warren...A True Patriot is a historical fiction novel written for younger readers and middle school teachers. Within these pages are resources that junior high school teachers can use to help their class explore the impact of September 11th, World War II and the beginnings of the American Revolution.Through historical fiction, the author is able to provide young readers a perspective on what it would be like to experience 9-11 and the War on Terror as a middle school student, allowing history to come alive.Combat stories as told by a United States Marine and Medal of Honor recipient give middle school teachers the opportunity to share with students the Battle of Okinawa and impress upon them the sacrifices made for freedom. The importance of Veterans Day is also impressed upon Steve, the teenage protagonist, as he learns about his great uncle's experience as a World War II Marine.Finally, Steve's experiences with Dr. Joseph Warren will propel middle school readers into the beginnings of the American Revolution. All Americans have heard of Paul Revere, but how many know that it was Dr. Warren who sent his best friend out on the famous midnight ride? Junior high school students and teachers can experience the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the battles of Lexington, Concord and Menotomy, as well as the Battle of Bunker Hill, through the lens of Dr. Joseph Warren, America's forgotten hero.Saving Dr. Warren...A True Patriot was written to help teachers connect with these important historical events, while providing a fun adventure through history for teenage readers.

Noah Gates


Reg Quist - 2017
    Noah starts out to find the thieves who stole his herd of trade horses but time and weather wipe out all signs of their movements. With nothing else pressing on his life he wanders to Deadwood for the winter and then to Dakota Territory, with troubles and another theft along the way. Heading towards the Colorado gold fields he agrees to guide Dora across the Montana plains, leaving her in Miles City. After a summer in the high up mountains he decides to find Dora again. Humor and romance ensue. Noah Gates, although not a true sequel, has many tie-ins with Hamilton Robb.

THE SECRET OF WATTENSAW BAYOU


M.E. Hubbs - 2013
    . . Thirteen year old Ephraim Wright suffers the depredations of war along with the white family who reared him. Raised with the family since he was two years old, he is never once required to call Jonathan Wright, his benevolent owner, "master." His speech, manners and outlook on life are more akin to his white "siblings than the other slaves in the community who chide him for being a "pet" and "talkin' like white folk." He is stranded between two worlds; that of free whites, and of enslaved blacks. His life is irreversibly changed when Confederate conscript officers take the family's oldest son at gun point and a bushwhacker gang guns down Jonathan Wright. The law forbids a slave to touch a firearm, because a “negro with a gun is a nervous thing to white folks.” But where his family is concerned, Ep is never one to care about what the slave laws say. By seeking to send men to hell, will Ephraim send himself there as well?Advance Praise for The Secret of Wattensaw BayouWhile reading the book my feelings of anger and resentment toward the institution of slavery and those who fought to protect such rights were sometimes overwhelming and required me to take a deep breath. Nevertheless, the story from a historical perspective, although it was a work of fiction, was masterly woven and I found myself with the urge to continue reading. . . The book is well written and the author provides a fascinating glimpse into the everyday existence of many Southern families during the Civil War. Commander Harold Barnes (US Navy, retired)

Battle Fleet: Adventures of a Young Sailor


Paul Dowswell - 2007
    But on the journey back to England he faces pirates and a terrible storm, before making the longed-for trip back up the river Thames. Finally reunited with his family in Norfolk, Sam realizes how much life at sea has become part of him. So when he hears that Napoleon plans to attack England, he is tempted to join the navy once more, and finds himself midshipman on none other than the Victory, preparing for one of the most epic battles in history: Trafalgar.

Eugenie's Story, Swallowcliffe Hall


Jennie Walters - 2012
    Lord Vye's daughter might be thought to want for nothing, but life isn't easy on fifty guineas a year, with a jealous stepmother watching one's every move. Eugenie's passionate nature and unerring ability to get hold of the wrong end of the stick land her in trouble as she follows her heart: from elegant Swallowcliffe to the streets of fashionable London, by way of rural Ireland, glamorous belle époque Paris and an idyllic artists' retreat at Giverny. She hurtles from one near-disaster to another, rescued only by a sense of humour, unquenchable optimism and her dear American friend Julia - until finally discovering love was right under her nose all along.

New York 1609


Harald Johnson - 2018
    Enthralled at first by these strangers, he begins to discover their dark and dangerous side, touching off a decades-long struggle against determined explorers, aggressive traders, land-hungry settlers, and ruthless officials. If his own people are to survive, the boy-turned-man must use his wits, build alliances, and draw on unique skills to block the rising tide of the white "salt people."Ambition and fear, love and loathing, mutual respect and open contempt bring Europeans and "savages" together in the untold story of the founding of New York City and the fabled island at its heart: Manhattan.If you have a passion for the historical fiction of Ken Follett, James Michener, or Edward Rutherfurd, you'll savor this rich and meticulously researched novel.A novel based on true events.(This Omnibus Edition includes updated and revised versions of the four short ebooks in The Manhattan Series plus new added content.)

Complete Katy Did Series


Susan Coolidge - 2012
    Katy is a tall untidy tomboy, forever getting into scrapes but wishing to be beautiful and beloved. When a terrible accident makes her an invalid, her illness and four-year recovery gradually teach her to be as good and kind as she has always wanted. Two sequels follow Katy as she grows up: What Katy Did at School and What Katy Did Next. Two further sequels relating the adventures of Katy's younger siblings were also published—Clover and In the High Valley. Also their father, Dr. Carr, a hard working doctor feature in a short story titled "Curly Locks” thus completing the entire Carr Family Chronicle.Susan Coolidge, pen name of Sarah Chauncey Woolsey (1835–1905), was an American children's author who is best known for her Katy Carr Series. The fictional Carr family of this series was modeled after Woolsey's own family and the protagonist Katy Carr was inspired by Woolsey herself; while the brothers and sisters "Little Carrs” were modeled on her four younger siblings.

Patchwork A Story of 'The Plain People'


Anna Balmer Myers - 1920
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Windswept


Fran McNabb - 2012
    Her rescuer, the dashing Captain Slader, is a wrecker who specializes in salvaging cargo from sunken vessels. As a native New Englander, Virginia grew up in wealth but felt most comfortable on the docks, among the ships. This special connection to the sea is one of the few things the privileged heiress and the rugged captain share. But mixed with the captain’s handsome looks, could this passion be enough to drive Virginia’s marriage plans off course?Captain John Slader is no stranger to the winds of change himself. He’d once lost the thing he held most dear: his family. But now that those same winds have sent him the lovely Virginia, will he risk his heart yet again? Virginia’s fiancé, an up-and-coming politician, may be able to offer her a world of wealth and comfort—but could he cherish her as John would, with a love as boundless as the ocean itself?

The Child Wore Pearls


Morgan Matthews - 2020
    While the pair have always maintained a close relationship, the dynamic she shares with her mother has proven much more challenging throughout the years. Now at seventeen years old, June has found herself contemplating life beyond working at her father’s shop. Though it isn’t until she is befriended by a ritzy, older customer that June begins to come out of her shell. The woman’s kindness and infectious energy are a welcome addition to her young life the summer before her senior year of high school. However, secrets from her mother’s past begin to threaten June’s newfound happiness - calling into question all that she has ever known. Confronted with the often-perverse intentions of the human heart, the teen must uncover the truth which has been concealed by years of deceit.