THE PRESIDENT'S SECRET

Beverly, Madison, and Eston Hemings are all brothers. They have a sister named Harriet and a mother named Sally. They all love the violin and learn how to be carpenters. They also live as slaves at Thomas Jefferson (the guy on the $20 bill's) plantation called Monticello. And, they have a secret. A secret that everyone knows but no one talks about. A secret of who their father is. Thomas Jefferson, writer of the Declaration of Independance, 3rd President of the United States, founder of the University of Virginia, and slave owner - is their father.


An honest look at race and slavery during the 1800s, Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley takes you on a 20 year journey with the Hemings boys as they grow up as slaves on Monticello questioning everything around them and grow up into young free men, loose in a still young country founded by their father.

For lovers of historical fiction and family drama in grades 6-8.
Posted by Lessa

THE POSSIBILITY OF FLYING

I won't lie, Francesca Lia Block is a wonderful author, but she is an author that will only appeal to certain people. I can't even tell you who those people are, but the way she writes is different than other authors because nothing about the stories are obvious. You have to find your way, much like the characters in one of her recent books THE WATERS AND THE WILD. This is a story about a 13-year-old girl, who's not really a girl. She makes friends with a 18th century slave girl, who's not really a slave girl, and an alien boy who's not really an alien. Or maybe they are these things. Whatever the case, this girl, who finds herself wanting to eat dirt all the time, keeps seeing another version of herself - in her room, walking down the street, out in the back yard. The "doppleganger" version is here to replace her, and it's only a matter of time before the reality sets in. Obscure enough for you? Recommended for 6th-8th grades.

THE TRUE MEANING OF STRUGGLE

Isabel is a slave. Her mother is dead, she is sold to dreadful owners, her sister is sent away, and she suffers physical and mental punishment on a daily basis. But CHAINS by Laurie Halse Anderson (who also wrote the award winning novel SPEAK) is a fascinating book. Not only do you get a grueling perspective on the life of a slave, the story provides a unique window for seeing what it was like during the Revolutionary War. As Isabel struggles to decide her fate, she spies on the King's supporters and delivers food to the prisoners the British have captured. It isn't long before everything spirals out of control and Isabel must make some major decisions. This is the first in a new series. For grades 4 and up

THE STARS GUIDE YOUR WAY

THE DRINKING GOURD by F. N. Monjo is a little bit of history with a twist of doing the right thing. Tommy Fuller gets in trouble at church one Sunday and is sent home, only to find a family of runaway slaves hiding in his barn. The Drinking Gourd, also known as the Big Dipper, contains the North Star which is leading Big Jeff and his family to Canada, and Tommy’s father is hiding them. Tommy’s father states that laws should not be broken, but there are exceptions to every rule. There aren't many historical fiction stories for the early reader, much less one that deals with the Underground Railroad. This is a great book to get younger readers into the historical fiction genre. For Kindergarten - 3rd grades.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR LOVE?

THE BALLAD OF BELLE DORCAS by William Hooks is a dark and mystical old folk tale from the time of slaves in the Deep South. Belle Dorcas, the daughter of a white man and a black woman, is free-born, meaning that she is not born into slavery. She falls in love with a slave named Joshua and marries him, and together they work on the same plantation with a kind master. When a new owner takes over the plantation where Joshua is enslaved and threatens to sell him, Belle Dorcas seeks the help of a local conjure woman, that some might call a witch, who turns Joshua into a tree so that they may be together without the threat of slavery tearing them apart. Great for a little bit of black history, a greater bit of magic and a mysterious twist that makes Joshua more than a tree every night. Ages 9 and up.

IN THE NAME OF TOURISM

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt is a Newberry Honor book based on the Malaga community in Maine at the beginning of the 1900's. Isolated, Tucker is more aware than ever that he is not the son his father would wish for, dutiful and obedient. Worse, after a spurt of temper, he must redeem himself by reading to a crotchety old lady who wants to make sure that someone will be there to record her last words for posterity. Things seem brighter when he is befriended by another outsider living on a beautiful island offshore which everyone in town wants to turn into a tourist destination to boost the local economy. But then where would Lizzie Bright and her community of black freed and runaway slaves who have been there for over 100 years go?

For mature readers in grade 5 and older.