International
History
Including nonfiction, biography,
and historical fiction
The books recommended below were
published within the last several years. Grade levels are only suggestions;
the individual child is the real criterion.
Africa
Suggested grade level listed with each entry
History and Biography
Race: A History beyond Black and White
by Marc Aronson (Seo/Atheneum)
Ambition and imagination animate this rousing history of racism
and its antecedents that, while focusing on anti-Semitism and discrimination
against blacks, explores various forms of prejudice from ancient
Sumer to the Rodney King beating and beyond. Grade level: 7 and
up. 314 pages.
The Good Lion written by Beryl
Markham, adapted and illustrated by Don Brown (Houghton)
Adapted from the pioneer aviator’s 1942 memoir, the story
of a small girl’s encounter with a supposedly tame lion. Grade
level: K–5. 32 pages.
The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela:
Through Three Continents in the Twelfth Century written and
illustrated by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar)
A visually sumptuous tour of the medieval Mediterranean follows
a Spanish traveler who had a special passion for Jerusalem and for
collecting Jewish lore. Grade level: 4–6. 48 pages.
Historical Fiction
The Shadows of Ghadames written
by Joelle Stolz, translated by Catherine Temerson (Delacorte)
In nineteenth-century Libya, eleven-year-old Malika longs to break
free of the traditional roles constraining women. Grade level: 4–6.
120 pages.
The Night of the Burning: Devorah’s
Story by Linda Press Wulf (Farrar)
Orphaned by pogroms and World War I, two Jewish sisters leave Poland
for a new life in South Africa, but are adopted separately. Grade
level: 4–6. 210 pages.
 
Asia
Suggested grade level listed with each entry
History and Biography
Race: A History beyond
Black and White by Marc Aronson (Seo/Atheneum)
Ambition and imagination animate this rousing history of racism
and its antecedents that, while focusing on anti-Semitism and discrimination
against blacks, explores various forms of prejudice from ancient
Sumer to the Rodney King beating and beyond. Grade level: 7 and
up. 314 pages.
The Legend of Lao Tzu
and Tao Te Ching written and illustrated by Demi (McElderry)
An intricate introduction to the philosophy of Taoism through a
recounting of its legendary founder. Grade Level: 1–4. 48
pages.
The Adventures of Marco
Polo written by Russell Freedman, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
(Levine/Scholastic)
Freedman probes the life and accounts of the fourteenth-century
explorer, focusing on two questions: “Did he really travel
to China…was he, in fact, ‘the man of a million lies?’”
Grade level: 4–7. 64 pages.
Escape from Saigon: How
a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy written by Andrea
Warren (Kroupa/Farrar)
An Amerasian child in Vietnam suffers the deprivations of war and
poverty before being adopted by an American family in 1975. Grade
level: 4–6. 106 pages.
Little Green: Growing
Up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution written by Chun Yu
(Simon)
Born in 1966, the first year of the Cultural Revolution, the author
uses free verse to relate her childhood experiences in China. Grade
level: 4–6. 102 pages.
Red Land, Yellow River:
A Story from the Cultural Revolution written and illustrated
by Ange Zhang (Groundwood)
Theatrically composed, richly inked digital paintings illustrate
this child’s-eye account of the Cultural Revolution. Grade
level: 4–6. 56 pages.
Historical Fiction
The Blood Stone
by Jamila Gavin (Farrar)
A young seventeenth-century Venetian travels to the Hindu Kush to
ransom his father from the prison of an Afghan warlord. Grade level:
7 and up. 337 pages.
The Old Man Mad about
Drawing: A Tale of Hokusai written and illustrated by Francois
Place, translated by William Rodarmor (Godine)
A fictional young assistant tells the story of Katsushika Hosukai,
the nineteenth-century Japanese artist who created The Great
Wave at Kanagawa. Grade level: 4–6. 108 pages.
Canada
Suggested grade level listed with each entry
Picture Books
Secret of the Dance
written by Andrea Spalding and Alfred Scow, illustrated by Darlene
Gait (Orca)
A young Aboriginal boy witnesses his father’s secret participation
in a ritual dance (forbidden by the Canadian government from 1885
to 1951). Grade level: 1–5. 32 pages.
History and Biography
Four Pictures by Emily
Carr written and illustrated by Nicolas Debon (Groundwood)
This unusual homage to the early-twentieth-century artist is structured
around four of her paintings. Grade level: 2–5. 32 pages.
Historical Fiction
Elijah of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis (Scholastic)
Elijah, the first child born free in Underground Railroad–era
Buxton, a Canadian refuge for freed slaves, grows up over a series
of increasingly heart-rending lessons, tests, and adventures. Grade
level: 4–6. 341 pages.
Thunder from the Sea
by Joan Hiatt Harlow (McElderry)
Tom Campbell, thirteen, goes to live with a devout, childless couple
on a small island off Newfoundland in 1929. Grade level: 7 and up.
243 pages.
Mable Riley: A Reliable
Record of Humdrum, Peril, and Romance by Marthe Jocelyn (Candlewick)
At the turn of the twentieth century, a spunky rural schoolgirl
joins her schoolmistress sister in a small Ontario town. Grade level:
7 and up. 281 pages.
Ann and Seamus written
by Kevin Major, illustrated by David Blackwood (Groundwood)
Set in a raging winter storm in 1828 Newfoundland, this stunning
verse novel is at once an adventure, a coming-of-age story, and
a romance. Grade level: 7 and up. 109 pages.
Megiddo’s Shadow
by Arthur Slade (Lamb/Random)
A sixteen-year-old Saskatchewan farm boy joins the cavalry in 1917
and, fighting in Palestine, witnesses the horrors of World War I.
A well-researched fusion of historical fiction and narrative documentary.
Grade level: 7 and up. 291 pages.
Rex Jones and the End
of the World by Tim Wynne-Jones (Kroupa/Farrar)
At the height of the Cold War in 1962 Ottawa, Rex helps a neighborhood
gang track down a more manageable threat: an escaped zoo panther.
Grade level: 4–8. 186 pages.
Rex Zero, King of Nothing
by Tim Wynne-Jones (Kroupa/Farrar)
In his second Cold War–era adventure, Rex investigates a mislaid
address book and his mercurial father’s mysterious past. 217
pages.
Europe
Suggested grade level listed for each entry
Picture Books
Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura
(Candlewick)
A boy falls through time, lands in the Stone Age, and learns about
prehistoric society by watching his new friend Om’s people
make fire, prepare food, use tools, and celebrate a successful hunt.
Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.
How I Learned Geography written
and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar)
One hungry evening in the city of Turkestan, Father brings home
a map instead of bread, fueling the young protagonist’s dreams
of exploring the world in this semi-autobiographical tale of pre–World
War II Europe. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.
History and Biography
What If You Met a Knight? written
and illustrated by Jan Adkins (Roaring Brook)
A chatty text uses a representative knight, Sir Guy of Wareham,
to first present and then dispel the many myths about knights in
shining armor. Grade level: 2–5. 32 pages.
Race: A History beyond Black and White
by Marc Aronson (Seo/Atheneum)
Ambition and imagination animate this rousing history of racism
and its antecedents that, while focusing on anti-Semitism and discrimination
against blacks, explores various forms of prejudice from ancient
Sumer to the Rodney King beating and beyond. Grade level: 7 and
up. 314 pages.
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s
Shadow written by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (Scholastic)
Provocative account of the impact of Nazi ideology on those who
subscribed to it. 2006 Newbery Honor Book. Grade level: 7 and up.
176 pages.
William Blake: The Gates of Paradise
by Michael Bedard (Tundra)
This lucid and demanding biography of the visionary poet integrates
a coherent life story, a history of relevant social and political,
and literary exposition and criticism. Grade level: 7 and up. 192
pages.
Shadow Life: A Portrait of Anne Frank
and Her Family written by Barry Denenberg (Scholastic)
This otherwise factual account of the Frank family’s ordeal
includes a fictional diary by Anne’s older sister Margot.
Grade level: 4–6. 157 pages.
The Adventures of Marco Polo
written by Russell Freedman, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (Levine/Scholastic)
Freedman probes the life and accounts of the fourteenth-century
explorer, focusing on two questions: “Did he really travel
to China…was he, in fact, ‘the man of a million lies?’”
Grade level: 4–7. 64 pages.
The Young Hans Christian Andersen
written by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Erik Blegvad (Scholastic)
Impressionistic, beautifully illustrated portrait of the highly
sensitive and creative Danish literary icon. Grade level: 4–6.
48 pages.
I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree: A Memoir
of a Schindler’s List Survivor by Laura Hillman (Atheneum)
Saved because her name appeared on Oskar Schindler’s famous
list, a survivor of the Holocaust recounts its horrors. Grade level:
7 and up. 243 pages.
Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures
of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe written by Robert
Kraske, illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker (Clarion)
The real-life exploits of the eighteenth-century castaway whose
story inspired the fictional adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Grade
level: 4–6. 120 pages.
Memories of Survival written
by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz and Bernice Steinhardt, illustrated
by Ester Nisenthal Krinitz (Hyperion)
Painstakingly embroidered illustrations detail an inspiring memoir
of surviving the Nazi occupation of Poland. Grade level: 4–6.
64 pages.
Leonardo da Vinci written by
Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Boris Kulikov (Viking)
This energetic biography focuses on Da Vinci’s scientific
ambitions and achievements. Grade level: 4–6. 127 pages.
Dreamer from the Village: The Story
of Marc Chagall written by Michelle Markel, illustrated by
Emily Lisker (Holt)
Illustrated with Chagall-like flourishes, a look at the artist’s
childhood in Russia and his creative blossoming in Paris. Grade
level: K–3. 40 pages.
The Mutiny on the Bounty written
and illustrated by Patrick O’Brien (Walker)
Life aboard a British navy ship is thoroughly explored in this generously
illustrated retelling of the iconic true story of the HMS Bounty.
Grade level: 4–6. 40 pages.
John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth
written by Elizabeth Partridge (Viking)
The chaotic, complex life and times of the prolific musical genius
are rendered in a riveting and luxuriously designed book. Grade
level: 7 and up. 220 pages.
Anne Frank written by Josephine
Poole, illustrated by Angela Barrett (Knopf)
This exemplary chronicle is hauntingly illustrated with muted colors
and a visual sense of just-frozen action. Grade level: 4–6.
40 pages.
The Cat with the Yellow Star: Coming
of Age in Terezin written by Susan Goldman Rubin with Ela Weissberger
(Holiday)
A well-documented account of the concentration camp’s theatrical
production of Brundibar as told by one of its survivors, profusely
illustrated with photos and artwork from Terezin. Grade level: 4–6.
40 pages.
Always Remember Me: How One Family
Survived World War II written and illustrated by Marisabina
Russo (Schwartz/Atheneum)
An autobiographical picture book about a mother and three daughters
who survived the Holocaust. Grade level: 4–6. 48 pages.
John Smith Escapes Again! written
and illustrated by Rosalyn Schanzer (National Geographic)
This beguiling, myth-busting tribute to John Smith as “America’s
first genuine superstar” and “escape artist” explores
his many exploits outside of being that guy Pocahontas saved. Grade
level: 4–8. 64 pages.
Good Masters, Sweet Ladies!: Voices
from a Medieval Village written by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated
by Robert Byrd (Candlewick)
Seventeen monologues and two dialogues, enhanced by pristine, elegant
pen-and-ink illustrations, provide a refreshing new option for augmenting
classroom study of the European Middle Ages. Grade level: 4–6.
85 pages.
The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer Who
Dug for Troy written by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Robert
Byrd (Candlewick)
This irreverent biography of the nineteenth-century German archeologist
and crook who rediscovered ancient Troy disentangles fact from fiction.
Grade level: 4–6. 76 pages.
The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela:
Through Three Continents in the Twelfth Century written and
illustrated by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar)
A visually sumptuous tour of the medieval Mediterranean follows
a Spanish traveler who had a special passion for Jerusalem and for
collecting Jewish lore. Grade level: 4–6. 48 pages.
Sholom’s Treasure: How Sholom
Aleichem Became a Writer written by Erica Silverman, illustrated
by Mordicai Gerstein (Farrar)
Engaging picture book portrait of the great Yiddish writer’s
early years in Russia and his literary evolution. Grade level: K–3.
40 pages.
The Wall: Growing Up behind the Iron
Curtain written and illustrated by Peter Sis (Foster/Farrar)
The personal meets the political in this absorbing autobiography
of a born artist from Czech émigré Sis, born in 1949
just as Czechoslovakia fell under communist rule and Soviet domination.
Grade level: 5 and up. 56 pages.
The Secret of Priest’s Grotto:
A Holocaust Survival Story written by Peter Lane Taylor with
Christos Nicola (Kar-Ben)
A harrowing account of the Jewish families who lived in a Ukrainian
cave for nearly a year during the Holocaust. Grade level: 4–6.
64 pages.
A Friend Called Anne: One Girl’s
Story of War, Peace, and a Unique Friendship with Anne Frank
written by Jacqueline van Maarsen, retold by Carol Ann Lee (Viking)
A friend recounts her childhood with Anne Frank. Grade level: 4–6.
157 pages.
Hans Christian Andersen: His Fairy
Tale Life written by Hjordis Varmer, translated from Danish
by Tiina Nunnally, illustrated by Lilian Brogger (Groundwood)
This deftly written, superbly illustrated biography links events
in the author’s life to his tales. Grade level: 4–8.
113 pages.
The Secret World of Hildegard
written by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Jeanette Winter (Levine/Scholastic)
Biblically styled prose and pictures framed like windows convey
the story of the beloved abbess, scientist, and composer, Hildegard
von Bingen. Grade level: 4–6. 64 pages.
Erika’s Story written by
Ruth Vander Zee, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti (Creative Editions)
Fifty years after World War II, a German woman still recalls being
tossed off a concentration camp train by her mother — and
wonders what became of the rest of her family. Grade level: 4–6.
24 pages.
Historical Fiction
The Fire-Eaters by David Almond (Delacorte)
In 1962, as the Cuban missile crisis looms on the other side of
the Atlantic, Bobby Burns teeters on his own emotional precipice
in northern England. Grade level: 7 and up. 218 pages.
Crispin: At the Edge of the World by Avi (Hyperion)
In this sequel to the Newbery-winning Crispin: The Cross of
Lead, the fourteenth-century English boy flees pursuers and
finds his Catholic faith tested by new friends’ adherence
to older gods. Grade level: 4–8. 234 pages.
The Traitor’s Gate written by Avi, illustrated
by Karina Raude (Jackson/Atheneum)
Fourteen-year-old John Huffam, whose father is in debtors’
prison with no hope of release, stars in this vivid, mystery-fueled
Dickensian adventure. Grade level: 6–8. 351 pages.
The God of Mischief written by Paul Bajoria, illustrated
by Bret Bertholf (Little)
This juicy gothic melodrama, a sequel to The Printer’s
Devil, details reunited twins Mog and Nick’s adventures
in a secret-filled 1820s English country mansion. Grade level: 4–8.
389 pages.
The Printer’s Devil by Paul Bajoria (Little)
An orphan’s obsession with the face of an escaped prisoner
on a wanted poster takes him into the underbelly of Victorian London.
Grade level: 7 and up. 382 pages.
The King’s Arrow by Michael Cadnum (Viking)
After the Norman invasion of England, Simon is offered a chance
to hunt with the king as squire to the Norman lord Walter Tirel—then
must flee with his master when Tirel’s arrow goes astray and
kills the king. Grade level: 7 and up. 208 pages.
The Lace Dowry by Andrea Cheng (Front Street)
Convinced she will never want to marry, a bookish Hungarian girl
in the 1930s resists her mother’s plans for her future. Grade
level: 4–6. 115 pages.
Romeo’s Ex: Rosaline’s Story by Lisa
Fiedler (Holt)
Romeo’s pre-Juliet crush, a healer’s apprentice, provides
a unique viewpoint on the well-known Shakespearean plot while navigating
her own tale of romance, drama, and mistaken identity. Grade level:
7 and up. 246 pages.
The Braid by Helen Frost (Foster/Farrar)
In this verse novel, two sisters go their separate ways —
one to a new life in Canada, one to relatives in the Outer Hebrides
— following Scotland’s notorious nineteenth-century
Highland Clearances. Grade level: 7 and up. 95 pages.
The Fighter by Jean-Jacques Greif (Bloomsbury)
A young Jewish boxer survives Auschwitz in this brutal story that
nonetheless emphasizes its protagonist’s humanity in the face
of unspeakable horrors. Grade level: 7 and up. 211 pages.
The Silver Donkey written by Sonya Hartnett, illustrated
by Don Powers (Candlewick)
Two French children help to smuggle a young World War I deserter
across the channel to England after a hideous battle leaves him
in despair. Grade level: 4–8. 266 pages.
Incantation by Alice Hoffman (Little)
In sixteenth-century Spain, Estrella discovers that her family is
secretly Jewish (“conversos”) just as a new wave of
persecution unfurls. Grade level: 7 and up. 166 pages.
An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub (Scholastic)
A young German farmhand is conscripted to fight in Napoleon’s
army, where, against class boundaries, he forms a bond with an aristocratic
fellow soldier. Winner of the 2006 Batchelder Award. Grade level:
7 and up. 256 pages.
Pagan in Exile; Pagan's Scribe (Candlewick)
By Catherine Jinks
Concluding volumes in the outstanding medieval saga that began with
Pagan’s Crusade. Grade level: 7 and up.
The Thought of High Windows by Lynne Kositsky
(Kids Can)
Sixteen-year-old Esther is one of sixty young refugees
who find asylum in a French castle during World War II. Grade level:
4–6. 176 pages.
Broken Song by Kathryn Lasky (Viking)
In 1897, fifteen-year-old Reuven flees Russia with only his baby
sister, leaving behind a peaceful life and his most prized possession:
his violin. Grade level: 4–6. 158 pages.
The Convicts; The Cannibals; The
Castaways (Delacorte)
By Iain Lawrence
Wrongly charged with murder in Victorian London, fourteen-year-old
Tom Tin is sentenced to the Australian prison colony in The
Convicts, plots a high-seas escape in its sequel, The Cannibals,
and continues his adventures in later volumes. Grade level: 7 and
up.
Room in the Heart by Sonia Levitin (Dutton)
Two families, linked by the friendship between their thirteen-year-old
girls, face the Nazi takeover of Denmark. Grade level: 7 and up.
290 pages.
Breath by Donna Jo Napoli (Atheneum)
In a gripping retelling of the legend, a plague-ravaged medieval
town falls victim to the sinister charms of the Pied Piper. Grade
level: 7 and up. 260 pages.
Kathleen: The Celtic Knot by Siobhan Parkinson
(American Girl/Pleasant Company)
A light hand, sharp wit, and hint of subversion enliven this story
of a spirited Dublin girl living in a crowded 1930s tenement. Grade
level: 4–6. 166 pages.
Tamar by Mal Peet (Candlewick)
Two Dutch nationals turned British agents are parachuted into Nazi-occupied
Holland to marshal the resistance and are soon embroiled in drama
and romance a la Ken Follett. Grade level: 7 and up. 426 pages.
Megiddo’s Shadow by Arthur Slade (Lamb/Random)
A sixteen-year-old Saskatchewan farm boy joins the cavalry in 1917
and, fighting in Palestine, witnesses the horrors of World War I.
A well-researched fusion of historical fiction and narrative documentary.
Grade level: 7 and up. 291 pages.
Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman?; Montmorency
on the Rocks: Doctor, Aristocrat, Murderer? (Orchard/Scholastic)
By Eleanor Updale
A debonair Victorian gentleman at war with his inner scoundrel
(or perhaps vice versa), the intriguing Montmorency stars in two
fast-paced adventures. Grade level: 7 and up.
Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan (HarperCollins)
When her missionary parents die in British Africa during the 1918
influenza pandemic, Rachel is taken in by unscrupulous neighbors
and shipped off to England to secure an inheritance. Grade level:
4–6. 199 pages.
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales retold and illustrated
by Marcia Williams (Candlewick)
Williams’s signature graphic panels portray nine of the classic
tales, with the running commentary of “audience members”
braiding in historical context and other information. Grade level:
4–8. 48 pages.
The Night of the Burning: Devorah’s Story
by Linda Press Wulf (Farrar)
Orphaned by pogroms and World War I, two Jewish sisters leave Poland
for a new life in South Africa, but are adopted separately. Grade
level: 4–6. 210 pages.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Knopf)
Narrated by Death itself, this tour de force about an imperiled
young booklover in Nazi Germany is a tribute to words, survival,
and their inevitable entwinement. Grade level: 7 and up. 553 pages.
Middle East
Suggested grade level listed with each entry
Picture Books
Clever Ali written by Nancy Farmer,
illustrated by Gail de Marcken (Orchard/Scholastic)
Based on a historical incident, this original story depicts that
popular folkloric theme: a young child, through wit and courage,
triumphing over powerful forces. Grade level: 4–6. 40 pages.
History and Biography
Understanding the
Holy Land: Answering Questions about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
written by Mitch Frank (Viking)
A dispassionate overview of the long running dispute, in question-and-answer
format. Grade level: 4–6. 152 pages.
The Adventures of Marco Polo
written by Russell Freedman, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (Levine/Scholastic)
Freedman probes the life and accounts of the fourteenth-century
explorer, focusing on two questions: “Did he really travel
to China...was he, in fact, ‘the man of a million lies?’”
Grade level: 4–7. 64 pages.
War in the Middle East: A Reporter’s
Story by Wilborn Hampton (Candlewick)
Hampton, who reported on Black September in 1970 and the Yom Kippur
War in 1973 for United Press International, describes his experiences
of both events, including minimal but clear background. Grade level:
7 and up. 112 pages.
The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela:
Through Three Continents in the Twelfth Century written and
illustrated by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar)
A visually sumptuous tour of the medieval Mediterranean follows
a Spanish traveler who had a special passion for Jerusalem and for
collecting Jewish lore. Grade level: 4–6. 48 pages.
The Librarian of Basra: A True Story
of Iraq written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter (Harcourt)
Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq written
and illustrated by Mark Alan Stamaty (Knopf)
Two distinguished accounts of an Iraqi librarian who took heroic
measures to save her collection from the ravages of war: a picture
book by Winter and a comic-strip-style narrative by Stamaty. Grade
level: K–3. 32 pages each.
Historical Fiction
Megiddo’s Shadow by Arthur
Slade (Lamb/Random)
A sixteen-year-old Saskatchewan farm boy joins the cavalry in 1917
and, fighting in Palestine, witnesses the horrors of World War I.
A well-researched fusion of historical fiction and narrative documentary.
Grade level: 7 and up. 291 pages.
Folklore
Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught
Up in a War written by Kathy Henderson, illustrated by Jane
Ray
This retelling of the recently deciphered Sumerian epic tells of
a boy sent to conquer the walled city of Aratta who instead brings
forth peace. 77 pages. Grade level: 4–8.
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