Summer Reading Book Recommendations: Week 8

This week's focus for summer reading book recommendations is historical fiction.

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War-time setting are always popular with historical fiction, and this week's titles are no exception. Both The Dollmaker of Krakow and Four-Four-Two are set during World War II; however, The Dollmaker of Krakow is also a bit of a fairy tale or fantasy set against the atrocities Jews in Krakow faced, and Four-Four-Two explores the same time period from a soldier's perspective. Another war story in this week's group of recommendations is A Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen. This book tells the story of Charley Goddard, a 15-year-old from Minnesota who fights in 4 of the 5 most deadly battles in the American Civil War. In reality, Goddard didn't fight in all 4 of these battles, but don't let that bit of artistic license stop you from reading about the harrowing experience of war for the teenager.

If you're looking for historical fiction that isn't tied to a war, All the Broken Pieces and I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871 might interest you. Set in the years following the Vietnam War, All the Broken Pieces is a novel in verse and sports story that combines war guilt, baseball, and families. The focus on family is also part of the story in I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871. If you've read other books in the I Survived series, you will likely enjoy this one, too!

If historical fiction is a genre you like, stop by and we'll talk about other titles you may want to try! See you soon!

1-Thing Wednesday: Historical Fiction Focus

With so many great books released in the last year, how about a look at a few that are historical fiction, like the Newbury Honor book Wolf Hollow? Readers will find themselves pulled into the story of Annabelle, Betty, and Toby; can we trust what we believe we've seen, and do we really know the people in our lives?

Other great historical fiction promoted throughout the year in the library include some newer titles along with some old favorites:

If you haven't read many historical fiction titles--or if you're eager to read some more--we're happy to help you with that next book to read!

Hi - Fi for Wi - Fi: A Website for Historical Fiction

Looking for some historical fiction? Chelsey Kolpin has put together a great resource for us with her website Hi-Fi for Wi-Fi! When working on Master's project, she wrote, "In an effort to get more young adult students interested in historical fiction. . . I put together a website of book trailers and book descriptions for historical fiction."

On the website you can access historical fiction novels based on different periods in history, as well as video links:

Currently 15 books are featured on Kolpin's website, but she tells us that more may be coming soon. One of the featured books is What I Saw and How I Lied. Here's the description of the book:

You can also access book trailers:

Feel free to access the site to browse historical fiction titles. Many are found here in our library, and one of the featured titles--Between Shades of Gray--is an Iowa Teen Award nominee for this year!