Tag Archives: historical fiction

The Other Side of the River by Alda P. Dobbs

This freshly imagined story of an immigrant girl, taking off from the author’s grandmother’s story, is filled with determination, hard-won joy, as well as hope and humor. Continue reading

Posted in Historical, Middle Grade, Print | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2+2 Cybils Graphic Novel Finalists

Here are reviews of four more outstanding 2021 Cybils Graphic Novel finalists – Cranky Chicken by Katherine Battersby, The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor, Cheer Up!: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Fraiser, and Nubia: Real One by L.L. McKinney and Robyn Smyth. Continue reading

Posted in Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Realistic, Reviews, Romance, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Remixed Classics: So Many Beginnings, Clash of Steel, and Travelers Along the Way

These first three books from Feiwel & Friends’ Remixed Classics series take the classics, still in their original time periods, and retell them from the point of view of people of color.  The first three include retellings of Little Women, Treasure Island, and Robin Hood – all fabulous. Continue reading

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The Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs

Moving, high-stakes middle grade historical fiction based on family history and set during Mexico’s civil war. Continue reading

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In the Dakotas: Apple in the Middle and Prairie Lotus

Here are two stories of girls growing up in the Dakotas – one modern and one in the past. Apple in the Middle by Dawn Quigley. NDSU, 2018. 9781946163073. Read from library copy. Dawn Quigley would have been one of … Continue reading

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Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens

This year I finally read all the books in this series that are available in the U.S.  I may have read this one over the summer and saved the review until it was more seasonally appropriate… what could go better … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Historical, Middle Grade, Mystery, Print | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

2019 Newberys: Merci Suárez Changes Gears and The Night Diary

Here are reviews of this year’s Newbery and Newbery honor books.  I had read just one of these when it first came out, The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.  And shout-out to my blogging friend Sondy at Sonderbooks, … Continue reading

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All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins and Paul O. Zelinksy.

Happy Hanukkah!  Here’s a quick break from my Cybils reviews for this beautiful new Hanukkah book. All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins and Paul O. Zelinksy. Schwartz & Wade Books/Penguin Random House, 2018. I remember finding and loving the All-of-a-Kind … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Historical, picture books, Print, Reviews | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee

More action-oriented historical fiction from the author of Under a Painted Sky. Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee. Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller. Print from Putnam, 2016. Audio from Tantor Audio. It’s San Francisco in 1906.  Our story starts on a … Continue reading

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Clayton Byrd Goes Underground

I loved Rita Williams-Garcia’s Gaither Sister trilogy, so of course I wanted to try her latest book, too. Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia. Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White. Amistad, 2017. Young Clayton loves hanging out with grandfather, Cool Papa, … Continue reading

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