[asingrey Posts: 50 Status: Offline]

Hi everyone,

I get a lot of time off over Christmas, and I'd love some good recommendations for middle grade historical fiction. Know of any good ones that have come out recently? I'm working on a list to buy or check out from the library to get some good reading in!

[annemleone Posts: 243 Status: Offline]

I'm totally enamored with Kate Milford's historical fantasies, though she is definitely upper MG.

[dewsanddamps Posts: 2,347 Status: Offline]

I love John Flanagan, though his books aren't set when he thinks they are. But if absolute historical accuracy isn't required, they're fun reads.

[mrh Posts: 4,797 Status: Offline www.marciahoehne.com WWW]

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz.

The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt.

These are my favorites. They're a few years old rather than brand-new releases.

[Mike Jung]

A lot of people consider Rita Williams-Garcia to be the gold standard.

[HaroldU Posts: 807 Status: Offline Exec. Editor, Kane Press WWW]

If you haven't read it yet--A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park.

[jancoates Posts: 131 Status: Offline Obsession? What obsession? WWW]

THE BLACKTHORN KEY (Kevin Sands, I think) - it's new, set in the 1600s, intricately plotted and researched, with a lot of MG appeal.

[wolfie712 Posts: 236 Status: Offline Teacher, Writer, Up-All-Nighter WWW]

I loved MOON OVER MANIFEST by Clare Vanderpool.

Jeannie Mobley's SEARCHING FOR SILVERHEELS is also excellent.  Both beautifully examine life in rural America during WWI.

[lauriew Posts: 153 Status: Offline WWW]

Wheels of Change by Darlene Beck-Jacobson

[ButterflyGirl Posts: 532 Status: Offline @kidlitSarah sarahfloydbooks.com]

One of my favorites is FEVER 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson. It's not a new release (2000), but it's so compelling and well written that I thought I would mention it, just in case you have not yet had a chance to read it.

[kateindc Posts: 11 Status: Offline WWW]

Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose is wonderful. Here's my review of it: http://www.kidbooklist.com/blue-birds-by-caroline-starr-rose/.

[Barbara Etlin Posts: 2,258 Status: Offline WWW]

THE WEDNESDAY WARS, by Gary D. Schmidt, is one of my favourites. Funny, tragic, full of heart. About the U.S. in 1967, with the repercussions of the Vietnam War in the background. (Newbery honor)

A SINGLE SHARD, Linda Sue Park (ancient Korea) (Newbery) Stunning writing. It made me cry.

QUEST, Kathleen Benner Duble (Canada, Henry Hudson's last voyage, 1610)

COUNTDOWN, Deborah Wiles (U.S. cold war era)

[asingrey Posts: 50 Status: Offline]

Thank you so much, everyone! You've given me a lot of wonderful recommendations! I ordered three of them on Amazon, and I'm sure I'll end up getting more.

[Claudine Gueh Posts: 65 Status: Offline WWW]

If you haven't read it yet--A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park.

Ooh yes, A SINGLE SHARD, and WHEN MY NAME WAS KEOKO, both by Linda Sue Park, are excellent. I'd recommend Karen Hesse's books, too, though these aren't recent MGs.

[Christine B. Posts: 368 Status: Offline WWW]

Many great suggestions above!

Also look at authors Karen Cushman and Avi.

[AmyD Posts: 148 Status: Offline WWW]

I just finished ECHO by Pam Munoz Ryan. It is kind of historical fiction meets magical realism, and I loved it.

[rab Posts: 541 Status: Offline WWW]

I loved Laura Amy Schlitz's new book, THE HIRED GIRL, set in 1911, first in rural and then urban America. I think it's being marketed as YA, but the main character is 14, and I've heard that 6th graders have enjoyed it. To me, it feels like upper-MG. One of the things I appreciated about it is that instead of making its characters feel too contemporary, it portrays a character with the prejudices of her time, She also struggles with her faith, something we don't see that often in MG (she's Catholic and works for a Jewish family, which creates some fascinating tension). Schlitz has won the Newbery in the past (for GOOD MASTERS, SWEET LADIES, and a Newbery Honor for SPLENDORS & GLOOMS, I think), and I keep hearing about this book as a contender for this year's medal.