Historical Fiction Books for 6th Graders

It’s 1944, and Dory’s father has joined the US Army in World War II, leaving behind 12-year-old Dory and her brothers, Fish (17) and Pike (7), with the parting words that the neighborhood will always give them what they need. At the same time, Dory discovers an old dumbwaiter (old school elevator) in Caputo’s, which she follows one night to a hideout beyond her expectations. Can the kids get the miracle they need to keep their home and get their father back in one piece? This is a heartwarming, slice-of-life middle grade novel about New York City, family, and the safety of community.

Ada has one clubbed foot and has been hidden inside their London apartment all her life by her abusive mother. But when the war begins, and kids in England get sent to the countryside, Ada and her brother join the children without their mother’s knowledge. There, staying with a loving adult for the first time, the kids bond together and with Susan, their foster parent. But what happens when it’s time to go back? This is a heartwarming tale for readers who enjoyed A Place to Hang the Moon.

The latest Alan Gratz book is set in the 1940s, and it’s about two friends, Frank and Stanley, army brats, one caucasian and one Japanese-American, whose lives and friendship implode during the attack of Pearl Harbor. This is a fascinating historical account that is good for 4-6 graders who want to learn about WWII and this historical event.

A most ill-fated adventure confronts young Santos upon bringing his mother and siblings from their small Italian village to New York City, where they are to meet up with his father in 1911. Soon after alighting the ferry at Ellis Island, Santos gets separated from his mother and siblings, and when he arrives in NYC, his father is nowhere to be found. Homeless, he gets in with a group of homeless boys who steal food to survive until a betrayal upsets the arrangement. There are so many twists and turns in this highly engaging book about a protagonist navigating a difficult situation with poor English language skills and no family to comfort him. Add short chapters, and you get a fantastic class discussion book that kids won’t be able to put down!

This short novel is all about a girl who gets to star in a motion picture in the early days of silent film, with her brothers when the movie director discovers that she’s good with horses. I found this to be surprisingly funny and insightful, especially in terms of the history of moviemaking. The audiobook is also very well done.

13-year-old Japanese-American Amy is stuck visiting her grandmother in Japan when Pearl Harbor is bombed and soon recruited as a spy for Japan, feeling desperately torn in her loyalties to both countries. The images in this stunning, short graphic novel are so powerful, and the sparse text lends more punch to the story.

This WORDLESS graphic novel is a charmer! Marisol’s picture-perfect life in Cuba with her parents suddenly turns gray when Fidel Castro gains power in the 1950s, forcing Marisol’s parents to ship her off to the US using Operation Peter Pan. There, as she struggles to assimilate, Marisol’s world is drained of color and she must find her voice and joy again through books and plants. This is a great choice for ESL students as there are very few English and Spanish words throughout. You can see a flip-through of the book on my Instagram page.

This inspiring, highly-approachable release conveys the little-known story of Muslims who rescued hundreds of Jews in Paris during WWII. With an unforgettable protagonist, high-stakes rescues, and a fast-paced plot, this is an unmissable historical fiction novel.

Sweet Michael Rosario is shy and anxious about Y2K. The only bright spot in his life besides his doting but BUSY (working three jobs) single mother is his babysitter, Gibby, whom he might have a crush on. One day, Gibby and Michael spot an unusually dressed teenager hanging around their housing complex, and after a confrontation, they realize he’s a time traveler from the future named Ridge. This is a brilliant, highly readable middle grade book from the QUEEN of character-driven middle grade literature. This expansive sci-fi feels at once introspective and cinematic, leaping off the page like something made for a movie. Entrada is gifted at conjuring fully formed characters whose fears and inner lives are wholly and sensitively rendered.

This is a heartbreaking middle grade book about a girl’s experience during the partition of India. Nisha is caught between her Hindu-Indian and Muslim-Indian sides. She’s also dealing with the loss of her mother. So, when her country starts to split in two, her search for identity becomes even more meaningful. There’s a reason why this one is a Newbery Honor book.

There’s a reason why this book won the Newbery Medal! Lowry writes about the German occupation of Denmark through the eyes of 10-year-old Annemarie whose family has to hide their Jewish friends during that tense period. It is so evocative, yet manages to be short and totally accessible for younger readers. I loved this on audio!

This sprawling family saga follows three generations of women over nearly 100 years and the ancestor that came before them over 400 years earlier. Behar traces the journey of a line of Sephardic Jewish women as the first one flees Toledo, Spain, to Turkey, from where one of her descendants will be exiled to Cuba and from where her daughter will flee to Miami. I flew through this historical fiction title (and you know how rare that is for me) and admired the author’s ability to keep such a saga under 300 pages and kid-appropriate. Come for the moving history of Sephardic Jews and stay for the exquisite storytelling and literary tourism. Heads up for accounts of child marriage.

Valentina and Oksana are classmates and neighbors living in Pryapta near Chornobyl when the nuclear explosion occurs. Valentina is Jewish, and Oksana is Ukrainian. Oksana’s father is abusive and dies in the explosion, and Oksana’s mother isn’t allowed to leave because of her high radiation exposure, so Oksana is forced to leave with Valentina and her mother. This book had many surprising twists and plenty of rich historical detail. It’s very good on audio and kept me hooked from start to finish in under 24 hours. It is similar to The Lost Year but less graphic and shocking and would work for younger students wanting less graphic wartime descriptions. It follows an alternate timeline with Rifka, Valentina’s grandmother, as we see how she came to Leningrad and how her faith sustained her. Big themes of friendship, religious tolerance, holocaust, and self-worth. Very satisfying ending.

In his debut memoir, Mexikid, author Pedro Martin relates a pivotal experience of his childhood. Pedro Martin and his family of 11 (NINE kids!) decide to drive from the US to Mexico to pick up his aging Abuelo and bring him to the US with them. Along the way, they encounter corrupt border patrol officers, diarrhea-inducing milk, bad haircuts, stories of his Abuelo’s past, and plenty of family. This is a lively, funny, and transporting middle grade graphic novel about family, Mexican history, and a life-changing family road trip

A heartbreaking story about two siblings separated from their family while escaping North Korea in the 1950s during the Korean War. I was stressed reading all that Sora and her brother had to survive to reach Busan and hopefully reunite with their family. This story explores gender equality as Sora is treated as less than her brothers by some family members who openly proclaim boy children to be more valuable than girls. There’s also plenty to discuss about ethics in the time of war and survival as Sora has to make some morally questionable choices to get by, and the adults they encounter on the way aren’t always the safest or most trustworthy. This would make an amazing readaloud for young readers who enjoy survival stories but also like tearjerkers and feel passionate about social issues.