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LAI
Inside Out and Back Again (age 8-11)
by Thanhha Lai
historical ... identity ... war
Publisher comments: No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama. For all the ten years of her life, Ha has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by, and the beauty of her very own papaya tree. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Ha and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Ha discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape, and the strength of her very own family. This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.
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BOR
The Greatest Skating Race: a World War II Story From the Netherlands (age 8-11)
by Louise Borden
adventure ... war ... survival ... sports ... historical
Publisher comments: "You're a strong skater, Piet, and you have a quick mind. This is why I know you'll succeed in this important task. I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't know it could be done." In 1941 Piet, a young Dutch boy from Sluis, gets the assignment of a lifetime: He must skate along the frozen canals of the Netherlands and across the Belgian border, in order to guide two neighborhood children to their aunt's house in Brugge, where the children will remain for the duration of World War II. Their father has been taken by German soldiers, and the children are no longer safe in Sluis -- but the journey with Piet, past soldiers and enemies, is fraught with danger. Along the treacherous path to Belgium the three children skate using every bit of speed, courage, and strength they can muster. All the time they try to appear like innocent schoolchildren simply out for a skate, for if the German soldiers discover their escape plan, the children will be in grave trouble. During the journey Piet thinks about his hero, Pim Mulier -- the first person to ever skate the Elfstedentocht, the famous and prestigious Eleven Towns Race that takes place in his country. For years Piet has dreamed of proving that he is a skater as brave and strong as Pim Mulier -- but he had never imagined that his test would fall under such dangerous circumstances.
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LIT
Willy and Max: a Holocaust Story (age 8-11)
by Amy Littlesugar
friendship ... historical ... war
Catalog: In Belgium during World War II, Willy becomes friends with Max and his Jewish family, and although they become separated, they remain related by a bond of friendship and a special painting.
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MCS
Snow Treasure (age 8-11)
by Marie McSwigan
war ... historical
Catalog: In 1940, when the Nazi invasion of Norway reaches their village in the far north, twelve-year-old Peter and his friends use their sleds to transport nine million dollars worth of gold bullion past the German soldiers to the secret harbor where Peter's uncle keeps his ship ready to take the gold for safekeeping in the United States.
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BER
Fight in the Mountains (age 8-11)
by Christian Bernhardsen
war ... historical
Two young brothers fight the Germans in Norway during World War II.
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BOR
Across the Blue Pacific: a World War II Story (age 8-11)
by Louise Borden
illness/loss ... war ... historical
When the United States enters World War II, Molly is attending Beechwood Elementary. But her thoughts are with Ted Walker, her neighbor, who is serving aboard a cruiser in the South Atlantic. Three years later, the war is still going on and Molly is in the fourth grade. Ted is still at sea, as a naval officer of the USS Albacore, a submarine in the Pacific Ocean. Orchard Road feels like the safest place on earth, but somewhere on the other side of the world, Ted and his crew are carrying out dangerous missions. No one knows when they will come home, and young Molly must find a way to live with fear during wartime.
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EDM
The Matchlock Gun (age 8-11)
by Walter D. Edmonds
war ... adventure ... historical
In 1756, during the French and Indian War in upper New York state, ten-year-old Edward is determined to protect his home and family with the ancient, and much too heavy, Spanish gun that his father had given him before leaving home to fight the enemy.
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COE
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (age 8-11)
by Eleanor Coerr
war ... folklore ... historical ... illness/loss
Publisher comments: When Hiroshima-born Sadako falls gravely ill with leukemia, she recalls a Japanese legend that holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again.
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BRA
One-of-a-kind Mallie (age 8-11)
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
war ... identity ... historical
Living in Indiana during World War I, ten-year-old Mallie longs to be seen as different from her identical twin and finds an example of individuality in the gypsies who moved into her community.
My Name Is America Series (age 8-11)
war ... identity ... letters/journal ... historical
Each volume in the My Name is America series recounts an exciting slice of life from America's history, told in the voice of a boy living in that time and place.
title: The Journal of Biddy Owens: the Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948 by Walter Dean Myers F MYE
title: The Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp, California, 1942 by Barry Denenberg F DEN
title: The Journal of Sean Sullivan: a Transcontinental Railroad Worker, Nebraska and Points West, 1867 by William Durbin F DUR
title: The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: a Pilgrim Boy, Plymouth 1620 by Ann Rinaldi F RIN
title: The Journal of Jesse Smoke: a Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838 by Joseph Bruchac F BRU
title: The Journal of William Thomas Emerson: a Revolutionary War Patriot, Boston, Massachusetts, 1774 by Barry Denenberg F DEN
title: The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: a World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944 by Walter Dean Myers F MYE
title: The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds: the Donner Party Expedition by Rodman Philbrick F PHI
Dear America Series (age 8-11)
war ... identity ... letters/journal ... historical
Each volume in the Dear America series recounts an exciting slice of life from America's history, told in the voice of a girl living in that time and place.
title: A Coal Miner's Bride: the Diary of Annetka Kaminski, Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896 by Susan Campbell Bartoletti F BAR
title: A Light in the Storm: the Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, Fenwick Island, Delaware, 1861 by Karen Hesse F HES
title: A Time for Courage: the Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C., 1917 by Kathryn Lasky F LAS
title: Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: the Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, Booneville, Missoura, 1847 by Kristiana Gregory F GRE
title: Color Me Dark: the Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the Great Migration North, Chicago, Illinois, 1919 by Patricia C. McKissack F MCK
title: Early Sunday Morning: the Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows, Hawaii, 1941 by Barry Denenberg F DEN
title: Christmas After All: the Diary of Minnie Swift by Kathryn Lasky F LAS
title: Seeds of Hope: the Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory, 1849 by Kristiana Gregory F GRE
title: I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: the Diary of Patsy,a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865 by Joyce Hansen F HAN
title: Land of the Buffalo Bones: the Diary of Mary Elizabeth Rodgers, an English Girl in Minnesota, New Yeovil, Minnesota, 1873 by Marion Dane Bauer F BAU
title: My Face to the Wind: the Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska, 1881 by Jim Murphy F MUR
title: My Secret War: the World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York, 1941 by Mary Pope Osborne F OSB
title: Standing in the Light: the Captive Diary of Catherine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763 by Mary Pope Osborne F OSB
title: The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: the Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864 by Ann Turner F TUR
title: Voyage on the Great Titanic: the Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic, 1912 by Ellen Emerson White F WHI
title: When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: the Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864 by Barry Denenberg F DEN
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SOR
Miracles on Maple Hill (age 8-11)
by Virginia Sorensen
war ... adventure ... family
After her father returns from the war moody and tired, Marly's family decides to move from the city to Maple Hill Farm in the Pennsylvania countryside where they share many adventures which help restore their spirits and their bond with each other.
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GIF
Lily's Crossing (age 8-11)
by Patricia Reilly Giff
war ... illness/loss ... friendship ... historical
Every summer Lily and her father go to her family's house in Rockaway, near the Atlantic Ocean. But the summer of 1944 is different. World War II has called Lily's father overseas, Lily's best friend Margaret had to move with her family to a wartime factory town, and Lily is forced to live with her grandmother. But then a boy named Albert, a refugee from Hungary, comes to live in Rockaway. He has lost most of his family to the war. Soon he and Lily form a special friendship, and they have secrets to share. But they have both told lies, and Lily's lie may cost Albert his life.

Fairmeadow Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:30 2012
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