Children's Fiction Set in the Great Depression
Aaron, Chester. Lackawanna. New York: J.B. Lippincott, 1986. Willy is abandoned by his family during the Depression and joins a group of train-hopping children, one of whom is kidnapped by a hobo.
Ayres, Katherine. Macaroni Boy. New York: Delacourte Press, 2003. In 1933 Pittsburgh, sixth-grader Mike solves a mystery involving the class bully.
Blackwood, Gary L. Moonshine. Tarrytown, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish, 1999. Thad keeps secret the fact that the extra money he is earning comes from selling bootleg whiskey for a local moonshiner.
Cummings, Priscilla. Saving Grace. New York: Dutton's Chlldren's Books, 2003. In 1932, Grace and her younger brothers are sent to a mission when the family is evicted from their apartment.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. New York: Yearling, 1999. Bud runs away from his abusive foster home and searches for his father, whom he thinks is jazz great Cab Calloway. Newbery Award winner.
DeFelice, Cynthia C. Nowhere to Call Home. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1999. After twelve-year-old Frances' father loses his money in the stock market crash and commits suicide, she has to move in with a stern aunt, but she disguises herself as a boy and hops a freight to embark on a life as a hobo.
Holm, Jennifer L. Turtle in Paradise. New York: Random House, 2010. Eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to live with relatives in Florida when her mother takes a job as a live-in housekeeper in 1935.
Janke, Katelan. Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards. New York: Scholastic, 2002. A twelve-year-old-girl keeps a journal of life on the Texas Panhandle, which was part of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression.
Peck, Richard. A Long Way From Chicago. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1998. Joey and Mary Alice visit their eccentric grandmother every summer from 1919 to 1935, always with hilarious results. A Newbery Honor Book.
Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York: Dial Press, 1976. A black family living in the south during the 1930s faces discrimination. Newbery Award winner.
Willis, Patricia. The Barn Burner. New York: Clarion Books, 2000. In 1933, fourteen-year-old Ross is a drifter, hopping freights and sleeping in barns. When he's seen running from a burning barn, he is accused of arson and must hide while he searches for the real arsonist.
Ayres, Katherine. Macaroni Boy. New York: Delacourte Press, 2003. In 1933 Pittsburgh, sixth-grader Mike solves a mystery involving the class bully.
Blackwood, Gary L. Moonshine. Tarrytown, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish, 1999. Thad keeps secret the fact that the extra money he is earning comes from selling bootleg whiskey for a local moonshiner.
Cummings, Priscilla. Saving Grace. New York: Dutton's Chlldren's Books, 2003. In 1932, Grace and her younger brothers are sent to a mission when the family is evicted from their apartment.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. New York: Yearling, 1999. Bud runs away from his abusive foster home and searches for his father, whom he thinks is jazz great Cab Calloway. Newbery Award winner.
DeFelice, Cynthia C. Nowhere to Call Home. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1999. After twelve-year-old Frances' father loses his money in the stock market crash and commits suicide, she has to move in with a stern aunt, but she disguises herself as a boy and hops a freight to embark on a life as a hobo.
Holm, Jennifer L. Turtle in Paradise. New York: Random House, 2010. Eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to live with relatives in Florida when her mother takes a job as a live-in housekeeper in 1935.
Janke, Katelan. Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards. New York: Scholastic, 2002. A twelve-year-old-girl keeps a journal of life on the Texas Panhandle, which was part of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression.
Peck, Richard. A Long Way From Chicago. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1998. Joey and Mary Alice visit their eccentric grandmother every summer from 1919 to 1935, always with hilarious results. A Newbery Honor Book.
Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York: Dial Press, 1976. A black family living in the south during the 1930s faces discrimination. Newbery Award winner.
Willis, Patricia. The Barn Burner. New York: Clarion Books, 2000. In 1933, fourteen-year-old Ross is a drifter, hopping freights and sleeping in barns. When he's seen running from a burning barn, he is accused of arson and must hide while he searches for the real arsonist.
Children's Fiction About Immigrants After the Turn of the 20th Century
Armstrong, Jennifer. Theodore Roosevelt: Letters from a Young Coal Miner. Del Rey Beach, Florida: Winslow Press, 2001. In 1901, thirteen-year-old Franck Kovacs, a Polish immigrant working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, begins a correspondence with President Roosevelt.
Auch, Mary Jane. Ashes of Roses. New York: H. Holt, 2002. Sixteen-year-old Margaret Rose, newly arrived from Ireland in 1911, gets a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory shortly before the fire that killed 146 workers.
Durbin, William. The Journal of Otto Peltonen, a Finnish Immigrant. New York: Scholastic, 2000. Fifteen-year-old Otto travels from Finland to Minnesota in 1905 to join his father in the mines, and becomes involved in a union fight to improve working conditions.
Gundisch, Karin. How I Became an American. Chicago: Cricket Books, 2001. Ten-year-old Johann's family travels from Austria-Hungary to American in 1902 to join his father, who is working in the steel mills in Ohio.
Auch, Mary Jane. Ashes of Roses. New York: H. Holt, 2002. Sixteen-year-old Margaret Rose, newly arrived from Ireland in 1911, gets a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory shortly before the fire that killed 146 workers.
Durbin, William. The Journal of Otto Peltonen, a Finnish Immigrant. New York: Scholastic, 2000. Fifteen-year-old Otto travels from Finland to Minnesota in 1905 to join his father in the mines, and becomes involved in a union fight to improve working conditions.
Gundisch, Karin. How I Became an American. Chicago: Cricket Books, 2001. Ten-year-old Johann's family travels from Austria-Hungary to American in 1902 to join his father, who is working in the steel mills in Ohio.
Children's Fiction Set During World War I
Jones, Elizabeth McDavid. The Night Flyers. Middleton, Wisc: American Girl, 1999. In 1918, 12-year-old Pamela cares for her family's homing pigeons while her father is away fighting in World War I; she suspects that a mysterious stranger in her small town may be a German spy.
Larson, Kirby. Hattie Big Sky. New York: Scholastic, 2006. In 1917, sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks leaves Iowa to start a new life in Montana and finds that World War I touches her life in many ways. Newbery Honor Book.
Levine, Beth Seiderl. When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer. New York: Scholastic, 2002. Simone goes from carefree society girl to volunteer switchboard operator for the Army Signal Corps in France.
Lindquist, Susan Hart. Summer Soldiers. New York: Delacourte Press, 1999. After his father goes off to war during the summer of 1918, eleven-year-old Joe and his friends have to deal with town bullies.
Larson, Kirby. Hattie Big Sky. New York: Scholastic, 2006. In 1917, sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks leaves Iowa to start a new life in Montana and finds that World War I touches her life in many ways. Newbery Honor Book.
Levine, Beth Seiderl. When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer. New York: Scholastic, 2002. Simone goes from carefree society girl to volunteer switchboard operator for the Army Signal Corps in France.
Lindquist, Susan Hart. Summer Soldiers. New York: Delacourte Press, 1999. After his father goes off to war during the summer of 1918, eleven-year-old Joe and his friends have to deal with town bullies.
Orphan Trains, Influenza, Prohibition and the Klan
Buchanan, Jane. Gratefully Yours. New York: Puffin Books, 1997. In 1923, nine-year-year old Hattie rides the orphan train from New York to Nebraska, where whe must adjust to life on a farm.
Hesse, Karen. Witness. New York: Scholastic, 2001. The Ku Klux Klan attempts to infiltrate a small Vermont town during Prohibition.
Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie. A Doctor Like Papa. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. When the influenza epidemic of 1918 comes to Vermont, eleven-year-old Margaret finds out what being a doctor is like.
Nixon, Joan Lowry. David's Search. New York: Delacourte Press, 1998. Eleven-year-old David rides the orphan train and settles with a strict Texas family, but soon finds his best friend threatened by the Ku Klux Klan. Orphan Train Children #4.
Williams, Sarah DeFord. Palace Beautiful. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2010. After her 1985 move to New York City, thirteen-year-old Sadie finds a journal in the attic and, along with her sister and her new friend, she reads about the influenza epidemic of 1918.
Hesse, Karen. Witness. New York: Scholastic, 2001. The Ku Klux Klan attempts to infiltrate a small Vermont town during Prohibition.
Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie. A Doctor Like Papa. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. When the influenza epidemic of 1918 comes to Vermont, eleven-year-old Margaret finds out what being a doctor is like.
Nixon, Joan Lowry. David's Search. New York: Delacourte Press, 1998. Eleven-year-old David rides the orphan train and settles with a strict Texas family, but soon finds his best friend threatened by the Ku Klux Klan. Orphan Train Children #4.
Williams, Sarah DeFord. Palace Beautiful. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2010. After her 1985 move to New York City, thirteen-year-old Sadie finds a journal in the attic and, along with her sister and her new friend, she reads about the influenza epidemic of 1918.