ABQmom Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 My lists seem to stop after the second world war. Does anyone have any suggestions for good books for an 8, 11, and 13 year old that take place after 1950? I'm trying to think of major historical events--Korean War, Vietnam War, Civil Rights, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 (edited) Hmmm... that's a BIG age/maturity range, so not all of these books will fit all 3 students. Also, I think it is really hard to find non-depressing historical fiction about the Korean War, Vietnam, etc.! But below are some ideas to consider; the year refers to the SETTING of the book, rather than when it was published. You might also check Paula's Archives for more ideas of post WW2 non-fiction and historical fiction. (http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/history.htm#UL20) BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. 1940s - The Cay (Taylor) -- shipwrecked Dutch boy and old Jamaican sailor; age 8-12 - The Year of Impossible Goodbyes (Choi) -- post WW2 Korea; age 10-15 - After the War (Matas) -- post WW@ Jewish teen makes her way to newly forming Israel; age 10-14 - In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Lord) -- Chinese immigrant girl's U.S. misadventures; age 8-12 1950s - I Am David (Holm) -- boy in a communist camp escapes to a new life; age 9-14 - It's a Jungle Out There (Snell) -- missionary kid misadventures in S. Americaage 9 and up - Warriors Don't Cry (Beals) -- autobiography of the battle to integrate high school; ages 13 and up - Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) -- spooky thriller; ages 14-adult 1960s-1970s - From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsburg) -- 2 siblings run away to an art museum and solve a mystery; ages 9-12 - The Pushcart War (Merrill) -- tall tale of a war between New York pushcarts vs. semi trucks; age 8-14 - Tramp for the Lord (tenBoom) -- autobiography of Corrie tenBoom years of world travel; age 10 and up - God's Smuggler (Andrew) -- autobiography of missionary Brother Andrew smuggling Bibles into communist countries; age 10 and up 1980s - Maniac Magee (Spinelli) -- tall tale of a homeless orphan boy vs. racism; age 9-14 - Bruchko (Olson) -- missionary among S. American tribesmen; age 12 and up 1990s - The Breadwinner; Parvanna's Journey (Ellis) -- oppressive Taliban in Afganistan; ages 10-14 - Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq (Stamaty) -- non-fiction; ages 8-12 - The View From Saturday (Konigsburg) -- multi-racial middle school misfits form a club; ages 9-12 FUTURISTIC - The Green Book (Walsh) -- family leaves dying Earth to help form a colony on a new planet; age 8-12 - House of Stairs (Sleator) -- 4 teens try to fight Pavlovian conditioning; age 14 and up NON FICTION (for ages 6-12) 1950s - Cracking the Wall: Struggles of Little Rock Nine (Lucas) -- Civil Rights - Jackie Robinson and the Story of All Black Baseball (O'Connor) - The Story of Muhammad Ali (Garrett) - Cornerstones of Freedom: The Story of: Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Line - Cornerstones of Freedom: The Story of: The Montgomery Bus Boycott - Cornerstones of Freedom: The Story of: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court 1960s - Cornerstones of Freedom: Story of Apollo 11 (Stein) - Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace (Jackson/Ford) - Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington (Ruffin) - The Story of the First Man on the Moon (Cornerstones of Freedom series) 1970s - Cornerstones of Freedom: Story of the Saigon Airlift (Kent) - Cornerstones of Freedom: Story of the Vietnam War Memorial (Kent) - A Wall of Names: Vietnam (Donnelly) Edited June 19, 2009 by Lori D. correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 Wow, what a great list, Lori! Thank you so much. That gives me a lot of ideas to consider. I am especially liking the idea of some of the Cornerstones books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 (edited) Wow, what a great list, Lori! Thank you so much. That gives me a lot of ideas to consider. I am especially liking the idea of some of the Cornerstones books. Yes, while the Cornerstone books are just a little young for your 13yo, they are very gentle and give the facts of some horrible events without getting into the horror and psychological damage. I just didn't think our pre-teen boys needed anything more specific or graphic than what was in the Cornerstones books. Speaking of which, we really liked the Cornerstones book on "The Montgomery Bus Boycott" for Civil Rights. Especially for the wars, you might also check your library's CHILDREN non-fiction section for something gentle like: - We The People Series: The Korean War (Santella and Andrew) -- gr. 3-6 - A First Book Series: The Korean War (McGowen) -- gr. 6-9 Another very gentle "work around" for the Vietnam War is a a children's picture book -- we used these two from our library: - The Lotus Seed (Garland) http://www.amazon.com/Lotus-Seed-Sherry-Garland/dp/0152014837/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b - The Walking Stick (Trottier) http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Stick-Maxine-Trottier/dp/0773731016/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245479712&sr=1-2 BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. Edited June 20, 2009 by Lori D. added info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissa6 Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I'm not the orginal op but :iagree: WOW! I needed this list, too. Thanks! Missy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janis in DE Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I was going to mention Breadwinner too. My daughter really liked this book. There are 3 books in the series. Another one I thought of was Basher 52 which is the story of the pilot shot down in Bosnia. Janis in DE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheWhoWaits Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 (edited) Here are some more for you: Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot In January 1956, a tragic story flooded headlines around the world. Five men, spurred by a passion to share the good news of Jesus Christ, ventured deep into the jungles of Ecuador. Their goal: to make contact with an isolated tribe whose previous response to the outside world had been to attack all strangers. Through Gates of Splendor, the story of Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Jim Elliot, was first recorded in 1956 by Jim’s widow, Elisabeth. Decades later, its story of unconditional love and complete obedience to God still inspires new readers. This edition contains subsequent developments in the lives of the families and the Waodani tribe. Jaguar by Roland Smith While accompanying his father on an expedition up the Amazon River to a jaguar preserve in Brazil, fourteen-year-old Jacob must contend with dangerous animals and fortune hunters. Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez By the morning of her 12th birthday, in December, 1960, Anita de la Torre's comfortable childhood in her home in the Dominican Republic is a thing of the past. The political situation for opponents of the dictator Rafael Trujillo has become so dangerous that nearly all of her relatives have emigrated to the U.S., leaving only her uncle, T'o Toni, somewhere in hiding, and her parents, still determined to carry on the resistance. Over the next year, the girl becomes increasingly aware of the nature of the political situation and her family's activities. The Dirty War by Charles H. Slaughter Atre and his friend Chino are caught up in the rapidly changing political climate in Buenos Aires in 1976. The generals have taken over the Argentine government. The people initially hope for improvement in the economic conditions, but the military rule quickly becomes one of terror and repression. Citizens begin to vanish, but no one knows-or will not tell-where or why they have been taken Climbing the Stairsby Padma Venkatraman In India, in 1941, when her father becomes brain-damaged in a non-violent protest march, fifteen-year-old Vidya and her family are forced to move in with her father's extended family and become accustomed to a totally different way of life. (not strictly post 1950, but one of my favorite books -- does mention what she heroine has to do when she has her period (go into seclusion), so may not be appropriate for the younger end of your age range) Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo A fictionalized account of the Pakistani child who escaped from bondage in a carpet factory and went on to help liberate other children like him before being gunned down at the age of thirteen. The Killing Sea by Richard Lewis In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in Sumatra, two teenagers, American Sarah and Acehnese Ruslan, meet and continue together their arduous climb inland, where Ruslan hopes to find his father and Sarah seeks a doctor for her brother. Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipovic From September 1991 through October 1993, young Zlata Filipovic kept a diary. When she began it, she was 11 years old, concerned mostly with friends, school, piano lessons, MTV, and Madonna. As the diary ends, she has become used to constant bombing and snipers; severe shortages of food, water, and gas; and the end of a privileged adolescence in Sarajevo. A Taste of Salt by Frances Temple (author of The Ramsay Scallop and The Beduin's Gazelle) Seventeen-year-old Djo, one of Jean-Bertrand Aristide's bodyguards, has been badly beaten by the macoutes , violent members of Duvalier's private army. While Djo is recovering in the hospital, Father Aristide convinces him to dictate his life story to a girl scribe named Jeremie. Djo reveals the key events of his childhood in vivid detail: he left home early because his mother had too many mouths to feed; he taught reading to younger boys at Aristide's shelter; he was kidnapped and sold into slavery as a sugar cane worker. Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs Ever since his family moved to the tiny village of Los Ãrboles, Victor has been best friends with Rico. When Rico tells him that he has enough money to pay for a coyote to help him cross into El Norte, Victor is unable to decide if he, too, should go along and look for work or try to feed his family with the pitiful annual corn harvest. The decision is made for him the next day when he discovers that the corn prices have bottomed out. Dangerous Journey by Laszlo Hamori A boy escapes from behind the Iron Curtain in early 1950s Hungary. Also set in the 1940s, and my absolute favorites for children of the age group you're looking for: The Melendy Family series by Elizabeth Enright There are 4 books: The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, And Then There Were Five, Spiderweb for Two. They are about a family of 4 children, their father, and their housekeeper/nanny. The first book takes place in New York city. All the children decide to pool their allowances and let one child each week have all the money. It is the story of the adventures each has with the money. In the second book, they move into a cool old house in the country and discover the house's long kept secret. In the third, they adopt an orphaned boy whom they met in the previous book. In the fourth, the older three children have all gone away to school, but they left a treasure hunt for the youngest girl and the adopted son to complete while they are gone. Edited June 20, 2009 by SheWhoWaits add another book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 A Taste of Salt by Frances Temple (author of The Ramsay Scallop and The Beduin's Gazelle) Seventeen-year-old Djo, one of Jean-Bertrand Aristide's bodyguards, has been badly beaten by the macoutes , violent members of Duvalier's private army. While Djo is recovering in the hospital, Father Aristide convinces him to dictate his life story to a girl scribe named Jeremie. Djo reveals the key events of his childhood in vivid detail: he left home early because his mother had too many mouths to feed; he taught reading to younger boys at Aristide's shelter; he was kidnapped and sold into slavery as a sugar cane worker. I loved this book -- there was just something about it that was fascinating, and I read it when I was in my 20s! Tonight by the Sea - Frances Temple - about Haitians trying to reach the US by boat (90s) The Day Gogo Went to Vote - Eleanor Sisulu - about voting in S. Africa by black Africans. My Palace of Leaves in Sarajevo - Marybeth Lorbiecki Girl of Kosovo - Alice Mead The Voices of Silence - Bel Mooney - Romanian family wants to defect Little Cricket - Jackie Brown - Hmong family in the '70s Stone Goddess - Minfong Ho - life for a teen girl who's come from a Khmer Rouge labor camp to the US Little Leap Forward - Gue Yue - life in China, during the cultural revolution Over a Thousand Hills I Walk.... - Hanna Jansen - Rwandan genocide Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Igbo of Nigeria, 1960s Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe - not so much for the youngest child, at least - Nigeria after independence. (A major literary contribution to the understanding of independent / post-colonial African experience.) Fallen Angels - Walter Dean Myers - life of 17 year old soldier in Vietnam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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