Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Historical Fiction

Acclaimed children's author Avi's many accolades include a Newbery Medal and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Inspired by true stories from the American Revolution, Sophia's War begins in 1776, when British troops arrive on the doorstep of 12-year-old Sophia Calderwood's home in New York. After the disappearance and possible capture of her brother - and the execution of Nathan Hale - Sophia has vowed to do all she can to help the cause for independence. But the war will test her in ways she never imagined

Twelve-year-old Alice Rose hates her home in Virginia City, Nevada. Only Sam Clemens, the new reporter at her father's paper, keeps things interesting. Like Alice Rose, Sam has a colorful way with words and a habit of saying just what he thinks, especially when he's using his pen name - Mark Twain. When a miner is murdered, Sam is the only one willing to help Alice Rose investigate.

Life is hard for 12-year-old Lucas. First Uncle Asa dies of consumption, then Lizy and Pa. Now Mama is sick. And Lucas is the only one left to take care of her and their Connecticut farm. By the time his neighbor tells him of a strange, new cure, it is too late - Mama has just died. Reeling with sorrow, Lucas wanders until he sees a "help wanted" sign for a doctor's apprentice. He feels better while he is helping to pull teeth, visit the sick, and bury the dead.

Both 11-year-old Summer and her older brother Roscoe have a "silent thunder" roaring through their souls. Summer yearns to learn letters, so she can read. Roscoe wants to join the Union forces and fight in the Civil War. But they are slaves in Virginia, and their wishes are forbidden. Their friend Thea says that silent thunder is something slaves have to keep private, but Summer and Roscoe can't resist their feelings.

Eleven-year-old Kevin Cartwright can hardly believe his ears when his father, a brave soldier wounded in the Revolutionary War, announces that he is leaving Philadelphia and never coming back. He is heading into the untamed wilderness of New Jersey, where he hopes to find a peaceful place to raise Kevin and his little sister. But in 1783, New Jersey is filled with secret traps and hidden dangers. Before the family has traveled far, Kevin is captured by the mysterious Captain Grey and his murderous band of pirates. These lawless men of the sea say they have killed the boy’s father and sister. Will Kevin be next?

Willful and high-spirited, exerting his independence at every turn, 10-year-old Robert "Robbie" Burns Hewitt plans to live life to the fullest - because the world is going to end at the turn of the century anyway! The year 1900 is fast approaching. Robbie decides that living by The Ten Commandments, which have been drilled into his head by his preacher father, is not meant for him - since he "ain’t got the knack for holiness." On his quest to be his own person, he stirs up trouble daily.

Jonathan’s older brother is away fighting with General Washington in Pennsylvania. But at 13, Jonathan is too young to fight. Still too young. Then one morning, April 3, 1778, the tavern bell sounds, calling men to arms. Eager to prove his mettle, with blood pounding in his ears, Jonathan joins the gathering men at the tavern to hear the news. With a 12-pound, six-foot-long flintlock musket loaned to him by the tavern keeper, Jonathan finds a place in with the other men, marching to battle.

Newbery Award-winning, New York Times best-selling author Avi recreates the sights and sounds of wartime Brooklyn in this fast-paced story. Like every student in Miss Gossim’s 1943 fifth-grade class, Howie Crispers has one thing on his mind: World War II. When he isn’t in school, Howie stays busy watching for Nazi spies. So when he notices his principal acting suspiciously, it’s his patriotic duty to investigate. But what he discovers is far more devastating than any headline at the newsstand.

In 1905, 10-year-old Lavina Cumming hugs her father good-bye and boards a train headed north. She is leaving her father, her five brothers, and her ranch in Arizona Territory to live with her rich aunt in California. With warmth and charm, award-winning author Susan Lowell paints a unique portrait of life in historic California. I Am Lavina Cumming blends adventure, friendship, and southwestern lore into a delightful story that will win the hearts of young listeners everywhere.

Jonah and Katherine journey to 1918 with the Romanov children in the sixth tale of the New York Times best-selling The Missing series. It's a paradox: When Jonah and Katherine find themselves on a mission to return Alexei and Anastasia Romanov to history and then save them from the Russian Revolution, they are at a loss. Because, in their own time, the bones of Alexei and Anastasia have been positively identified through DNA testing. What hope do they have of saving Alexis and Anastasia's lives when the twenty-first century has proof of their deaths?

Now that Pauline Esmeralda Simone-Thierry von Cant has been rescued from Castle Cant by her half-sister and former maidservant, Lucy, the real adventure begins. For there are forces that want to tear Pauline and Lucy apart. In their land, a war rages over chewing gum.

In 1925 Colorado, 14-year-old Ida Bidson dreams of becoming a teacher, but she knows it won’t be easy. When the school board closes the town’s one-room school, threatening to keep Ida from finishing eighth grade and moving on to high school, it looks like her dream will never come true. Then she and her classmates come up with a plan for a secret school - with Ida as their teacher!

In 1948 West Berlin, Mercedes and her mother rely on the noisy American planes that form a “sky bridge” into the city, bringing vital food and supplies. But the planes deliver more than flour, clothing, and coal. Every day, one special plane wiggles its wings, and its pilot drops small candy-filled parachutes for the children. How can Mercedes get the “Chocolate Pilot” to drop some candy just for her?

It is 1942, and 14-year-old Jill is spending the summer with her grandmother in the coastal village of Winter Haven, Maine. The U.S. is at war, and Jill hears rumors that German submarines - U-boats - are just off shore. Trying to ignore her fears, Jill notices suspicious activities in town. When she finds a carrier pigeon bearing the message Sonnabend iv, she's sure that something is wrong. The secret she uncovers will have her running for her life.

Joe Stoshack may be an awkward kid, but he knows baseball - and baseball cards. Since he was seven, he has been collecting them. So when his mother tells him he can earn five dollars by cleaning out an old lady's attic, Joe dreams of the cards he can buy.

When Joe Stoshack holds a baseball card, his hand starts to tingle. And if the card is old enough - like the rare Babe Ruth card his father gives him for his 12th birthday - Joe can travel back in time! One of baseball's greatest mysteries is whether or not the Babe actually called his fifth-inning home run in the 1932 World Series. With Joe's new card, he can solve that mystery once and for all. But when Joe and his father travel back in time, they find more than the answer to a baseball mystery.

Critically acclaimed author Margaret Peterson Haddix’s fourth tale from her popular Missing series finds Jonah and Katherine hurtled through time to 1611. Landing aboard Henry Hudson’s ship in James Bay just before a mutiny, Jonah and Katherine struggle to survive brutal weather conditions. They also realize something is wrong. A crucial person has vanished, and the history they remember is drastically different from what they’re experiencing. Will this new version of history replace the real past?

Henry has been deaf from an early age. He's intelligent and aware of language, but by age six, he has decided it's not safe to speak to strangers. When the time comes for him to start school, he is labeled "unteachable." Because his family has very little money, his parents and older sister, Molly, feel powerless to help him. Henry's sent to Riverview, a bleak institution where he is misunderstood, underestimated, and harshly treated. Victor, a conscientious objector to World War II, is part of a Civilian Public Service program and arrives at Riverview to serve as an attendant in 1942.

Award-winning author Jennifer Armstrong makes history come alive through the heartwarming tale of a 19th-century horse who demonstrates to children the importance of responsibility and duty. Even when Magnus the horse is told his services to the Broadway Firehouse are no longer needed, he continues appearing at the scenes of fires. Luckily for the townspeople and the firemen, Magnus turns up just when they need him the most.

As the saga of the Kelly children continues, Mike Kelly is adopted by a German immigrant farm family living in Missouri. Although they are kind to him, they are mainly interested in having cheap labor. Eleven-year-old Michael Patrick Kelly from New York City is sent to a foster home, a Missouri farm with a sadistic owner, a bullying son, and a number of secrets, one of which may be murder.