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	<title>Great Books for Children &#187; Historical Fiction</title>
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		<title>For Kids Who Love History (or Wish they Could Fly)</title>
		<link>http://greatbooksforchildren.com/766/for-kids-who-love-history-or-wish-they-could-fly?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=for-kids-who-love-history-or-wish-they-could-fly</link>
		<comments>http://greatbooksforchildren.com/766/for-kids-who-love-history-or-wish-they-could-fly#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:30:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Smoore</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Historical Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Race for the Sky: The Kitty Hawk Diaries of Johnny Moore  (Simon and Schuster, 2003) is middle-grade historical fiction as it should be.  Author Dan Gutman takes the facts about Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers’ first flight, and weaves them into the journal entries of Johnny Moore, a boy who lived in Nags Head at the time and actually witnessed the first flight.  Through Johnny’s journal we learn all kinds of interesting details and facts, and Race for the Sky makes you see and understand how truly remarkable the Wright Brothers’ feat was. Here’s an excerpt from a conversation between Johnny and Wilbur Wright: “Are you a scientist?”  “No,” he says. “I operate a bicycle shop with my brother in Dayton, Ohio.”  He tells me that after the summer is over, not many folks in Ohio buy bicycles, so he’s got time to fool round with flyin’ machines and such. As he’s talkin’ I’m thinkin’ in my head, A BICYCLE SHOP?  He runs a bicycle shop, and this dingbatter thinks he’s gonna build a FLYIN’ MACHINE? . . . But I don’t say that. “You musta gone to some fancy college, eh?” I says. “The truth be told, I never [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Home on the Mississippi Delta:  Lynn Rubright&#8217;s Mama&#8217;s Window</title>
		<link>http://greatbooksforchildren.com/693/home-on-the-mississippi-delta-lynn-rubrights-mamas-window?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=home-on-the-mississippi-delta-lynn-rubrights-mamas-window</link>
		<comments>http://greatbooksforchildren.com/693/home-on-the-mississippi-delta-lynn-rubrights-mamas-window#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:44:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Smoore</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Historical Fiction]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Mama&#8217;s Window by Lynn Rubright (Lee and Low, 2005) tells the story of &#8220;Sugar&#8221; Martin, a young black boy who lives with his uncle in a Mississippi Delta swamp.  For as long as Sugar can remember, his mother has worked to raise funds for a stained glass window for the Sweet Kingdom Church.  Some think her idea is foolish, but she insists that the window is important, that beauty is important.  After his mother&#8217;s illness and death, Sugar clings to his mama&#8217;s dream.  When he discovers that the church has used the money to pay for bricks instead of a stained-glass window, he is broken-hearted.  Will mama&#8217;s dream ever be realized?  St. Louis storyteller Lynn Rubright does a wonderful job recreating early 20th century life on the swamps of the Mississippi Delta.  Loosely based on the childhood of minister and civil rights activist Owen Whitfield, Rubright&#8217;s story was inspired by her research for a documentary on the Missouri sharecropper protest of 1939 (which was organized by Whitfield).  I met Lynn Rubright at a recent Missouri SCBWI conference, and found her warm, funny, and utterly charming.  Her novel also charms with a sweet tale of family, hope, courage, and generosity.]]></description>
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		<title>Steampunk Fiction for Middle Schoolers:  Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld</title>
		<link>http://greatbooksforchildren.com/660/steampunk-fiction-for-middle-schoolers-leviathan-by-scott-westerfeld?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=steampunk-fiction-for-middle-schoolers-leviathan-by-scott-westerfeld</link>
		<comments>http://greatbooksforchildren.com/660/steampunk-fiction-for-middle-schoolers-leviathan-by-scott-westerfeld#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Apr 2010 01:09:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Smoore</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Action/Adventure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Historical Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science Fiction/Fantasy]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Special thanks to my son, co-writer of this blog entry. Steampunk fiction is a sub-genre of sci-fi &#8220;set in an era or world where steam power is widely used&#8221; (wikipedia).  Think 19th century Victorian England with a fantasy/sci-fi twist.  Scott Westerfeld&#8217;s steampunk novel Leviathan  (Simon &#38; Schuster, 2009) is set during the beginning of World War I, and follows many of the historical events of World War I.  A big part of what makes this novel so interesting is that it mirrors familiar events yet turns them on their head with imaginative techno-creativity.  Young Prince Aleks, son of Archduke Ferdinand, must flee for his life after his parents are assassinated.   He makes his escape to Switzerland in a steam-powered &#8220;Stormwalker,&#8221; a vehicle similar to a Star War&#8217;s AT-ST:                                                                    Deryn, the female protagonist, lives in England, a &#8220;Darwinist Power&#8221; which uses genetically altered animals to double as weapons.  For example, they have genetically altered whales so they can be used as giant airships&#8211;hence the name Leviathan.  Deryn wants to join the Air Corps which is barred to females so he disguises herself as a boy, gets accepted, and proves to be a top notch flyer.  Deryn is soon entrusted with a secret mission, which grinds to [...]]]></description>
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		<title>A Gift after World War II:  Boxes for Katje</title>
		<link>http://greatbooksforchildren.com/478/a-gift-after-world-war-ii-boxes-for-katje?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=a-gift-after-world-war-ii-boxes-for-katje</link>
		<comments>http://greatbooksforchildren.com/478/a-gift-after-world-war-ii-boxes-for-katje#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:20:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Smoore</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Friendship Stories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Historical Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Picture Books]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[What if your family had no soap, milk, sugar or shoes?  Such is the case for Katje and her family in Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Stacey Dressen-McQueen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003).  Set in Holland just after World War II, Katje and her little town of Olst are struggling to get by.  Katje is thrilled when one spring morning she gets a surprise package from America, &#8220;the land of plenty.&#8221;  The box contains a cake of soap, a pair of wool socks, a chocolate bar, and a letter:  &#8220;Dear Dutch Friend, I hope these gifts brighten your day.  Your American Friend, Rosie Johnson.&#8221;  Katje is so excited to have these three treasures.  How long it has been since she&#8217;s had nice soap, warm feet, and any chocolate or sweets (that will make kids think).  Although Katje is tempted to keep the bounty for herself, she quickly decided to share.  Katje writes a thank you note to Rosie and soon they are pen pals.  Each note of Katje&#8217;s leads to another precious package from Rosie.  When winter comes, it is &#8220;snow-deep and bitter cold, the worst winter anyone could remember.  The townspeople of Olst layered whatever clothing they had.  They huddled close to their small fires, [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Slavery in America:  Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson</title>
		<link>http://greatbooksforchildren.com/191/slavery-in-america-chains-by-laurie-halse-anderson?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=slavery-in-america-chains-by-laurie-halse-anderson</link>
		<comments>http://greatbooksforchildren.com/191/slavery-in-america-chains-by-laurie-halse-anderson#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:59:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Smoore</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Historical Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[YA (Young Adult)]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Like historical fiction?  Then try Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (Simon &#38; Schuster, 2008).  It looks at slavery from a different vantage point, that of the American Revolutionary War. With their mother dead and their father sold long ago, thirteen year old Isabel and her younger sister Ruth are slaves at the mercy of their mistress in Rhode Island.  Although she promised to free the children after her death, their mistress&#8217; greedy relative sells them to a cold, cruel family.  They arrive with their new masters, the Locktons of New York, just prior to the city&#8217;s siege and occupation by the British.  Since Isabel&#8217;s new master is a powerful and wealthy Loyalist, Isabel is asked to spy for the Patriots.  She does this thinking that she will then be freed as a reward for her information.  But Isabel soon discovers that the principles of freedom, liberty, and justice that the Patriots speak of so fervently don&#8217;t apply to her.  Isabel has to decide&#8211;should she support the Revolution?  The perspective in this book is fascinating.  I often think of slavery as a &#8220;Southern thing,&#8221; forgetting how widespread it was in the North.  In the appendix, Anderson points out that in 1771 [...]]]></description>
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