Moments in History: Slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Expansion and Industrialization

Chains / Laurie Halse Anderson

After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.

My Name is Not Friday / Jon Walter

Samuel and his younger brother, Joshua, are free black boys living in an orphanage during the Civil War, but when Samuel takes the blame for his brother's prank, he is sent South, given a new name, and sold into slavery--and somehow he must survive both captivity and the war, to find his way back to his brother.

To stay alive : Mary Ann Graves and the tragic journey of the Donner Party / Skila Brown

A young survivor of the tragic Donner Party of 1846 describes how her family and others became victims of freezing temperatures and starvation.

The journey of Little Charlie / Christopher Paul Curtis

Striking a deal with a formidable local in the aftermath of his father's death, 12-year-old Charlie, the child of sharecroppers, agrees to track down a band of thieves only to confront a difficult moral choice when he learns the true identities and circumstances of his targets.

Eventide / Sarah Goodman

When their father descends into madness after the death of their mother, Verity Pruitt and her little sister Lilah find themselves on an orphan train to rural Arkansas. Eleven-year-old Lilah is quickly adopted, but seventeen-year-old Verity is not. Desperate to stay close to her sister, Verity indentures herself as a farmhand.

Uprising / Margaret Peterson Haddix

In 1927, at the urging of twenty-one-year-old Harriet, Mrs. Livingston reluctantly recalls her experiences at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, including miserable working conditions that led to a strike, then the fire that took the lives of her two best friends.

Willow / Tonya Cherie Hegamin

In 1848 Willow, a fifteen-year-old educated slave girl faces an inconceivable choice -- between bondage and freedom, family and love -- as free born, seventeen-year-old Cato, a black man, takes it upon himself to sneak as many fugitive slaves to freedom as he can on the Mason-Dixon Line.

Under a painted sky / Stacey Lee

In 1849 Missouri, Sammy, a Chinese girl, and Annamae, a runaway slave girl, disguise themselves as boys and travel on the Oregon Trail to California, facing countless dangers together and forging an unforgettable bond of friendship.

Shackles from the deep : tracing the path of a sunken slave ship, a bitter past, and a rich legacy / Michael Cottman

The Henrietta Marie is the core of an amazing journey stretching across three continents, from foundries and tombs in England, to slave ports on the shores of West Africa, to present-day Caribbean plantations. This is the untold story of millions of people taken as captives to the New World.

The Downstairs Girl / Stacey Lee

In 1890, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works in Atlanta as a lady's maid for the cruel Caroline Payne, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. At night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for “the genteel Southern lady.”

Now or Never!: 54th Massachusetts Infantry's War to End Slavery / Ray Anthony Shepard

This is the dual biography of two little-known but extraordinary men in Civil War history George E. Stephens and James Henry Gooding. These Union soldiers not only served in the Massachusetts 54th Infantry, the well-known black regiment, but were also war correspondents who published eyewitness reports of the battlefields.

The snow fell three graves deep : voices from the Donner party / Allan Wolf

A novel in verse recounts the chilling survival tale of the Donner party, a group of emigrants bound for California, during the 1846-1847 winter from the perspectives of its leaders, a scholarly wife, two Miwok guides, the Reed children and other historical figures.

Breaker boys : how a photograph helped end child labor / Michael Burgan ; content adviser, Brett Barker

Little boys as young as six spent long days sorting coal in dusty, dangerous conditions. With his camera, Lewis Hine showed people what life was like for the children working in mines, factories, and mills.

Jefferson’s Sons / Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

A fictionalized look at the last twenty years of Thomas Jefferson's life at Monticello through the eyes of three of his slaves, two of whom were his sons by his slave, Sally Hemings.

Gunpowder Girls: The True Stories of Three Civil War Tragedies / Tanya Anderson

With men off fighting in the Civil War, the government hired women and girls to make millions of rounds of ammunition. Many of these workers were killed, blown up, and burned beyond recognition. Gunpowder Girls is a story of child labor, immigrant hopes, and the cruel, endless demands of war.

Orphan trains : taking the rails to a new life / Rebecca Langston-George ; consultant: Shaley George, Curator, National Orphan Train Complex

Discover the true story of seven orphans who were settled with families in the Midwest by the Children's Aid Society of New York City.

Manifest destiny : westward expansion / Shane Mountjoy

As the population of the thirteen colonies grew and the economy developed, the desire to expand into new land increased. Nineteenth-century Americans believed it was their divine right to expand their territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

Day of Tears / Julius Lester

Emma has taken care of the Butler children since Sarah and Frances's mother, Fanny, left. Emma wants to raise the girls to have good hearts, as a rift over slavery has ripped the Butler household apart. Now, to pay off debts, Pierce Butler wants to cash in his slave "assets", including Emma.

Run for it : stories of slaves who fought for their freedom / Marcelo d'Salete

This graphic novel tells unforgettable stories about Afro-Brazilian slaves who rebelled against oppression.

Deadly aim : the Civil War story of Michigan's Anishinaabe sharpshooters / Sally M. Walker.

Explores the extraordinary lives of Michigan’s Anishinaabe sharpshooters who served with honor and heroism despite enduring broken treaties, loss of tribal lands, and racism.

Moments in History: Slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Expansion and Industrialization

Chains / Laurie Halse Anderson

My Name is Not Friday / Jon Walter

To stay alive : Mary Ann Graves and the tragic journey of the Donner Party / Skila Brown

The journey of Little Charlie / Christopher Paul Curtis

Eventide / Sarah Goodman

Uprising / Margaret Peterson Haddix

Willow / Tonya Cherie Hegamin

Under a painted sky / Stacey Lee

Shackles from the deep : tracing the path of a sunken slave ship, a bitter past, and a rich legacy / Michael Cottman

The Downstairs Girl / Stacey Lee

Now or Never!: 54th Massachusetts Infantry’s War to End Slavery / Ray Anthony Shepard

The snow fell three graves deep : voices from the Donner party / Allan Wolf

Breaker boys : how a photograph helped end child labor / Michael Burgan ; content adviser, Brett Barker

Jefferson’s Sons / Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Gunpowder Girls: The True Stories of Three Civil War Tragedies / Tanya Anderson

Orphan trains : taking the rails to a new life / Rebecca Langston-George ; consultant: Shaley George, Curator, National Orphan Train Complex

Manifest destiny : westward expansion / Shane Mountjoy

Day of Tears / Julius Lester

Run for it : stories of slaves who fought for their freedom / Marcelo d’Salete

Deadly aim : the Civil War story of Michigan’s Anishinaabe sharpshooters / Sally M. Walker.

Book List: Moments in History: Slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Expansion and Industrialization

Sachem Public Library

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Moments in History: Slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Expansion and Industrialization

Book List: Moments in History: Slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Expansion and Industrialization

Sachem Public Library