Book picks similar to
Berlin Olympics by Vince Cross
historical-fiction
history
middle-grade
fiction
Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia, England, 1829
Anna Kirwan - 2001
Really, one kisses the air over his hand, and that's a good thing, for he's so glistening with lotions and powders to cover the liver spots on his skin, which he hates...Aunt Soap says he was a beautiful lad when he was young. "Prinny was the handsomest Prince ever. His curls were the colour of honey on toast, like that red-gold Russian sable the Princess de Lieven wears." Now, unfortunately, his beauty has quite fled. Perhaps he does wear a corset, as I once heard Lady C. remark--though I can't see that it does much good. (I'm sure she would be shocked to know I overheard. But I do wonder why so many people seem to think a young person's ears do not work unless they are instructed to by some adult.)
Not a Nickel to Spare: The Great Depression Diary of Sally Cohen
Perry Nodelman - 2007
And her cousin Benny is always getting into scrapes Sally has to try to get him out of. Sally must find the strength and learn to cope with the world around her.
Cannons at Dawn: The Second Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1779
Kristiana Gregory - 2011
The Revolutionary War toils on, but the Stewart family can no longer avoid getting involved. Abby's father joins the Continental Army, while Abby, her mother, and her siblings become camp followers. They face daily hardships alongside the troops and continue to spend time helping the Washingtons. Filled with romance and adventure, Abby's frontline view of the war captures the heartache and bravery of the soldiers, as well as the steep cost of freedom.
The Journal of C.J. Jackson: A Dust Bowl Migrant, Oklahoma to California, 1935
William Durbin - 2002
Jackson, a young farmer whose family is forced to abandon their farm and seek a new life in California. April 10, 1935 The dust has been blowing bad for several years in a row now. And with crop failures coming back to back like they have, hundreds of families have lost their farms. A Monday never passes without Sheriff Jake Allison posting a notice of foreclosure at the Boise City courthouse. Times are so rough, that when they hold an auction to sell a place, the only people that show up are the banks and the insurance companies. Nobody else has a nickel. C.J. Jackson is a young man living through one of the most tragic times in the Dust Bowl of an America fraught with political, economic, and environmental problems. In this intense journal of life in the Oklahoma panhandle, C.J. tells it like it is-and it is bad.
Genevieve's War
Patricia Reilly Giff - 2017
Then she makes an impulsive choice: to stay in France. It proves to be a dangerous decision. World War II erupts. The Nazis conquer Alsace and deport the Jews and others. A frightening German officer commandeers a room in Meme's farmhouse. And when Gen's friend Remi commits an act of sabotage, Gen is forced to hide him in the attic--right above the Nazi officer's head. Genevieve's War is a gripping story that brings the war in occupied France vividly to life. It is a companion work to Lily's Crossing, a Newbery Honor Book.
Uprooted: A Canadian War Story
Lynne Reid Banks - 2014
They may be far from the war but they are also far from home and everyone they know and love. Life in Canada is very different but it is also full of exciting new adventuresThis captivating story is inspired by Lynne Reid Banks own childhood experience and her time in Canada."
Parallel Journeys
Eleanor H. Ayer - 1995
He was an ardent member of the Hitler Youth. This is the story of their pareallel journey through World War II. Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck were born just a few miles from each other in the German Rhineland. But their lives took radically different courses: Helen's to the Auschwitz extermination camp; Alfons to a high rank in the Hitler Youth. While Helen was hiding in Amsterdam, Alfons was a fanatic believer in Hitler's "master race." While she was crammed in a cattle car bound for the death camp Aushchwitz, he was a teenage commander of frontline youth troops, ready to fight and die for the glory of Hitler and the Fatherland. This book tells both of their stories, side-by-side, in an overwhelming account of the nightmare that was WWII. The riveting stories of these two remarkable people must stand as a powerful lesson to us all.
Unsinkable
Gordon Korman - 2011
Paddy is a stowaway, escaping a deadly past. Sophie's mother is delivered to the ship by police - after she and Sophie have been arrested. Juliana's father is an eccentric whose riches can barely hide his madness. And Alfie is hiding a secret that could get him kicked off the ship immediately.The lives of these four passengers will be forever linked with the fate of Titanic. And the farther they get from shore, the more the danger looms. . . .
The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank - 1947
In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, the Franks and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annexe” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and surprisingly humorous, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.--back cover
A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner, San Francisco, California, 1906
Judy Blundell - 2013
The Sumps have grand plans, grander than the city of Philadelphia can offer, and decide to move to San Francisco--the greatest city in the west. But when a powerful earthquake strikes, Minnie finds herself the sole survivor among them. After the dust settles, Minnie discovers a bag belonging to the Sumps filled with cash and papers that could drastically change her fortune. With no one else to claim it, Minnie has turned into an heiress overnight.Wealth comes at a price, however, and she is soon wrapped up in a deception that leads her down a dangerous path. As the aftermath of the earthquake ravages the city, Minnie continues to maintain her new identity. That is, until a mysterious but familiar stranger appears.
A Prairie as Wide as the Sea: The Immigrant Diary of Ivy Weatherall
Sarah Ellis - 2001
Expecting to make their fortunes on Uncle Alf's ranch, the Weatheralls are shocked to find themselves living in a sod hut on a rented farm. Ivy is determined to taste life to the fullest, whatever hardships she may encounter. Writing in her diary, she recounts learning the new skills expected of a young farm girl. She struggles to help the family survive, but ultimately learns that responsibility brings its rewards.
Down the Rabbit Hole, Chicago, Illinois, 1871: The Diary of Pringle Rose
Susan Campbell Bartoletti - 2013
After her uncle Edward and his awful wife, Adeline, move into the Pringle family's home--making life for her and her younger brother, Gideon, unbearable--Pringle runs away with Gideon to Chicago, seeking refuge from the tragedy, and hoping to start a new life. She becomes a nanny for the children of a labor activist, and quickly finds herself caught up in a web of intrigue and lies. Then, when a familiar figure from home arrives, Pringle begins to piece together the devastating mystery of what happened to her parents, and realizes just how deadly the truth might be. But soon, one of the greatest disasters this country has ever known--the Great Fire of Chicago--flares up, and Pringle is on the run for her life.
The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl
Ann Turner - 1999
Army in 1864 New Mexico.
Milkweed
Jerry Spinelli - 2003
Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham. He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he’s a boy who realizes it’s safest of all to be nobody.Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable—Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II—and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.From the Hardcover edition.
The Journal of Brian Doyle: Greenhorn on an Alaskan Whaling Ship, The Florence, 1874
Jim Murphy - 2004
He joins the crew of a whaling ship headed for Alaska's frozen seas, where he finds danger and adventure.Jim Murphy once again writes an exciting story of a young boy on the cusp of a great, and sometimes violent, world. Jonathan Dodge has run away from his father's house, fleeing his father's wrathful punishments. He signs on as a "greenhorn," a sailor on an Alaskan whaling ship. On the high seas Jonathan finds more adventure and danger than one boy could have hoped for.