Alter, Robert Edmund. Two Sieges of the Alamo. 1965. 192p. Francis Tackett and his three companions join the Texan Army and take part in the first siege of the Alamo. Best suited for 6th grade and up.

Anderson, Joan. 1787: a novel. 1987. 200p. As James Madison's aide during the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, young Jared Mifflin experiences a summer filled with adventure, intrigue, and romance. Best suited for 6th grade and up.

Armstrong, Jennifer. Steal Away. 1992. 206p. In 1855 two thirteen-year-old girls, one white, one black, run away from a Southern farm and make the difficult journey north to freedom, living to recount their story 41 years later to two similar young girls.

Auch, Mary Jane. Journey to Nowhere. 1997. 202p. In 1815, while traveling by covered wagon to settle in the wilderness of western New York, eleven-year-old Mem experiences a flood and separation from her family.

Avi. Captain Grey. 1993. 141p. Following the Revolution, an eleven-year-old boy becomes the captive of a ruthless man who has set up his own "nation," supported by piracy, on a remote part of the New Jersey coast. Best for grade 6 and up.

Avi. The Man Who Was Poe. 1989. 205p. In 1848, Edgar Allan Poe reluctantly investigates the problems of eleven-year-old Edmund, whose family has mysteriously disappeared and whose story suggests a new Poe tale with a ghastly final twist. Best for grade 6 and up.

Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle . 1990. 215p. As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious. This story will probably appeal to 5th graders and up.

Blos, Joan. A Gathering of Days. 1978. 144p. A fictional diary kept by 13-year-old Catherine Cabot who is growing up in the town of Meredith, New Hampshire. Newbery Award Winner, 1979.

Bulla, Clyde Robert. Riding the Pony Express. 1948. 95p. Eleven-year-old Dick goes out West in 1860 to join his father who works for the Pony Express. This is a great book for grades 2-4.

Byars, Betsy. Trouble River. 1969. 158p. When he builds his raft, a 12 year old boy never dreams that it will serve as the sole means of escape for himself and his grandmother when hostile Indians threaten their prairie cabin.

Carbone, Elisa. Stealing Freedom. 1998. 258p. A novel based on the events in the life of a young slave girl from Maryland who endures all kinds of mistreatment and cruelty, including being separated from her family, but who eventually escapes to freedom in Canada.

Charbonneau, Eileen. Honor to the Hills. 1996. 192p. When the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 is passed, fifteen-year-old Lily Woods is horrified to witness the capture of her friend, a free African-American woman, by bounty hunters who would force her into slavery.

Collier, James Lincoln. Jump Ship to Freedom. 1981. 198p. In 1781 a 14-year-old slave, anxious to buy freedom for himself and his mother, escapes from his dishonest master and tries to find help in cashing the soldier's notes received by his father for fighting in the Revolution.

Collier, James Lincoln. Who is Carrie? 1984. 60p. A young black girl living in New York City in the late 18th century, observes the historic events taking place around her and at the same time solves the mystery of her own identity.

Cushman, Karen. The Ballad of Lucy Whipple. 1996. 195p. In 1849, a twelve-year-old girl who calls herself Lucy is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a small California mining town, where Lucy helps run a rough boarding house and looks for comfort in books while trying to find a way to get "home."

DeFelice, Cynthia. The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker. 1996. 151p. After his family dies of consumption in 1849, twelve-year-old Lucas becomes a doctor's apprentice.

Denenberg, Barry. So far from home: the diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl. 1997. 166p. In the diary account of her journey from Ireland in 1847 and of her work in a mill in Lowell, Massachusetts, 14 year old Mary reveals a great longing for her family.

Duey, Kathleen. Anisett Lundberg: California, 1851. The small piece of gold which Anisett carries in her pocket causes grave danger for her family living in the rough world of the California gold camps. For ages 8 and up.

Duey, Kathleen. Celou Sudden Shout: Idaho, 1826. 1998. 152p. In 1827 in Idaho twelve-year-old Celou Sudden Shout, who is half French and half Shoshone, attempts to rescue her mother and two younger brothers from the Crow warriors who have kidnapped them. For ages 8 and up.

Duey, Kathleen. Evie Peach: St. Louis, 1857. 1997. 143p. Emancipated by their owner's will. thirteen-year-old Evie and her father struggle to gain Mama's freedom and to make a home for themselves in the pre-Civil War South. For ages 8 and up.

Eitzen, Ruth. The White Feather. 1987. 63p. This easy-to-read book with color illustrations is the story of a Quaker family living in Ohio in the 1800's that makes peace with a Shawnee Indian tribe during a very troubled time. Good for grades K-3.

Fleischman, Sid. Bandit's Moon. 1998. 136p. Twelve-year-old Annyrose relates her adventures with Joaquín Murieta and his band of outlaws in the California gold-mining region during the mid-1800s.

Fleischman, Sid. By the Great Horn Spoon! 1963. 193p. In this swash-buckling tale of the Old West, orphaned Jack Flagg stows away on a ship leaving Boston and heading to California.

Fleischman, Sid. The Borning Room. 1991. 101p. Lying at the end of her life in the room where she was born in 1851, Georgina remembers what it was like to grow up on the Ohio frontier. For ages 11 and up.

Fritz, Jean. The Cabin Faced West. 1958. 124p. Ten-year-old Ann overcomes loneliness and learns to appreciate the importance of her role in settling the wilderness of western Pennsylvania.

Gregory, Kristiana. Across the wide and Lonesome Prairie: the Oregon Trail diary of Hattie Campbell. 1997. 168p. In her diary, 13-year-old Hattie chronicles her family's arduous 1847 journey from Missouri to Oregon on the Oregon Trail.

Harrell, Beatrice O. Longwalker's journey: a novel of the Choctaw trail of tears. 1999. 132p. When the government removes their tribe from their sacred homeland in 1831, ten-year-old Minko and his father endure terrible hardships on their journey from Mississippi to Oklahoma, where Minko receives the name Longwalker. Best for 5th grade and up.

Henry, Marguerite. Justin Morgan had a horse. 1954. 172p. This is the story of an unusual work horse raised in Vermont who became the foundation sire of a famous American breed--the Morgan.

Henry, Marguerite. San Domingo: the medicine hat stallion. 1972. 230p. In pre-Civil War Wyoming, a teenager's life is complicated when his strangely hostile father trades the boy's beloved horse to the pony express.

Hotze, Sollace. A Circle Unbroken. 1988. 202p. Captured by a roving band of Sioux Indians and brought up as the chief's daughter, Rachel is recaptured by her white family and finds it difficult to adjust, as she longs to return to the tribe. Best for 6th grade and up.

Hurmence, Belinda. A Girl Called Boy. 1982. 168p. A pampered young black girl who has been mysteriously transported back to the days of slavery, struggles to escape her bondage.

Kissinger, Rosemary K. Quanah Parker, Comanche Chief. 1991. 136p. A fictionalized biography of the last great Comanche chief, who was the son of a Comanche chief and Cynthia Ann Parker, a white settler abducted by the Comanches as a child.

Lampman, Evelyn Sibley. Bargain Bride. 1977. 180p. Because married settlers could claim twice the land of a bachelor, orphaned Ginny was married when she was ten-years-old. Now fifteen, her husband comes to claim her. Ages 12 and up.

Lampman, Evelyn Sibley. White Captives. 1975. 181p. The fictional story of Olive Oatman's 5 years as a captive, first of the Apaches, and later the Mohaves. Best for ages 12 and up.

Lasky, Kathryn. True North: a novel of the underground railroad. 1996. 258p. Because of the strong influence which her grandfather, an abolitionist, has in her life, fourteen-year-old Lucy assists a fugitive slave girl in her escape. Best for ages 12 and up.

Lawson, John. If pigs could fly. 1989. 135p. Morgan James, on his way to find a pracher so he can marry Annabel Lee, finds himself involved in a series of events climaxing with helping General Andrew Jackson win an important battle against the British at New Orleans in 1814.

Lowery, Joan Lowery. A Family Apart. (Orphan Train Quartet) 1987. 162p. This is the first of a series. When their mother can no longer support them, six siblings are sent by the Children's Aid Society of New York City to live with farm families in Missouri in 1860.

MacBride, Roger Lea. Little Farm in the Ozarks. 1994. 286p. Laura and Almanzo Wilder and their eight-year-old daughter Rose continue to work and make Rocky Ridge Farm in Missouri their new home.

MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall. 1985. 58p. When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anne are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay. There's a sequel: Skylark.

McClung, Robert M. Hugh Glass, mountain man. 1990. 166p. A fictionalized biography of the legendary hero of the Old West, who as a fur trapper in 1823, survived an attack by a grizzly bear.

McKissack, Pat. A Picture of Freedom: the diary of Clotee, a slave girl. 1997. 192p. In 1859 twelve-year-old Clotee, a house slave who must conceal the fact that she can read and write, records in her diary her experiences and her struggle to decide whether to escape to freedom.

Moeri, Louise. Save Queen of Sheba. 1981. 116p. After miraculously surviving a Sioux raid on the trail to Oregon, a brother and sister set out with few provisions to find the rest of the settlers.

Murrow, Eliza Ketchum. West Against the Wind. 1987. 232p. Fourteen-year-old Abby seeks both her father and the secret of a handsome but mysterious boy during an arduous journey by wagon train from the middle of the country to the Pacific coast in 1850. Best for ages 12 and up.

Nixon, Joan Lowery. A Place to Belong. 1990. 147p. In 1856, having traveled with his young sister from New York to a foster home on a farm in Missouri, ten-year-old Danny plots to get his foster father to send for and marry his mother.

O'Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins . 1960. 181p. Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the California coast, a young Indian girl spends 18 years, not only merely survivng through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life.

O'Dell, Scott. Streams to the river, river to the sea: a novel of Sacagawea. 1986. 191p. A young Shoshone woman, accompanied by her infant and cruel husband, experiences joy and heartbreak when she joins the Lewis and Clark Expedition seeking a way to the Pacific.

Paterson, Katherine. Jip: his story. 1996. 181p. While living on a Vermont poor farm during 1855 and 1856, Jip learns hsi identity and that of his mother and comes to understand how he arrived at this place.

Paulsen, Gary. Mr. Tucket. 1994. 166p. In 1848, while on a wagon train headed dor Oregon, fourteen-year-old Francis Tucket is kidnapped by Pawnee Indians and then falls in with a one-armed trapper who teaches him how to live in the wild. Best for ages 12 and up.

Rinaldi, Ann. The Second Bend in the River. 1997. 276p. In 1798 Rebecca, a young settler in the Ohio territory, meets the Shawnee called Tecumseh and later develops a deep friendship with him. Best for ages 12 and up.

Rinaldi, Ann. Wolf by the ears. 1991. 248p. Harriet Hemings, rumored to be the daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, one of his black slaves, struggles with the problems facing her-to escape from the velvet cage that is Monticello, or stay, and thus remain a slave. Best for ages 12 and up.

Shaw, Janet Beller. Meet Kirsten, an American Girl. 1986. 59p. Nine-year-old Kirsten and her family experience man hardships as they travel from Sweden to the Minnesota frontier in 1854.

Shub, Elizabeth. Cutlass in the Snow. 1986. 46p. In 1797 Sam and his grandfather explore the wild and uninhabited Fire Island, just missing a band of pirates but finding a cutlass and buried treasure.

Smith, Fredrika Shumway. Wilderness Adventure. 1958. 176p. An exciting story about how the friendship between Nat Jenkins and Swift Arrow survives Indian warfare culminating in the Fort Dearborn massacre.

Stevenson, Carla. Trouble For Lucy. 1979. 80p. As she and her family travel the Oregon Trail in 1843, Lucy's puppy persists in creating trouble.

Taylor, Theodore. Walking up a rainbow. 1986. 275p. In 1852, a fourteen-year-old orphan and her elderly guardian, accompanied by a tough drover and his crew, take several thousand sheep from Iowa to California, returning by ship through the Panama Canal, to raise money to save the girl's home from a villianous debt collector. Ages 12 and up.

Wallace, Bill. Red Dog. 1987. 167p. Adam is put in charge of the family while his stepfather is away. Everything goes smoothly until three cutthroat gold prospectors come crashing into the cabin and hold the family at gunpoint. Adam manages to escape, but can he save his family?

Wellman, Manly Wade. The Specter of Bear Paw Gap. 1966. 182p. This is one of a series of books about a boy's adventures in the Catawba country of 1790's North Carolina. Mr. Wellman has written many historical fiction novels set in NC. Check them out at your local library.

Whelan, Gloria. Next Spring, an Oriole . 1987. 60p. IN 1837 Ten-year-old Libby and her parents journey by covered wagon to the Michigan frontier, where they make themselves a new home near friendly Indians and other pioneers.

Wisler, G. Clifton. Caleb's Choice. 1996. 153p. While living in Texas in 1858, fourteen-year-old Caleb faces a dilemma in deciding whether or not to assist fugitive slaves in their run for freedom.

Wisler, G. Clifton. Jericho's journey. 1993. 137p. As his family makes the long and difficult journey from Tennessee to their new home in Texas in 1852, twelve-year-old Jericho Wetherby, teased by his sister and brothers about his size, learns there are many ways to grow.

Yep, Laurence. The Tom Sawyer Fires. 1984. 136p. The 15-year-old narrator relates how, with his help, cub reporter Mark Twain, and fire fighter Tom Sawyer, uncover the plot of a deranged Southern arsonist in San Francisco during the Civil War.

If you enjoyed reading these books at the library, you may enjoy looking for the following books!

Carrick, Carol. The Elephant in the Dark. 1988. 133p. Through training an elephant, the first ever seen in 1830's Massachusetts, orphan Will begins to feel important for the first time in his life.

Duey, Kathleen. Hurricane: open seas, 1844. 1999. 169p. During almost 4 years at sea with her whaling captain father, thirteen-year-old Rebecca find life both boring and difficult--especially when the ship is nearly sunk by a hurricane. For ages 8 and up.

Duey, Kathleen. Willow Chase: Kansas Territory, 1847. 1997. 142p. In 1847, when her mother's remarriage sends them on a difficult journey to California, Willow is swept overboard fording the South Platte River and must survive and search for her family. Best for ages 8 and up.

Edmonds, Walter D. . 1970. 400p. In the third story, Two Logs Crossing, John goes fur trapping in order to support his family after the death of his father. In the fourth story, Tom Whipple, young Tom gets himself hired as a deckhand on a steamship to see the world.

Garland, Sherry. A Line on the sand: the Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence: Gonzales, Texas. 1998. 201p. In the diary she receives for her thirteenth birthday in 1835, Lucinda Lawrence describes the hardshipe her family and other residents of the "Texas Colonies" endure when they decide to face the Mexicans in a fight for their freedom.

Hays, Wilma Pitchford. Easter Fires. 1959. 62p. Little Bow's village held rain dances and prayer sessions asking the Great Spirit to relieve the terrible drought. The medicine man read the signs as saying they must sacrifice a member of the tribe to bring rain. A young brave, Silver Arrow, turns his tribe from this course of action by telling them the Easter story. This story is based on a custom celebrated for more than 150 years in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Key, Alexander. Cherokee Boy. 1957. 176p. Fifteen-year-old Tsi-ya must gather all his strength and courage to survive the Trail of Tears, escape captivity, and find his way back to his people's secret stronghold in the North Carolina Mountains.

Lampman, Evelyn Sibley. The bandit of Mok Hill. 1969. 254p. A twelve-year-old orphan in San Francisco joins a traveling show as a vocalist only to get to the California gold fields where he plans to meet hsi famous bandit friend. Then, when his voice begins to change, he discovers that bandits also kill.

Lester, Julius. This Strange New Feeling. 1982. 149p. Based on true stories, this is a collection of three stories that deal with being slaves, being in love, and then being free. Best suited for ages 13 and up.

Paulsen, Gary. Nightjohn. 1993. 92p. Twelve-year-old Sarny's brutal life as a slave becomes even more dangerous when a newly arrived slave offers to teach her how to read.

Paulsen, Gary. . 1997. 178p. This sequel to Nightjohn continues the adventures of Sarny, the slave girl Nightjohn taught to read, through the aftermath of the Civil War, during which time she taught other blacks and lived a full life until age ninety-four.

Putnam, Alice. Westering. 1990. 90p. Traveling with his family in a wagon train from Missouri to Oregon in 1850, eleven-year-old Jason finds a stray dog during the dangerous journey.

Ross, Pat. Hannah's Fancy Notions. 1988. 56p. When Hannah sets out to make something special for her sister, who works to support the family, she doesn't suspect the far-reaching consequences of her gift. Great for ages 8-11.

Street, Julia Montgomery. Moccasin Tracks. 1958. 234p. Set in 1821, in western North Carolina, Timothy Martin, a young white settler, befriends Suyeta, a Cherokee boy. The two friends become involved in plenty of excitement, including a kidnapping, horse stealing, and the mystery of the true identity of Tim's "sister."

Yates, Elizabeth. Carolina's Courage. 1964. 96p. Carolina's family endures hardships while traveling by wagon across country to new land in the west. This would make a fine read aloud for the entire family.