Middle-Grade Historical Fiction 2017: Lists and Links to Some of the Best

The logical place to start any list of best middle-grade historical fiction is the Scott O'Dell Award, which went this year to Lauren Wolk for Beyond the Bright Sea, Dutton Books for Young Readers. 

"Twelve-year-old Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift in a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow’s only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar.

Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but it isn’t until the night a mysterious fire appears across the water that the unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart. Soon, an unstoppable chain of events is triggered, leading Crow down a path of discovery and danger." --Amazon Review.

The Kirkus list of Best Middle-Grade Historical Fiction of 2017 includes nine books which you can find here. Of of these is The War I Finally Won, the sequel to The War That Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Dial.

"When Ada’s clubfoot is surgically fixed at last, she knows for certain that she’s not what her mother said she was—damaged, deranged, crippled mentally as well as physically. She’s not a daughter anymore, either. Who is she now?

World War II rages on, and Ada and her brother, Jamie, move with their guardian, Susan, into a cottage with the iron-faced Lady Thorton and her daughter, Maggie. Life in the crowded home is tense. Then Ruth moves in. Ruth, a Jewish girl, from Germany. A German? Could Ruth be a spy? " --Amazon Review

Publisher's Weekly lists their picks for best middle-grade of 2017 here, some of which are historical. Of particular note is the Hans Christian Anderson Award Winner, Bronze and Sunflower by the Chinese children's writer, Cao Wenxuan.

"Sunflower is an only child, and when her father is sent to the rural Cadre School, she has to go with him. Her father is an established artist from the city and finds his new life of physical labor and endless meetings exhausting. Sunflower is lonely and longs to play with the local children in the village across the river. When her father tragically drowns, Sunflower is taken in by the poorest family in the village, a family with a son named Bronze. Until Sunflower joins his family, Bronze was an only child, too, and hasn’t spoken a word since he was traumatized by a terrible fire. Bronze and Sunflower become inseparable, understanding each other as only the closest friends can." --Amazon Review.

Also, be sure to check out the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC), which has a plethora of lists and links to awards that I especially like for leads to multi-cultural books. 

I hope these lists and tips enlarge your 2018 reading list. They've enlarged mine. What was your favorite middle-grade historical fiction read from 2017?

Michele Hathaway is a writer and freelance editor. She has an M. A. in Social Anthropology and has worked in libraries in California, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. She writes stories set in culturally diverse, historical and contemporary periods.

Subscribe to get posts automatically and never miss a post. You can use the Subscribe or Follow by E-Mail buttons to the right, or add http://madaboutmghistory.blogspot.com/to Feedly or another reader.