Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly (published 1928) is an historical fiction novel featuring tradition, treasure, and alchemy in medieval Krakow. The Charnetski family has fled Ukraine after bandits robbed and burned their estate, and they arrive in Poland with nothing but a pumpkin in their cart. Joeseph, the young teenage son, is
The Apartment: A Century of Russian History by Alexandra Litvina (illustrated by Anna Desnitskaya; Harry Abrams, 2017) illustrates 100 years of Russian history through the lives of the changing residents in a Moscow apartment and the lives they lead. With the Muromstev family as a connecting link, the reader learns of the dozens of children
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published 1939) is a difficult book in the Little House series for me, and certainly not my favorite, because it seems to be such a jump between Laura’s childhood and her maturing roll as young woma in her family. This jump is obvious from the
A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla (published 1981) is a short early chapter book ideal for introducing the concept of colonizing America through exciting historical fiction. It highlights one family of three children as they navigate 16th century London, cross the Atlantic Ocean, and seek out their father in the struggling colony
At first glance, James: A Novel by Percival Everett (Doubleday, March 2024) is a clever retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but quickly proves to be much more. Huck Finn joins runaway slave Jim on an adventure down the Mississippi River, to be joined by con men and more. But that is only the
Rather than being a straight-forward biography, the sweet graphic novel Wildflower Emily: A Story About Young Emily Dickinson by Linda Corry (Godwin Books, October 2024) captures her uniqueness, her passion for botany and nature, and her different way of looking at the world. Teenage Emily learns botany at her school desk, but with her dog
The historical fiction Newbery Honor book Clearing Weather by Cornelia Meigs (published 1928) tells of a financially destroyed town during the 1780s, the years after the Revolutionary War and before the establishment of the United States Republic. Because of the war, Branscomb’s elderly ship-builder, Thomas Drury, no longer has the means to continue building, especially
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (originally published 1885) is a classic novel of a boy “growing up” and coming to terms with the world, faith, and friendship. Written by talented Samuel Clemens, Huckleberry Finn takes the familiar rebel child Huck, who was first introduced in the novel about Tom Sawyer, and gives
In Predicting the President: The Keys to the White House (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024), historian Allan Lichtman lays out the historical reasons the presidents won their elections in history since the 1800s, using his own system of “keys” to predict which candidate or political party will win for the upcoming election. Even after reading the
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published 1937) is kind of the last “little kid” book about Laura in the author’s fictionalized memoirs. Laura is about seven and, along with her older sister Mary, On the Banks of Plum Creek tells her childhood adventures in a sod house and in a
In Tod of the Fens (published 1928), author Elinor Whitney creates a story connecting a group of men living in the low-lying fens of Lancashire, England with the happenings in the neighboring medieval town of Boston (see information on Wikipedia about Boston, England). With a distinct Robin Hood feel, the novel’s men in the fens
The children’s book Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published 1935) became a beloved classic thanks to the popular 1970s television show, but reading the book through today’s lens is painful. How can such a beloved classic be so racist? I loved the stories in this book. Mr. Edwards meets Santa Claus
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