United States Historical Fiction Grades 3 and 4

							 United States
Historical Fiction
Grades 3 and 4




Youth Services Department
  Skokie Public Library
Pilgrims
Dell, Pamela. Giles and Metacom: A Story of Plimoth and the Wampanoag. 2003.
(J Fiction DEL)
Eleven-year-old Giles is intrigued — and suspicious. A young Indian boy keeps hanging around the Plimoth Settlement where he lives.
Following the boy into the woods one day, Giles becomes completely lost—and frightened.

Littlesugar, Amy. The Spinner’s Daughter. 1994.
(J Easy Fiction LIT)
Elspeth’s father died on the voyage to America, leaving Elspeth and her mother to fend for themselves in the New World. Elspeth
works hard and has no time for toys or games—until the day an Indian boy gives her a wonderful gift—a cornhusk doll.

Peacock, Carol Antoinette. Pilgrim Cat. 2004.
(JX PEA)
Believe it or not, there were cats on the Mayflower. They helped keep the ship free of mice and rats. This is the story of the friendship
between Pounce, a Mayflower cat, and Faith, a young Pilgrim girl, as they sail together to the New World.

Colonial Period
Borden, Louise. Sleds on Boston Common. A Story from the American Revolution. 2000.
(J Fiction BOR)
Nine-year-old Henry and his brothers can’t wait to try out their new sleds on the hills of Boston Common. But when they get there they
discover that the British troops have pitched their tents on the best part of the hill!

Bulla, Clyde. Charlie’s House. 1983.
(J Easy Fiction BUL)
If you were a poor English boy in the 1700s and you wanted to go to America, you could become an “indentured servant.” This meant
that in exchange for your travel, food and shelter, you would work for someone for free for seven years. Charlie is just such a boy, and
the one thing he longs for is a house of his own.

Nixon, Joan Lowery. John’s Story. 2001.
(J Fiction NIX)
It is 1775. Eleven-year-old John watches as war threatens to tear the Colony of Virginia— and his own family — apart. John’s father
wants a peaceful solution to the patriots’ grievances. But older brother George thinks all-out war is the only solution.

Revolutionary War
Gregory, Kristiana. The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart. 1996.
(J Fiction GRE)
Eleven year-old Abby’s family lives so close to Valley Forge that she is able to watch as General George Washington drills his troops
in preparation for fighting the British.

Pryor, Bonnie. Thomas in Danger. 1999.
(J Fiction PRY)
Because ten-year-old Thomas’ parents side with the Revolutionary forces, they are targeted by Tories, people who are loyal to the Brit-
ish. When the family escapes to Philadelphia after an Iroquois raid has destroyed their farm, they discover that Tories have sold all their
property except a ramshackle inn. When Thomas stumbles upon a Tory plot, he is kidnapped and left desperately ill.

Scieszka, Jon. Oh Say I Can’t See. 2005.
(J Easy Fiction SCI)
Uh-oh. The Time Warp Trio is at it again! This time Joe, Fred and Sam have landed in George Washington’s camp the night before he
is to cross the Delaware. Can the team help General Washington win the Revolutionary War?

Pioneer Life and Westward Expansion
Gregory, Kristiana. Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie. 1997.
(J Fiction KRI)
People who traveled west by wagon train faced terrible hardships. In her fictionalized diary, thirteen-year-old Hattie Campbell tells of
the dangers and excitement of traveling by wagon train with her family from Missouri to Oregon in 1847.
Hopkinson, Deborah. Pioneer Summer. 2002.
(J Easy Fiction HOP)
The Midwest was full of changes in the 1800s. In this story, it is 1855 and Charlie and his family make the move from their
comfortable home in Massachusetts to the Kansas Territory. Why is the family leaving their happy life in the East? Charlie’s parents
want to become Kansas voters so they can keep Kansas from becoming a slave-holding state.

Kurtz, Jane. I’m Sorry, Almira Ann. 1999.
(J Easy Fiction KUR)
Eight-year-old Sarah is bursting with excitement as she and her family plan to travel by wagon from Missouri to Oregon. The best part
is that her best friend Almira Ann and her family are making the trip too!

MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall. 1985.
*(J Easy Fiction MAC)
Caleb and Anna’s mother has died and their father has advertised for a new wife and mother for the children. A reply comes in a letter
from Sarah, who lives in Maine and will arrive by train in the spring. Caleb and Anna worry. Will Sarah be nice? Will they like her?
Will she like them?

Civil War
Hopkinson, Deborah. From Slave to Soldier. 2005.
(J Easy Reader HOP)
This story is based on the experiences of a real person. Johnny hates being a slave, so when the Union Army marches through, he
decides to run away and join up with them. Will the men of Company C accept this young black boy as a soldier?

McKissack, Patricia. A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl. 1997.
(J Fiction MCK)
Much of the work on the plantation is backbreaking, but there is one job young Clotee doesn’t mind at all: fanning the children of the
house during their lessons. Why? By listening to the teacher, Clotee learns to read and write, skills slaves are not supposed to have.

Woodson, Jacqueline. Show Way. 2005.
(JX WOO)
Before the Civil War, it was common for young children to be sold as slaves without their parents. When a little girl is sold in this way,
she takes with her a small piece of cloth to remind her of her mother. As the years go by, she and her daughters and
granddaughters learn to sew quilts that are not only beautiful but contain secret maps to freedom.

Late 19th Century
DeClements, Barthe. The Bite of the Gold Bug: A Story of the Alaskan Gold Rush. 1992.
(J Easy Fiction DEC)
Stormy seas, freezing cold, endless climbs up treacherous mountain trails, huge mosquitoes and itchy underwear were just some of the
hardships faced by people determined enough to risk everything to search for gold in Alaska. In this fictionalized account, Bucky tells
us of his adventures as he and his dad set out from Seattle hoping to strike it rich up north.

Moskin, Marietta D. Day of the Blizzard. 1978.
(J Fiction MOS)
Katie’s mother is sick and needs Katie to get medicine for her. The problem? Katie has to go out in one of the worst snowstorms New
York City has ever known, the blizzard of 1888.

Nixon, Joan Lowery. Lucy’s Wish. 1998.
(J Fiction NIX)
During the last half of the 1800s, thousands of homeless city children were sent westward on trains to find new families. The trains
were called Orphan Trains. Scared and alone, these children were paraded in front of people at each stop in hopes that someone would
adopt them. Will anyone adopt ten-year-old Lucy?

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. Riding Freedom. 1998.
(J Fiction RYA)
In the 1800s, women could not vote or own land. Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst did both — by disguising herself as a man! Read this fic-
tionalized account of a real woman in our nation’s history—a woman who would not let anything keep her from her dreams.
World War I
Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie. The Night the Bells Rang. 2000.
(J Easy Fiction KIN)
The year is 1918, and even though there is a war in Europe, Mason doesn’t find that much has changed in his Vermont farming town.
Then Aden, the local bully, suddenly enlists, and Mason finds that his feelings toward Aden have changed.

Oneal, Zibby. A Long Way to Go. 1990.
(J Fiction ONE)
Ten-year-old Lila lives in a wealthy, conservative, New York family. So she is shocked when her very proper grandmother is
arrested! The charge? Grandmother has been picketing the White House to allow women to vote! Father does not approve!

Wells, Rosemary. The Language of Doves. 1996.
(JX WEL)
During World War I, soldiers used homing pigeons to carry messages back and forth across enemy lines. Some of the birds were so
heroic that they were given the Medal of Honor. In this story, a man tells his granddaughter about Isabella, a brave bird that belonged to
him when he was a boy in Italy.

Great Depression
Hasely, Dennis. The Amazing Thinking Machine. 2002.
(J Fiction HAS)
During the Great Depression, work was scarce. Patrick’s dad is forced to travel to try to find a job, leaving Patrick and his thirteen-
year-old brother Roy in charge. The boys get a great idea: make some money by building a machine that answers questions for a penny.

Hopkinson, Deborah. Saving Strawberry Farm. 2005.
(JX HOP)
Every year Davey and Rosey go to Miss Elsie’s Strawberry Farm to pick the sweetest juiciest strawberries of the summer. But this
summer, Strawberry Farm is in financial trouble, and Miss Elsie might not be able to keep it. Can Davey and Rosey help?

Miller, William. Rent Party Jazz. 2001.
(JX MIL)
When Sonny’s mother loses her job during the Great Depression she and Sonny are frightened. How will they survive? The answer
comes from Smilin’ Jack, a New Orleans jazz trumpeter who plays sweet music — and has great ideas!

Tripp, Valerie. Kit Saves the Day: A Summer Story. 2001.
(J Easy Fiction TRI)
Bored, and tired of household chores and the hardships of the Depression, Kit decides to hop a freight train and see how hobos live.

World War II
Hest, Amy. Love You, Soldier. 1991.
(J Easy Fiction HES)
Seven-year-old Katie’s father is fighting in the war, and Katie misses him. Their New York City apartment just doesn’t seem right
without Daddy. During the years of World War II, Katie waits, grows, and learns what it means to be family.

Kochenderfer, Lee. The Victory Garden. 2003.
(J Fiction KOC)
During World War II, many families helped the war effort by growing vegetables in “victory gardens.” Eleven-year-old Theresa Marks
is helping her father to grow prize-winning tomatoes in her small Kansas town while her brother fights overseas.

Ransom, Candice F. Fire in the Sky. 1997.
(J Fiction RAN)
Nine-year-old Stenny is fascinated with the Hindenburg, the German zeppelin that is scheduled to cross the ocean and land at the
naval station near his home in New Jersey. The day he goes to see the Hindenburg land, his life changes forever.


                               Skokie Public Library Trustees: John Graham, President; Diana Hunter, Vice President/President Emerita; Dayle Zelenka, Secretary;
                               Richard Basofin; Susan Greer; Zelda Rich; John M. Wozniak
                               Director: Carolyn A. Anthony 2C108

“United States Historical Fiction: Grades 3 and 4” developed by Mary Michell for Skokie Public Library