Tag: historical

cover of War Games
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

War Games

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

War Games (Scholastic Press, 2025) by Alan Gratz is more fictional than his usual historicals, but it is good nevertheless.

Thirteen-year-old gymnast Evie is in Berlin for the 1936 Olympic games and is determined to bring home a gold medal to help her displaced “Okie” family. But a mysterious note to help her “take home the gold” and tell no one, leads her on an adventure where she experiences what Hitler doesn’t want the Olympians to see.

Make sure you read the author’s note at the end.

Check out the bestselling author here and discover his other novels here. Alan also writes graphic novels and short fiction.

My previous recommendations of books by Alan include: Ban this Book and Allies.

cover of The Lost Year
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Lost Year

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The Lost Year (Roaring Brook Press, 2023) by Katherine Marsh is a really good historical about the Holodomor (the Ukraine famine tragedy in the 1930s), and is also set at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic. With Ukraine and Russia and immigration being in the news, this book is very timely. The story is told in multiple points of view.

It’s the pandemic and thirteen-year-old Matthew’s reporter father is in France and can’t come home. All Matthew can do is online school, help Mom with his great grandmother, and not see his friends or go anywhere. When Mom takes away his Switch, she makes him help GG sort out the boxes in her room. It’s not easy going, since GG periodically tells him to “get out,” but as he starts learning family history, secrets are revealed.

We meet three cousins: Nadiya, Mila, and Helen.

This book was inspired by Marsh’s own family history and is a National Book Award Finalist, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the 21st Century, Winner of the Jane Addams, Golden Kite and New York Historical Society Awards and on 28 state lists. I hope you get to read it.

Here’s a video about Katherine’s family. Read about the author here and see her other books here. I’ve read two of her books before and see others I need to read.

cover of Not Lucile
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Not Lucille

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

It took me a bit to get into Not Lucille (Creative James Media, 2025) by Mike Steele, but I was glad I persisted with this historical novel from the 1930s. Lucy is such a sympathetic character.

Ten-year-old Lucy Contento’s fifth grade year is not going well. She talks too much. She doesn’t pay attention. And she can’t write with her left hand. Plus, her teacher hates her. But her new friend Florence, who’s deaf, is the best–even if she does encourage Lucy to write right handed. Just if Lucy didn’t have to be disobeying her parents by trespassing and lying to spend time with Florence.

I love how Lucy is learning sign language so she and Florence can talk easier. What she wants most is an American Sign Language dictionary, but with Dad out of work, money’s another problem.

The inside look into history before people understood how different brains work and that left-handedness was wrong is such a good topic.

I also really enjoyed the back matter. I had no clue how long it was before an ASL dictionary was created. (Life for Florence reminded me of the experiences of the son in the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus.)

Read about the author here.

cover of Elsetime
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Elsetime

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Elsetime (Everything with Words, 2020) by Eve McDonnell is a fascinating historical set in two time periods (1864 and 1928) with time travel, and was inspired by the 1928 Great Flood of London.

First we meet orphaned Glory, an eleven-year-old looking for a job, who is dressing up to look older. She’s been expelled from school because of her wooden hand–it would be a waste to educate her. But not only is she determined to get a job, she plans to own an emporium someday. Meanwhile, she and her older sister must earn enough to keep the landlord at bay.

Then the story switches to Needle, also eleven, whose father is missing. A mudlark who digs up lost treasures at the river’s edge, Needle senses the story behind each piece. He takes his found bits and pieces and makes beautiful things to sell so he and his mother can survive.

What connects them? A crow named Magpie and a list of who will die in the flood.

The novel has won awards: Winner Children’s Book Award (pre-publication) Wells Festival of Literature 2017,  Book of the Year 2020: Halfway Up Books, and  Children’s Book of the Year 2020: Bridge Street Books.

Read about this Irish author here and check out her other books here. Eve is also an artist!

cover of Dead Man's Hand in front of the two books that follow this one
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Abilene Kid: Dead Man’s Hand

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The Abilene Kid: Dead Man’s Hand (Wise Wolf Books, 2025) by John V. Madormo was a fun time travel western! (Another MMGM blogger recently shared this book and it sounded so interesting I had to read it. Thanks, Rosi Hollinbeck!)

Twelve-year-old Dominick is obsessed with the Old West. So much so that when he writes about “The Most Influential Person in His Life” he chooses “Lone Wolf” Malone, a sheriff from the time period. His teacher is not amused.

Then a book in the library transports Dominick to 1888 Abilene, Kansas and he gets to see what it’s really like living there. Under the name, Pete Moss, he becomes an apprentice to the local sheriff, Lone Wolf himself, and wants to warn him about his upcoming death, but the sheriff won’t listen.

This is the first book in a four volume series. The Abilene Kid: The Boot Hill Curse and The Abilene Kid: Sacred Relics are already out. But the fourth book is only available for preorder.

Read about the author here and read log lines about some of his books here. (This might be helpful for writers writing their own.)