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Recommendations based on The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963by Christopher Paul Curtis
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Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
A young boy searches for his father during the Great Depression, encountering adventure and unexpected kindness along the way.
The story opens with Bud being placed with a new foster family, the Amoses'. Bud soon meets Todd Amos, their 12-year-old son, who teases him mercilessly and calls him Buddy. After a fight with Todd, ... (Wikipedia)
Esperanza Rising
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
A young girl from a wealthy Mexican family is forced to flee to California during the Great Depression and learns to adapt to a new life as a farm worker.
Esperanza is a child in Aguascalientes , Mexico, daughter of wealthy landowner Sixto Ortega. She lives on her family's ranch, El Rancho de la Rosas, with her mother, father, and grandmother Abuelita. ... (Wikipedia)
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
A girl's journey of self-discovery and healing, as she finds friendship in an unlikely companion.
Kate DiCamillo's beloved, best-selling debut novel is now available in a paperback digest edition. Kate DiCamillo's first published novel, like Winn-Dixie himself, immediately proved to be a keeper—a ... (Goodreads)
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs
by Jon Scieszka
A humorous reimagining of the classic fairy tale, as told from the wolf's side of the story.
You thought you knew the story of the “The Three Little Pigs”… You thought wrong. In this hysterical and clever fracture fairy tale picture book that twists point of view and perspective, young ... (Goodreads)
One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
A young girl's summer adventure in Oakland, California, as she learns about her family's past.
Delphine, aged eleven, Vonetta, nine, and Fern, seven, live with their father and grandmother in Brooklyn , New York. However, the girls’ father sends them to Oakland, California one summer to stay ... (Wikipedia)
Elijah of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
A young boy's adventures in a pre-Civil War free-town, learning the true meaning of freedom.
Newbery Medalist and CSK Award winner Christopher Paul Curtis's debut middle-grade/young-YA novel for Scholastic features his trademark humor, compelling storytelling, and unique narrative voice. ... (Goodreads)
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad
by Ellen Levine
A slave's courageous escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad.
A stirring, dramatic story of a slave who mails himself to freedom by a Jane Addams Peace Award-winning author and a Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist. Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. ... (Barnes & Noble)
Maniac Magee
by Jerry Spinelli
A young orphan boy, Jeffrey Lionel Magee, becomes a legend in a racially divided town by bringing people together through his incredible feats of athleticism and kindness.
Jeffrey Lionel Magee's parents were killed in a trolley accident when a drunk driver crashed and sunk it into the river in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania , orphaning him at age three. After living with his ... (Wikipedia)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle
A caterpillar's journey of growth and transformation to becoming a butterfly.
THE all-time classic story, from generation to generation, sold somewhere in the world every 30 seconds! Have you shared it with a child or grandchild in your life? One sunny Sunday, the caterpillar ... (Goodreads)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred D. Taylor
A family's story of struggle and survival during the Great Depression in the segregated American South.
Nine-year-old Cassie Logan is walking to school with her siblings Stacey (twelve years old), Christopher-John (seven years old), and Little Man,(six years old), in rural Mississippi . Cassie talks ... (Wikipedia)
One False Note
by Gordon Korman
Young sleuths solve a centuries-old mystery of a missing musical masterpiece.
Dan, Amy, and their au pair Nellie, found music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the end of The Maze of Bones, leading them to Vienna, Austria, to learn about him and find a related clue. In Vienna, Amy ... (Wikipedia)
The Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo
An epic adventure of an unlikely hero, on a quest to save his kingdom and restore justice.
A noble mouse named Despereaux saves a princess named Princess Pea. Book one tells a story about a small, sickly mouse named Despereaux who was born in a castle with his eyes open. Despereaux, unlike ... (Wikipedia)
Thank You, Mr. Falker
by Patricia Polacco
A young girl struggles with dyslexia until a teacher helps her learn to read, changing her life forever.
The real-life, classic story of a dyslexic girl and the teacher who would not let her fail. A perfect gift for teachers and for reading students of any age. Patricia Polacco is now one of America's ... (Goodreads)
A Year Down Yonder
by Richard Peck
Young girl moves to her grandmother's for a year, discovering life's hard lessons and unexpected joys.
The year is 1938, and the Great Depression has hit the Dowdel family hard. 15-year-old Mary Alice is sent downstate to live with Grandma Dowdel while her mother and father remain in Chicago. Her ... (Wikipedia)
Wemberly Worried
by Kevin Henkes
Wemberly worries about everything, from big to small. But with the help of her family and friends, she learns to overcome her fears.
Wemberly worried about everything. Big things. Little things. And things in between. Then it was time for school to start. And Wemberly worried even more. If you ever worry (or know someone who ... (Goodreads)
Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls
A young boy embarks on an adventure with his beloved hunting dogs, learning valuable life lessons.
An old man named Billy Colman rescues a redbone hound under attack by neighborhood dogs. He takes it home with him so that its wounds can heal. In light of this event, he has a flashback to when he ... (Wikipedia)
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
A young girl embarks on a road trip with her grandparents to find her missing mother, while reflecting on her own life and relationships.
The novel is narrated by a 13-year-old girl named Salamanca (Sal). Sal's mother has recently left Sal's father, and Sal's grandparents are taking her on a cross-country car trip to Lewiston, Idaho to ... (Wikipedia)
Kitten's First Full Moon
by Kevin Henkes
A young kitten's misadventure when she mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk.
The nationally bestselling picture book about a kitten, the moon, and a bowl of milk, written by the celebrated author and illustrator Kevin Henkes, was awarded a Caldecott Medal. From one of the ... (Goodreads)
Milkweed
by Jerry Spinelli
A story of a Jewish orphan’s survival in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation.
He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham. He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a ... (Goodreads)
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
by Kate DiCamillo
Edward, a china rabbit, embarks on a journey of self-discovery, learning the power of love.
Edward Tulane is a china rabbit given to a ten-year-old girl named Abilene , by her grandmother in the 1930s. He enjoys a pleasant but vain life with his young mistress, who treats him with the ... (Wikipedia)
The Kissing Hand
by Audrey Penn
A young raccoon learns to cope with the anxiety of being away from home with the help of his mother's comforting kiss.
School is starting in the forest, but Chester Raccoon does not want to go. To help ease Chester's fears, Mrs. Raccoon shares a family secret called the Kissing Hand to give him the reassurance of her ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
An orphaned boy's journey to unravel the secrets of a mechanical man and find his place in the world.
In 1930s Paris, young Hugo Cabret and his father repair an automaton at the museum where his father works. When Hugo's father dies in a fire, his uncle brings him to live and work at the train ... (Wikipedia)
The Sword Thief
by Peter Lerangis
Dan and Amy Cahill race against time to find a stolen sword that could change history. The fate of the world is at stake.
Ian and Natalie Kabra steal Amy and Dan Cahill's boarding pass in Venice airport, their au pair, Nellie Gomez, is already on the plane. Amy and Dan are then forced to team up with Alistair Oh, their ... (Wikipedia)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
A young Native American boy's struggles to survive in a difficult world.
The book follows a fourteen-year-old boy living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation near Wellpinit, Washington for a school year. It is told in episodic diary style, moving from the ... (Wikipedia)
Beyond the Grave
by Jude Watson
A group of teens with psychic abilities must solve a mystery involving a haunted house and a missing fortune.
Amy and Dan head for Cairo , Egypt , with their au pair Nellie Gomez, to find a clue, hidden by Ekaterina founder, Katherine Cahill. They were tailed by Irina Spasky , but escape to a store with an ... (Wikipedia)
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
A boy must learn to survive in the wilderness after a plane crash leaves him stranded.
Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old son of divorced parents. As he travels from Hampton, New York on a single engine Cessna bush plane to visit his father in the oil fields in Northern Canada for ... (Wikipedia)
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
by Judy Blume
A young girl's journey of self-discovery, navigating the transition from childhood to adolescence.
Margaret Simon is just eleven going on twelve when her family moves from New York City to Farbrook, New Jersey. Margaret's mother is Christian and her father is Jewish . Margaret has been raised ... (Wikipedia)
The Cay
by Theodore Taylor
A young boy and an elderly man, stranded on a small island, confront the challenges of survival together.
When World War II breaks out, 11-year-old Phillip Enright and his mother board the S.S. Hato to Virginia because his mother feels it is unsafe to stay in Curaçao with the German submarines ... (Wikipedia)
The Crossover
by Kwame Alexander
Two brothers explore the joys and struggles of adolescence through the power of basketball.
New York Times, bestseller ∙ Newbery Medal Winner ∙, Coretta Scott King Honor Award ∙,2015 YALSA 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults,∙, 2015 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers ... (Barnes & Noble)
Monster
by Walter Dean Myers
A young man's journey through the criminal justice system, and his struggle to find redemption.
The novel begins with 16-year-old Steve Harmon writing in his diary awaiting for his trial for murder . Musing on his short time in prison so far, he decides to record this upcoming experience in the ... (Wikipedia)
