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How 33 Chilean miners were rescued from a copper mine dominated the media in 2010. It is recounted here using primary sources, scientific explanations, and a riveting narrative.

Eleven year old Molly is homesick when her family moves to Connecticut from London. But a book entitled The Life of Nelson connects Molly to her home and to 11-year old Sam, a boy pressed into service in the English navy as an aide to Admiral Nelson during war. Told in two distinct voices, past and present gradually come together bringing both into clear focus.

While on holiday, the Drew children Barney, Simon, and Jane find a map in a hidden room in the Cornwall house, involving them and their great uncle, Merry, in a struggle between good and evil steeped in Arthurian legend. The first in the Dark is Rising sequence, the entire series exudes a strong sense of place and traditional tales. (The sequence continues with The Dark is Rising (opens in a new window) followed by Greenwitch (opens in a new window), The Grey King (opens in a new window), and concludes with Silver on the Tree (opens in a new window).

Nat Field finds friendship and relief from the loss of his parents when acting and is thrilled when chosen to go to England to perform in the new Globe Theater. Instead, he is transported back in time to perform in the original and meet William Shakespeare. Past and present come alive for contemporary readers in this riveting look at the connections between time and place.

Until it strikes uncomfortably close to home, three English boys are fascinated by the war and the bombing of their city, London. Derek and his friends come to understand true fear and the meaning of war in this realistic novel that explores themes of friendship, fear, and retaliation.

When the Volnick family accidentally brings a Boggart home to Toronto from Scotland, the results are tumultuous and very funny. It’s up to Jess and Emily to figure out how to return the rascally spirit. The family meets the Boggart again on another visit to Scotland with similar outrageous results (which include a renowned water creature) in The Boggart & the Monster (opens in a new window). Both books are steeped in the magic and traditions of the region in which they are set.

In this 3rd book about Pacy, she and her family plan to go to Taiwan to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday.

An unlikely friendship develops between a small, basket-weaving mouse named Celeste and the young apprentice to the great naturalist, Audubon. They meet when Joseph accompanies Audubon to New Orleans to paint the birds of Louisiana. Evocative pencil drawings add information as well as emotion in this unique, attractive, sometimes sad, but always riveting blend of fact and fantasy.

This humorous and heartwarming novel takes place during the summer of 1962, when narrator Jack Gantos turns 12 and has been “grounded for life” by his parents. He takes on a summer job writing obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his Utopian town, Norvelt. Gantos expertly mixes truth and fiction in this book. For mature readers 9-12 and teens. (2012 Newbery Medal Winner)

Bits and pieces in Miranda’s life in New York City in 1978 mysteriously come together to reveal a surprising whole in which Miranda’s favorite book, Madeline L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time, figures prominently. (2010 Newbery Medal Winner)

Gareth, Jason’s cat, knows that a cat’s nine lives are really nine trips. Since a cat can take a friend along, Jason & Gareth travel to long ago places and times. This modern classic is certain to intrigue readers while introducing them to a bit of history and historical sites.

The Great Depression changed everything for 11-year-old Oscar and his widowed dad. Oscar’s prized model trains are sold, his dad leaves Illinois to find work in California, and Oscar begins an adventure through time and places after he jumps onto a model train.

In this book, the supernatural is everywhere, and children of the Ojibwe First Nation learn the stories of their culture by living them — on a raft, catching a bird, or meeting a mysterious girl in the forest.

In Dog People: Native Dog Stories, the voice of an Abenaki storyteller takes children back 10,000 years to the days when children and dogs had especially close relationships. In these Native American adventure stories, children and dogs together must use their wits to survive the dangers of the natural world. — Midwest Book Review

This summer vacation is different without father and the oldest Penderwick but offers lots of laughs along the way.

Chris’s life is complicated. At school, he’s been selected to lead a project on sports teams with Indian names. At home, where his father is battling alcoholism on the Penacook reservation, the Indians are divided about building a casino. It would destroy the beautiful island Chris thinks of as his own. What can one sixth-grade boy can do in the midst of so many challenges?

In this coming-of-age story, the children of the longhouse are 11-year-old Ohkwa’ri and Itsi:tsia. Twin brother and sister, they live in a Mohawk town in the traditional homelands of what is now eastern New York State in 1491. Reflecting the balance between male and female roles in Iroquois society, the book’s chapters alternate between the events and perspectives of Ohkwa’ri and Itsi:tsia, who very definitely see things differently. Bruchac seamlessly incorporates an impressive amount of information about pre-contact Mohawk culture, society, and beliefs, and tells a good story as well. — Oyate

For young Samuel Russell, the summer of 1777 is a time of fear. The British Army is approaching, and the Indians in the area seem ready to attack. To Stands Straight, a young Abenaki Indian scouting for King George, Americans are dangerous enemies who threaten his family and home. When Stands Straight’s party enters the Quaker Meetinghouse where Samuel worships, the two boys share an encounter that neither will ever forget. Told in alternating viewpoints, this chapter book is based on a true story.

Danny Bigtree’s family has moved to a new city, and Danny can’t seem to fit in. He’s homesick for the Mohawk reservation, and the kids in his class tease him about being an Indian — the thing that makes Danny most proud. Can Danny, drawing on his Mohawk heritage, find the courage to stand up for himself?

An important credo of Native life states that you can learn while you play and play while you learn. Readers can pore over intriguing stories and play these fun-filled games as they learn how global thought and beliefs can transcend their own lives. Sample themes, stories, and games include the Ball Players in the Sky (Passamaquoddy); Gluskabe Brings the Summer (Abenaki); and Nanabush and the Ducks (Anishinabe).

“I never thought one small lady from Japan could make such a big difference in my life, but she did.” So begins Rinko’s story about the time that Aunt Waka came to visit. From Mama’s new business to Papa’s new courage in standing up to Depression-era discrimination against the Japanese, Rinko can barely keep up with the way that everyone in the house (herself included) is changing. Rinko and her relatives are unforgettable characters whose stories are told with an easy familiarity, warmth, and gentle humor.

All the more moving in its restraint, this picture-book account of a fictional family reveals, with gentle dignity, a sad chapter in American history. Laura Iwasaki and her Japanese-American family will soon move from California to Boston, so they are making one last visit to Laura’s grandfather’s grave, which lies near the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so far from the sea he loved. Before World War II, he was a fisherman. Then, along with Laura’s father, her grandmother, and 10,000 other Japanese Americans, he was sent to the Manzanar War Relocation Center. There he died, and his grave is marked with only a ring of stones. The family leaves silk flowers, but Laura leaves her own special memento. — School Library Journal

When rebel soldiers attack his village in Sudan, 11-year-old Salva flees the violence, beginning a dangerous walk toward a crowded refugee camp in Ethiopia, then on to new life in Rochester, New York. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Nya spends her days in Sudan looking for scarce supplies of fresh water for her family. Based on the true story of Sudanese “Lost Boys” who came to the U.S. in the mid-1990s.

For Antonia MacPherson, lying is a way of life. If it weren’t for her best friend, Harrison, and a tiny ball of fluff named Pistachio, she would be miserable. Her older sister, Your Highness Elizabeth, says Ant is in training to be a juvenile delinquent, Harrison smells like a salami sandwich, and Pistachio should be put out of his misery. When a teacher takes Ant under her wing, Ant’s way of life may have to change.