West Bend Community Memorial Library

   

 

Looking Back...

 
Bowery Girl by Kim Taylor - The Bowery, 1883: Gamblers and thieves, immigrants and Street Arabs, Do-Gooders and charity houses, impossible dreams and impossible odds. This is the story of two "Bowery girls"—the pickpocket Mollie Flynn and the prostitute Annabelle Lee, young women without family or education who must fend for themselves. Two young women whose survival depends on each other. After a chance encounter with Emmeline DuPre, a "Do-Gooder" who has recently opened a settlement house, Mollie and Annabelle are given the opportunity to better themselves. But the city offers many temptations, and on the streets of the Bowery, you do whatever it takes to survive. This vibrant, carefully researched novel shows how much—and how little—our world has changed.
 
Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata - With remarkable insight and clarity, the Newbery Medal-winning author of "Kira-Kira" explores an important and painful topic through the eyes of a young Japanese-American girl living in California just as the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor.
 
A Summer of Kings by Han Nolan - Increasingly resentful of her forced role as the dim, responsible one in her gifted, well-to-do New York family, Esther acts out with increasing bitterness in a struggle to earn some respect and elbow room. Her rebellion begins to gain traction after King-Roy, the 18-year-old African-American son of her mother's childhood friend, travels up from Alabama to escape accusations that he murdered a white man. As he becomes a radicalized, tough-talking supporter of Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, Esther counters by studying the words of James Baldwin, Dr. King, and Mahatma GandhiâÇôand finds an epiphany in Gandhi's challenge to "be the change we want to see in the world."  In the end, Esther's family is persuaded by her passion to join her in the famous 1963 march in Washington, DC, and King-Roy heads back home in the wake of uglier events. What sets Esther apart from everyone else in the story, is her ability to see the differences between her own expectations and those that are imposed from outside. Her genuineness is not only wholly admirable, but it also drives King-Roy and her parents crazy, adding a leavening of humor to her narrative's powerful mix of triumph and tragedy.
 
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers. Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when shes roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayors reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents.
 
Search and Destroy by Dean Hughes - The acclaimed author of "Soldier Boys" now pens a taut and thoughtful novel set in 1969 during the Vietnam War that captures the sights and sounds of war.
 
An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub - Adam is conscripted by Napoleon's army, which is gathering strength for its campaign against Russia. A young lieutenant requisitions Adam as his personal valet in this tale that explores the importance of friendship in persevering against overwhelming odds.
 
Warrior Girl by Pauline Chandler - Left mute after her mothers death at the hands of English raiders, Mariane de Courcey is sent to live with the family of her cousin Jehanne, the girl who will become known as Joan of Arc. Mariane becomes aware of Jehannes visions and becomes involved in her plans to travel to the Dauphin, Prince Charles, and convince him to rally the French to chase the English out of France. In her travels, Mariane realizes that her uncle, Sir Gaston de Louvier, was behind her mothers murder. She searches for her deceased fathers lost seal and travels to her familys estate to establish her claim as its heir. Through letters, Mariane relates Jehannes efforts to motivate the French forces, and she eventually rejoins her cousin during her trial and execution.
 
Escaping into the Night by D. Dina Friedman - Halina Rudowski, 13, fled Berlin for her mother's Polish village, only to be herded into a ghetto. Now she suspects her mother has been killed, and Halina must escape again—this time with her friend Batya. A tunnel beneath the synagogue takes them beyond the ghetto walls, where they travel at night with three brothers until reaching an encampment of several hundred Jews living in ziemlankas—underground caves. Strangers become instant bunkmates, and eating means stealing food from the peasants around them. Halina struggles with the morality of this, and ponders Batya's zealous devotion to a God who seems to have deserted them.
 
Worlds Apart by Lindsay Lee Johnson - Winnie is devastated when her family moves from Chicago to the grounds of a mental institution in small-town Minnesota where her physician father goes to work. In 1959, these facilities are alien and frightening places to most people, and Winnie is appalled at her circumstances. Rejected at school by the local kids, she misses her previous friends, the cliquey Starlings. Her mother is not handling the move any better than she and is no help. But Winnie perseveres as she volunteers to work the hospital snack cart, makes a friend, and adopts a pet goat. Along the way, she evolves into a more thoughtful and sensitive person. When drastic changes in the family dynamic cause Winnie to speak up and ask for the truth about the move, she displays her growing ability to distinguish solid virtues and true friendship.
 
Monkey Town by Ronald Kidd - The author of "Sizzle & Splat" takes readers back in time to 1925 to the famous Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee. This novel unfolds from the point of view of a 15-year-old girl, a student of John Scopes.
 
The Bone Collector's Son by Paul Yee - It's 1907, and Bing's father makes a living in Chinatown by digging up the bones of the dead before sending them back to China for a proper burial. Bing hates helping his father with his work, and things go from bad to worse when father and son discover that Mr. Shum's skull is missing from his grave. Almost immediately, Bing and his father have a string of bad luck. Bing is convinced that it's caused by Shum's ghost, angry because of his missing skull. Eager to get away from his stern father, Bing accepts a job as a houseboy at the home of a famous white boxer. But even there he can't get away from ghosts, as it turns out that the boxer's house is haunted. Only by overcoming his fear of ghosts will Bing be able to calm the spirits that are disturbing the living - and the dead.
 
Your Eyes in Stars by M.E. Kerr - Kerr creates a compelling portrait of Depression-era American in this story of an unlikely friendship between Elisa, a young girl whose home country of Germany is taken over by a new dictator, and Jessie, the daughter of the local prison warden.
 
Marie, Dancing by Carolyn Meyer - This moving, historically based account examines the life of Marie van Goethem, a 14-year-old ballet dancer in the famed Paris Opera who was the model for Edgar Degas's most famous sculpture, "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen."
 
Not the End of the World by Geraldine McCaughrean - Noah's daughter, daughters-in-law, sons, wife, and the animals describe what it was like to be aboard the ark while they watched everyone around them drown.
 
Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury - Following orders from the United States Army, young Japanese American men train K-9 units to hunt Asians during World War II.
 
Jailbait by Leslea Newman - In 1971, unpopular and lonely tenth-grader Andi--teased at her Long Island high school for her large breasts and ignored at home by her distant parents--builds a fantasy romantic life around her clandestine, sexual relationship with a man in his thirties.
 
Summer's End by Audrey Couloumbis - Three teenaged cousins worry about their uncle who is missing in Vietnam, their brothers--the one who was drafted and the two who are dodging the draft, and the effects of their absence on the four generations gathered at the family farm in the summer of 1965.
 
Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper - When slave traders invade Armari's village, she is dragged to a slave ship bound for the Carolinas. Bought by a plantation owner, Amari befriends a white indentured servant named Polly and struggles to hold on to her memories in the face of hopeless and despair.
 
Minister's Daughter by Julie Hearn - In 1645 in England, the daughters of the town minister successfully accuse a local healer and her granddaughter of witchcraft to conceal an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, but years later during the 1692 Salem trials the repercussions of their lie condemn one of them as a witch.
 
Kipling's Choice by Geert Spillebeen - In 1915, mortally wounded in Loos, France, eighteen-year-old John Kipling, son of writer Rudyard Kipling, remembers his boyhood and the events leading to what is to be his first and last World War I battle.
 
The New World Order by Ben Jeapes - The civil war between King Charles I and Parliament that has torn England apart is nearing its bloody conclusion - and in the English countryside, a stranger seeks his old love and finds there is a son whom he has never seen...You would be excused, perhaps, for thinking that this is the introduction to a thrilling historical novel. And you'd be dead right. Yet this is not the history you know, for the world has turned on to a new and deadly path.With breathtaking imagination, Ben Jeapes has wrenched the familiar flow of English history out of its course and made it into something else, something entirely other. There is a third force, an alien force - the Holekhor - who have martial powers of their own, religious leaders who command mysterious and strange forces, and who bring with them technology that should not have been seen in England for another three hundred years... Prepare to be astounded. History will never be the same again.
 
The Color of Fire by Ann Rinaldi - Set in 1741 New York City, this hypnotic tale, drawn from an obscure slice of American history, delves into topical issues, where a culture of fear creates a hunger for a scapegoat, and a mob mentality results in the tragic deaths of innocents.
 
Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society by Adeline Yen Mah - During the Japanese occupation of parts of China, twelve-year-old Ye Xian is thrown out of her father's and stepmother's home, joins a martial arts group, and tries to help her aunt and the Americans in their struggle against the Japanese invaders. Includes historical notes.
 
Pagan's Scribe by Catherine Jinks - In this much-anticipated final chapter of the Pagan Chronicles, Pagan Kidrouk is now older, wiser, and the Archdeacon of Carcassonne. Impressed by the bookish Isidore, he hires the boy as his scribe, and leads him out of the world of books to brave the real-life dangers of a papal crusade.
 
Far Traveler by Rebecca Tingle - When King Edward gives his niece Elfwyn two choices--marry one of his allies or become a nun--Wyn flees. Disguising herself as a boy, she adopts a new identity as a traveling storyteller and soon becomes embroiled in a plot against her own uncle.
 
Brooklyn Rose by Ann Rinaldi - On St. Helena Island, South Carolina, fifteen year-old Rose meets and marries Rene, a Yankee from Brooklyn, New York, who takes her north to his home where she encounters many differences in attitudes and lifestyles.
 
Annie, Between the States by L.M. Elliott - With a stirring blend of historical fiction, based on the lives of true-life Confederate spies, this rich Civil War novel about an extraordinary young heroine is ideal for budding history enthusiasts.
 
Just Jane by William Lavender - Lady Jane Prentice, orphaned daughter of an English earl, arrives in Charlestown, South Carolina, in 1776, and is plunged into the middle of a heated war between members of her own family, whose loyalties are strongly divided in America's fight for freedom. Jane is soon forced to adopt many roles until she finds the courage to become the person she wants to be.
 
Number the Stars by Lois LowryNumber the Stars by Lois Lowry - In 1943 Copenhagen, the Germans begin their campaign to "relocate" the Jews of Denmark. So Annemarie Johansen's parents take in her best friend Ellen Rosen and pretend that she is a part of their family.
 
I Had Seen Castles by Cynthia RylantI Had Seen Castles by Cynthia Rylant - From the 1993 Newbery Medalist (Missing May), an unforgettable novel about the complexities of war as seen through the eyes of an older man looking back on his life.
 
Nightjohn by Gary PaulsenNightjohn by Gary Paulsen - Twelve-year-old Sarny's brutal life as a slave becomes even more dangerous when a newly arrived slave offers to teach her how to read.
 
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan PatonCry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton - Paton's deeply moving story of Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set against the backdrop of a land and people riven by racial inequality and injustice, remains the most famous and important novel in South Africa's history.
 
Last Silk Dress by Ann RinaldiLast Silk Dress by Ann Rinaldi - Fourteen-year-old Susan Chilmark wants to do something to support the Confederacy during the Civil War. She decides to collect silk dresses to create a huge hot-air balloon to spy on the enemy. But at the same time, Susan discovers unsettling family secrets, deals with the death of her father, and falls in love with a Yankee.
 
The Red Tent by Anita DiamantRed Tent by Anita Diamant - Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood - the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers - Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah - the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that are to sustain her through a damaged youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate, immediate connection.
 
The River Between Us by Richard PeckThe River Between Us by Richard Peck - Within a page-turning tale of mystery, adventure, and the civilian Civil War experience, a master of stories about people in transition paints a portrait of the lifelong impact that one person can have on another.
 
Trouble Don't Last by Shelley PearsallTrouble Don't Last by Shelley Pearsall - Born as Master Hackler's slave, the only life 11-year-old Samuel knows is working the Kentucky farm--until one dark night in 1859, that is. With no warning, cranky old Harrison, a fellow slave, pulls Samuel from his bed and, together, they run. As they move from one refuge to the next on the Underground Railroad, Samuel uncovers the secret of his own past--and future.
 
Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline CooneyThe Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline Cooney - In 1704 an Indian tribe attacks a Massachusetts town, and Mercy Carter is separated from her family. Her only hope is that the English government in Boston will send ransom for her. But the "savages" have traditions and a family life that soon becomes her own. If ransom comes, will she take it?
 
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse AndersonFever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson - In 1793 the Cook Coffeehouse outside of Philadelphia is a haven for those fleeing from the fever sweeping across the mosquito-infested city. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook has just lost her childhood playmate, who also worked in the coffeehouse, to the fever and struggles to keep her family's business and her family alive.
 
Dragon’s Gate by Laurence Yep - Otter has always dreamed of joining his father and his uncle in America. The two men work building the transcontinental railroad that will connect the east to the west. All of Otter's illusions are shattered when he joins the crew and experiences the hardships. With only his courage to guide him, Otter must discover a way to overcome all obstacles and recapture his hopes and dreams for a better life. 1994 Newbery Honor Book.
 
Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul CurtisBud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis - Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.
 
A Year Down Yonder by Richard PeckA Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck - During the recession of 1937, fifteen-year-old Mary Alice is sent to live with her feisty, larger-than-life grandmother in rural Illinois for a year and comes to a better understanding her.
 
Out of the Dust by Karen HesseOut of the Dust by Karen Hesse - In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.
 

Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushmna

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman - The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.
 
Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred TaylorRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor - Facing a year of night riders and burnings, Cassie and her family continue their struggle to keep their land and hold onto what rightfully belongs to them, despite the difficult battles they must continue to endure.
 
Ashes of Roses by Mary Jane AuchAshes of Roses by Mary Jane Auch - When she arrives on Ellis Island as a 17-year-old Irish immigrant, Rose Nolan is looking for a land of opportunities; what she finds is far from all she'd dreamed. To whom and to what can she turn when everything around her is in ashes?
 
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy ChevalierGirl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier - With the precision and focus of an Old Master's painting, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" paints a vivid portrait of colorful 17th-century Delft, as well as the hauntingly poignant story of one young girl's rite of passage.
 
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean MyersFallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers - A coming of age tale for young adults set in the trenches of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, Fallen Angels is the story of Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for the service when his dream of attending college falls through. Sent to the front lines, Perry and his platoon come face-to-face with the Vietcong and the real horror of warfare. But violence and death aren't the only hardships. As Perry struggles to find virtue in himself and his comrades, he questions why black troops are given the most dangerous assignments, and why the U.S. is there at all.
 
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo BealsWarriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals - Beals, one of the "Little Rock Nine'' and a former NBC reporter, writes movingly of desegregating Little Rock's Central High School in 1957-58. Using diaries and contemporary media coverage, she re-creates a time of fear and tenaciously held hopes. The horrors the nine black students faced are told in a teenager's voice, simply and sadly. Robbed of normal adolescence, Beals grew up fast. Her gratitude to the 101st Airborne for their protection stands in stark contrast to her bewilderment over the behavior of Governor Faubus and school officials, who refused to enforce even rudimentary discipline to prevent the daily torture.
 
Brides of Eden by Linda CrewBrides of Eden by Linda Crew - In 1903 Oregon, Joshua Creffield is a charismatic preacher, and all the young women attend his fiery revivals. At Joshua's insistence, these women burn their worldly possessions and follow him to a remote island to devote themselves to his teachings. But when Joshua announces which of his "brides of Eden" will be the Second Mother of Christ, events take a frightening turn. Based on a true story.
 
Witch Child by Celia ReesWitch Child by Celia Rees - When her beloved grandmother is hanged as a witch, 17th-century teen Mary Newbury escapes to America to a Puritan settlement. Although Mary's story--already a bestseller in the U.K.--takes place 350 years ago, she is a credible and engaging feminist character for modern times.
 
Break with Charity by Ann RinaldiBreak with Charity by Ann Rinaldi - While waiting for a church meeting in 1706, Susanna English, daughter of a wealthy Salem merchant, recalls the malice, fear, and accusations of witchcraft that tore her village apart in 1692.
 
Gone with the Wind by Margaret MitchellGone with the Wind by Margaret Michell - A monumental classic considered by many to be not only the greatest love story ever written, but also the greatest Civil War saga.
 
Fade by Robert CormierFade by Robert Cormier - In 1930, Paul Moreaux, the thirteen-year-old son of French Canadian immigrants, inherits the ability to become invisible, but this power soon leads to death and destruction.
 
Soldier's Heart by Gary PaulsenA Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen - Battle by battle, Gary Paulsen shows readers one boy's war through one boy's eyes and one boy's heart, and gives a voice to all the anonymous young men who fought in the Civil War.
 
Sonny's War by Valerie HobbsSonny's War by Valerie Hobbs - After the death of their father, 14-year-old Corin needs her brother Sonny more than ever. But when Sonny tells Cory he's going to Vietnam, she's devastated. The only one who seems to understand is Lawrence, Cory's new substitute teacher. He's young, handsome, and passionately opposed to the war taking her brother away. As she turns to Lawrence for comfort, Cory finds herself wanting more.
 
Boston Jane by Jennifer holmBoston Jane Series by Jennifer Holm - Fresh from the Young Ladies' Academy, 16-year-old Jane Peck has come to the wilds of the Northwest to be wed. But her upbringing in straitlaced Philadelphia is hardly preparation for the crude life that awaits her in the Washington Territory.
 
Pirates by Celia ReesPirates! By Celia Rees - Nancy Kington, a wealthy merchant’s daughter living in Bristol, England in the early 1700’s, is sometimes lonely but enjoys the privileges her father’s business brings. Minerva Sharpe is a penniless slave’s daughter living and working on the Kington’s Jamaican plantation. These two young women, united through a set of extraordinary circumstances including a brutal murder, an arranged marriage, and set of ruby earrings, find themselves sailing the high seas in search of love, adventure and freedom—as pirates!
 
A Northern Light by Jennifer DonnellyA Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly - Set in 1906 against the backdrop of the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy, " this coming-of-age novel effortlessly weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving, real, and wholly original.
 
Uncommon Faith by Trudy KrisherUncommon Faith by Trudy Krisher - Change is coming to the mid-nineteenth-century town of Millbrook, Massachusetts, whether folks are ready for it or not. Old traditions and values are being questioned, especially by an outspoken young woman named Faith Common. She defies expectations that women be obedient and limit their education to domestic duties such as sewing. Faith is determined to find her own truth about her abilities as well as the abilities of any human being, man or woman, black or white. With her uncommon faith in each person, she is a powerful catalyst for change. In this stirring historical novel, many citizens of Millbrook make their voices heard. Each tells of personal triumphs and tragedies, and of the controversies surrounding the rights of individuals, women, slaves, and freed slaves. Their stories shape their New England town in the years 1837 and 1838.
 
Milkweed by Jerry SpinelliMilkweed by Jerry Spinelli - Set in Nazi-occupied Poland just before the Warsaw ghetto uprising, Spinelli's first historical novel tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival though the eyes of a young orphan.
 
Bloody Jack by L.A. MyersBloody Jack by L.A. Myers - Life as a ship's boy aboard the HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of eighteenth-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret. This could be the adventure of her life--if only she doesn't get caught. . . .
 
Year of the Hangman by Gary BlackwoodYear of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood - A might-have-been America in this suspenseful alternative history set during the Revolutionary War, in Blackwood's imagined 1777, the upstart colonists have been routed by superior British forces. George Washington awaits execution and the rebel leaders who have escaped capture are in hiding or have fled. Dashing Benedict Arnold has become a privateer operating out of French-controlled New Orleans, where Benjamin Franklin runs a printing shop and distributes an illegal newspaper, The Liberty Tree. Enter 17-year-old Creighton Brown, an upper-class English wastrel who arrives in Louisiana as Arnold's captive, after an earlier abduction from London that had been arranged by his mother. Lodged with Franklin, Creighton becomes a reluctant publishing assistant, and, as he begins to admire the Americans and their principles, an even more reluctant British spy. Creighton's lazy, spoiled ways undergo a revolution of their own when he is caught between dangerous plots and counterplots and is forced to take risks that threaten more than one life.
 
Sword of the Rightful King by Jane YolenSword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen - The newly crowned King Arthur is unsure of himself; worse, the people are unsure of him. So Merlin magically places a sword into a slab of rock, lets it be known that whosoever removes the blade will rule all of England, and invites any man who would dare, to try to pull out the sword.
 
The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland - It is 1199 and young Arthur de Caldicot is waiting impatiently to grow up and become a knight. One day his friend's father, Merlin, gives him a shining piece of obsidian, and his life becomes entwined with that of his namesake, the Arthur whose story he sees unfold in the stone. In this many-layered novel, King Arthur is seen as a mysterious presence influencing not just one time and place, but many. The 100 short chapters are almost like snapshots, not only of the mythic tales of King Arthur, but the earthy, uncomfortable reality of the Middle Ages. Written in the direct, open voice of a real boy living in a time of uncertainty about the future, this story touches on the issues of war and peace, social inequity, religion, reason, and superstition.  At the Crossing Places and King of the Middle March conclude the Arthur Trilogy.
 
Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer - Mary Tudor, who would reign briefly as Queen of England during the mid sixteenth century, tells the story of her troubled childhood as daughter of King Henry VIII. The other titles in the Young Royals Series: Beware Princess Elizabeth, Patience Princess Catherine, & Doomed Queen Anne
 
Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen - Nicola Ambruzzi, a poor traveling player, is an unlikely person to end up "fool" and friend to Mary Queen of Scots. But tumbling and clowning at court, she catches the young queen's eye and heart. As Mary is caught in the winds of fate-running from France to Scotland, confronted by rebellious lords and her unpredictable Scots, Nicola-Le Jardiniere-is there, buffeting and aiding the queen with her wit and wiles.This epic adventure by Jane Yolen and Robert Harris takes us into the intimate circle of one of the most intriguing queens of all time, the courageous Mary Queen of Scots. Also by Yolen; Girl in a Cage & Prince Across the Water
 
Nine Days a Queen by Ann Rinaldi - Lady Jane Grey, who at sixteen was Queen of England for nine days before being executed, recounts her life story from the age of nine.
 
Breath by Donna Jo Napoli - In this re-imagining of the Pied Piper tale, a boy afflicted with cystic fibrosis in the Middle Ages is an outcast. When the townsfolk of Hameln are affected by a grain mold, he survives an outbreak of madness, followed by a plague of rats.
 
Crispin by Avi - A New York Times Bestseller A Newbery Medal Winner In fourteenth-century England a nameless thirteen-year-old peasant boy, who thought he had little to lose, finds himself with even less. Accused of a crime he did not commit, he has been declared a "wolf's head," meaning that anyone can kill him on sight. To remain alive the boy must flee his tiny village, taking with him only his newly revealed name -- Crispin -- and his mother's cross of lead.
 
Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett - In the eleventh century the teenage princess Anna Comnena fights for her birthright, the throne to the Byzantine Empire, which she fears will be taken from her by her younger brother John because he is a boy.
 
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman - From the author of "Catherine, Called Birdy" comes another spellbinding novel set in medieval England. The girl known only as Brat has no family, no home, and no future until she meets Jane the Midwife and becomes her apprentice. As she helps the sharp-tempered Jane deliver babies, Brat-who renames herself Alyce-gains knowledge, confidence, and the courage to want something from life: "A full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world." Medieval village life makes a lively backdrop for the funny, poignant story of how Alyce gets what she wants. A concluding note discusses midwifery past and present. A Newbery Medal book.
 

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