Recent Books about War & Civil Unrest: Grades 5-8

Novels
Agosín, Marjorie. (2014). I Lived on Butterfly Hill. Illustrated by Lee White. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. (Pinochet’s takeover of Chile)
Avi. (2012). Sophia's War. New York: Beach Lane Books.
Bradman, Tony. (Ed.). (2014). Stories of WWI. London, UK: Orchard Books. (WWI)
Dallas, Sandra. (2014). Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky. Ann Arbor, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. (Japanese Interment, WWII)
Faulkner, Matt. (2014). Gaijin: American Prisoner of War. New York: Hyperion. (Japanese Interment, WWII)
Fleming, David. (2013). The Saturday Boy. Viking Children's (US-Afghanistan)
Foreman, Michael. (2014). War Game: Village Green to No-Man's-Land. London, UK: Pavillion. (WWI)
Gonzalez, Christina Diaz. (2012). A Thunderous Whisper. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers. (Spanish Civil War/WWII)
Gonzalez, Christina Diaz. (2010). The Red Umbrella. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers. (Castro's Revolution, Cuba, 1961)
Matti, Truus. (2013). Mister Orange. Brooklyn, NY: Enchanted Lion Books. (WWII - Set in Manhattan)
Morpurg, Michael. (2012/2015). A Medal for Leroy. New York: Square Fish. (WWI)
Myers, Walter Dean. (2013). Invasion. New York: Scholastic. (WWII) (Grade 8 and higher)

Pellegrino, Marge. (2014). Journey of Dreams. London, UK: Frances Lincoln Children's Books. (Guatemala, 1980s)
Voorhoeve, Anne C. (2012). My Family for the War. New York: Penguin. (Kindertransport, WWII)
Whelan, Gerard. (2013). The Guns of Easter. Dublin, Ireland: The O'Brien Press. (Dublin, 1916)

Novels in Verse/Poetry
Brown, Skilla. (2014). Caminar. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. (Guatemala, 1980s)
Frost, Helen. (2013). Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War. New York:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (War of 1812)
Lewis, J. Patrick. (2014). Harlem Hellfighters. Illustrated by Gary Kelley. Mankato, MN: Creative Editions.  (World War I)

Lewis, J. Patrick. (2012). And the Soldiers Sang. Illustrated by Gary Kelley. Mankato, MN: Creative Editions.  (World War I)
Lewis, J. Patrick. (2009). The House. Illustrated by Robert Innocenti. Mankato, MN: Creative Editions.  (World War II to Present)
Nagai, Mariko. (2014). Dust of Eden: A Novel.  Park Ridge, IL: Albert Whitman & Company. (Japanese Interment, WWII)

Nonfiction

Arato, Rona. (2013). The Last Train: A Holocaust Story. Toronto, ON: Owlkids Books. (WWII/Holocaust)

Ellis, Deborah. (2010). Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees. Toronto: Groundwood Books. (US-Iraq War)

Farrell, Mary Cronk & First Lieutenant Diane Carlson Evans. (2014). Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific. New York:  Abrams Books.

Marrin, Albert. (2104). A Volcano Beneath the Snow: John Brown's War Against Slavery. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers. (1800-1859)

Matthews, Jenny. (2014). Children Growing Up with War. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.  (Refugee Camps, Contemporary)

Moss, Marissa. (2013). Barbed Wire Baseball. Illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. New York: Abrams Books. (Japanese Interment/WWII)

Stone,Tanya Lee. (2013). Courage Has No Color, The True Story of the Triple Nickles. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. (WWII)

Walker, NIki. (2013). Why Do We Fight?: Conflict, War, and Peace. Toronto, ON: Owlkids Books.

Wilkes, Sybella.  (2010). Out of Iraq: Refugees' Stories in Words, Paintings and Music. Evans Brothers. (US-Iraq War)

Science Books for Children: Scientist in the Field Series

from The Tarantula Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series). Photograph by Nic Bishop.

This Scientist in the Field series, published by HMH, is written for children in about grade 4 and higher. The informational texts features recounts of first hand adventures in the field coupled with striking photography. Although I have read many of the books, I have not yet finished the series. I do plan to one day make my way through each book as they are that well written, interesting, and informative. 

Robert F. Sibert award winners: Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot and Sibert honors, The Tarantula Scientist, Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea, and The Elephant Scientist

Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Award honor Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion

The Books

Batten, Mary. (2001).  Anthropologists: Scientists of the People (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Magadalena Hurtado and Kim Hill. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Bishop, Nic. (2002).  Digging for Bird Dinosaurs: An Expedition to Madagascar (Scientists in the Field Series).  Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Burns, Loree Griffin. (2014). Beetle Busters: (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Burns, Loree Griffin. (2010). The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Burns, Loree Griffin. (2007). Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion (Scientists in the Field Series).  Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Carson, Mary Kay. (2014). Park Scientists: Gila Monsters, Geysers, and Grizzly Bears in America’s Own Backyard (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Tom Ulhman. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Carson, Mary Kay. (2010). The Bat Scientists (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Tom Ulhman. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Carson, Mary Kay. (2007). Emi and the Rhino Scientists (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Tom Ulhman. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Collard, Sneed B. III. (2008). Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species (Scientists in the Field Series).  Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Collard, Sneed B. III. (2005). The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America’s Lost Grasslands (Scientists in the Field Series).  Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Frydenborg, Kay. (2012). Wild Horse Scientists (Scientist in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Heos, Bridgit. (2013). Stronger Than Steel: Spider Silk DNA and the Quest for Better Bulletproof Vests, Sutures, and Parachute Rope (Scientist in the Field Series). Photographs by Andy Comins. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Jackson, Donna M. (2011). Mysterious Universe: Supernovae, Dark Energy, and Black Holes (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Nic Bishop. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Jackson, Donna M. (2009). Extreme Scientists: Exploring Nature’s Mysteries from Perilous Places (Scientists in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Jackson, Donna M. (2002). The Wildlife Detectives: How Forensic Scientists Fight Cries Against Nature (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Jackson, Donna M. (2002). The Bug Scientists (Scientists in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Kramer, Stephen. (2003). Hidden Worlds: Looking Through a Scientist's Microscope (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Dennis Kunkle. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Lourie, Peter. (2012). The Polar Bear Scientist (Scientist in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Lourie, Peter. (2011). The Manatee Scientist: Saving Vulnerable Species (Scientist in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Lourie, Peter. (2009). Whaling Season: A Year on the Life of an Arctic Whale Scientist (Scientist in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Mallory, Kenneth. (2006). Diving to a Deep-Sea Volcano (Scientists in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Mallory, Kenneth. (2002). Swimming with Hammerhead Sharks (Scientists in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Montgomery, Sy. (2014). Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa’s Fastest Cat (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Nic Bishop. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Montgomery, Sy. (2013). The Tapir Scientists: Saving South America’s Largest Mammal (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Nic Bishop. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Montgomery, Sy. (2012). Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Nic Bishop. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Montgomery, Sy. (2010). Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Nic Bishop. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Montgomery, Sy. (2009). The Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Nic Bishop. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Montgomery, Sy. (2007). The Tarantula Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Nic Bishop. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Montgomery, Sy. (2001). The Snake Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Nic Bishop. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

O’Connell, Caitlin and Donna M. Jackson. (2011). The Elephant Scientist: Saving Vulnerable Species (Scientist in the Field Series). Photographs by Caitlin O’Connell and Timothy Rodwell. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Osborne, Elinor. (2002). Project UltraSwan (Scientist in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Rusch, Elizabeth. (2014). The Next Wave: The Quest to Harness the Power of the Oceans (Scientist in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Rusch, Elizabeth. (2013). Eruptions: Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives (Scientist in the Field Series). Photographs by Tom Uhlman. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Rusch, Elizabeth. (2012). The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity (Scientists in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Sayre, Alice Pully. (2006). Secrets of Sound: Studying the Calls and Songs of Whales, Elephants, and Birds (Scientists in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Swinburne, Stephen R. (2014). Sea Turtle Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Swinburne, Stephen R. (2002). The Wood Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Susan C. Morse. Swinburne, Stephen R. (2001). Once A Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray Wolf  (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Jim Brandenburg. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Turner, Pamela. (2013). The Dolphins of Shark Bay (Scientist in the Field Series). Photographs by Scott Tuason. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Turner, Pamela. (2012). Gorilla Doctors: Saving Endangered Great Apes (Scientist in the Field Series). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Turner, Pamela. (2011). The Frog Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series). Photographs by Andy Comins. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Turner, Pamela. (2010). Project Seahorse (Scientist in the Field Series). Photographs by Scott Tuason. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.