Book picks similar to
The Broken Blade by William Durbin


historical-fiction
school
sonlight
fiction

Dave at Night


Gail Carson Levine - 1999
    When orphaned Dave is sent to the Hebrew Home for Boys and treated cruelly, he sneaks out at night and welcomed into the music- and culture-filled world of the Harlem Renaissance, where he discovers the power of friendship.

It's a Jungle Out There


Ron Snell - 1995
    Colorfully depicting what it was like growing up in such surroundings, Snell has captured a wide-ranging audience ranging from homeschool children to senior citizens. "I wouldn't trade my childhood for any other," Snell writes. "Conceived in the Amazon rainforest, I learned to walk and talk among the Machiguenga Indians who, to this day, call me "Rani". "The 'Machis' were my first babysitters and friends. From them I learned to tie a house together, eat monkeys and macaws, and make dugout canoes. They laughed at my log rides down rampaging rivers and caught exotic pets for me. Life was one great adventure after another. After all, what could be more fun than perching in thorn trees at night to escape a herd of stampeding pigs? "The Machiguengas adopted me and my family into theirs. As they touched our lives we discovered what it would cost us to touch theirs. "I hope this first book of the Rani Adventures will bring you laugher, tears and a new perspective on the old cliche: 'It's a jungle out there!' " The second edition (5 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches) is larger than the first edition (4 1/4 inches by 7 inches.

Big Red


Jim Kjelgaard - 1945
    From the moment Danny sees the beautiful Irish setter, he knows Red is the dog for him.  Fast and smart, strong and noble, Red is the only dog Danny wants by his side.  Soon, neither boy nor dog can stand to be apart.  Together Danny and Red face many dangers in the harsh Wintapi wilderness that they call home.  But the greatest test of their courage and friendship will come from an enemy more cunning than any they've known before--a bear who is the undisputed king of the wilderness, a savage killer called Old Majesty.

Rascal


Sterling North - 1963
    Rascal is only a baby when Sterling brings him home, but soon the two are best friends, doing everything together--until the spring day when everything suddenly changes.Rascal is a heartwarming boyhood memoir that continues to find its way into the hearts of readers fifty years later. This special anniversary edition includes the book's classic illustrations restored to their original splendor, as well as a letter from the author's daughter, and material from the illustrator's personal collection."Everyone should knock off work, sit beneath the nearest tree, and enjoy Rascal from cover to cover."—Chicago Tribune

Paddle-to-the-Sea


Holling Clancy Holling - 1941
    Paddle's journey, in text and pictures, through the Great lakes to the Atlantic Ocean provides an excellent geographic and historical picture of the region.

"B" Is for Betsy


Carolyn Haywood - 1939
    She learns about tadpoles and the true meaning of Thanksgiving, makes new friends, and has more fun than she'd ever imagined.

The Moffats


Eleanor Estes - 1941
    During kindergarten recess, one accidentally hitches a ride out of town on a boxcar. One winds up trapped in the breadbox outside the deli. One offers to escort a Salvation Army man to his destination - and accidentally bumps him from his horse-drawn wagon.

The Corn Grows Ripe


Dorothy Rhoads - 1956
    Who will plant and harvest the corn that they need to survive--and to please the Mayan gods? The neighbors have fields of their own to tend, and Tigre's mother and grandmother cannot do it on their own. Twelve-year-old Tigre has never done a man's work before. Can he shoulder the burden on his own, and take his father's place?"A book of special artistic distinction, with its well-told story rich in Mayan folkway and custom and its boldly appropriate drawings."--The Horn Book

Rifles for Watie


Harold Keith - 1957
    It was 1861 in Linn County, Kansas, and Jeff was elated at the prospect of fighting for the North at last.In the Indian country south of Kansas there was dread in the air; and the name, Stand Watie, was on every tongue. A hero to the rebel, a devil to the Union man, Stand Watie led the Cherokee Indian Nation fearlessly and successfully on savage raids behind the Union lines. Jeff came to know the Watie men only too well.He was probably the only soldier in the West to see the Civil War from both sides and live to tell about it. Amid the roar of cannon and the swish of flying grape, Jeff learned what it meant to fight in battle. He learned how it felt never to have enough to eat, to forage for his food or starve. He saw the green fields of Kansas and Okla-homa laid waste by Watie's raiding parties, homes gutted, precious corn deliberately uprooted. He marched endlessly across parched, hot land, through mud and slashing rain, always hungry, always dirty and dog-tired.And, Jeff, plain-spoken and honest, made friends and enemies. The friends were strong men like Noah Babbitt, the itinerant printer who once walked from Topeka to Galveston to see the magnolias in bloom; boys like Jimmy Lear, too young to carry a gun but old enough to give up his life at Cane Hill; ugly, big-eared Heifer, who made the best sourdough biscuits in the Choctaw country; and beautiful Lucy Washbourne, rebel to the marrow and proud of it. The enemies were men of another breed - hard-bitten Captain Clardy for one, a cruel officer with hatred for Jeff in his eyes and a dark secret on his soul.This is a rich and sweeping novel-rich in its panorama of history; in its details so clear that the reader never doubts for a moment that he is there; in its dozens of different people, each one fully realized and wholly recognizable. It is a story of a lesser -- known part of the Civil War, the Western campaign, a part different in its issues and its problems, and fought with a different savagery. Inexorably it moves to a dramatic climax, evoking a brilliant picture of a war and the men of both sides who fought in it.

Isabel: Taking Wing


Annie Dalton - 2002
    But when you are a boy, the whole world can be your home. Men build houses and ships and sail off to discover strange new lands. But women must stay indoors, sewing stitches so fine that no one will ever see them. Our work is only visible if we do it badly. Aunt Elinor says I must be ladylike, like Sabine. But I will never be like Sabine in a thousand years...

Safe as Houses


Eric Walters - 2007
    Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth, who lives in the Toronto suburb of Weston, is a typical grade 8 girl. She has a secret crush on a boy in her class and she thinks Elvis Presley is "dreamy." Elizabeth also has a part-time job babysitting an adorable little grade 2 girl named Suzie, and Suzie’s not-so-adorable grade 6 brother, David. Elizabeth’s job is to walk Suzie and David home after school and then stay at their house with them until their mother gets home from work. David resents Elizabeth because he thinks he is too old for a babysitter, and he goes out of his way to make life miserable for her.On this particular evening, however, Elizabeth has more than a badly behaved boy to contend with. It is on this October night that Hurricane Hazel roars down on Toronto, bringing torrential rains that cause extensive flooding. David and Suzie’s house is on Raymore Drive, a street that will be practically wiped out by the floodwaters.David and Suzie’s parents are unable to reach the house, which means the children’s safety on this most deadly of nights is Elizabeth’s responsibility. She finds herself increasingly isolated. They are surrounded by rising water. The electricity goes out. The phone goes dead. Still, Elizabeth is sure they will be safe as long as they remain in the house.But are Elizabeth and the children really as "safe as houses"? Before this terrifying night is over, Elizabeth and David will have to learn to communicate and cooperate if they are to save their own lives and Suzie’s. Their survival in the midst of one of Canada’s worst disasters will depend upon their resourcefulness, maturity and courage.

Summer of My German Soldier


Bette Greene - 1973
    But she never could have imagined that her summer would be so memorable. German prisoners of war have arrived to make their new home in the prison camp in Jenkinsville. To the rest of her town, these prisoners are only Nazis. But to Patty, a young Jewish girl with a turbulent home life, one boy in particular becomes an unlikely friend. Anton relates to Patty in ways that her mother and father never can. But when their forbidden relationship is discovered, will Patty risk her family and town for the understanding and love of one boy?

Breaking Stalin's Nose


Eugene Yelchin - 2011
    He breaks a classmate's glasses with a snowball. He accidentally damages a bust of Stalin in the school hallway. And worst of all, his father, the best Communist he knows, was arrested just last night.This moving story of a ten-year-old boy's world shattering is masterful in its simplicity, powerful in its message, and heartbreaking in its plausibility.

I Am Regina


Sally M. Keehn - 1991
    Allegheny Indians murder her father and brother, burn their Pennsylvania home to the ground, and take Regina captive. Only her mother, who is away from home, is safe. Torn from her family, Regina longs for the past, but she must begin a new life. She becomes Tskinnak, who learns to catch fish, dance the Indian dance, and speak the Indian tongue. As the years go by, her new people become her family . . . but she never stops wondering about her mother. Will they ever meet again?"A first-person narrative based on the true story of a young woman held by Indians from 1755-1763, related with all the impact of a hard-hitting documentary . . .Wonderful reading." (School Library Journal)"I Am Regina is an enthralling and profoundly stirring story, historical fiction for young people at its very finest." (Elizabeth George Speare, Newbery Award-winning author of The Witch of Blackbird Pond)

The Toothpaste Millionaire


Jean Merrill - 1972
    He just wants to save on toothpaste. Betting he can make a gallon of his own for the same price as one tube from the store, Rufus develops a step-by-step production plan with help from his good friend Kate MacKinstrey. By the time he reaches the eighth grade, Rufus makes more than a gallon -- he makes a million! This fun, breezy story set in 1960s Cleveland, Ohio contains many real-life mathematical problems which the characters must solve to succeed in their budding business. Includes black-and-white illustrations by Jan Palmer.This 35th anniversary edition includes an exclusive author interview and reader's guide with book summary and discussion questions.