Skip to the main content
PeabodyMake a free story

Books by genre

Top 16 historical fiction books from the 1800s and 1900s

These novels follow pioneers, the Civil War, the Depression, the civil rights movement and World War II. Many are award winners that school libraries use. Several include racism and loss that families may want to discuss.

Titles were chosen from award winners, ALSC notable lists and long-running library favorites, then each title and author was checked against Open Library in Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.

  1. Little House in the Big Woods

    Laura Ingalls Wilder · Ages 6-10

    A girl's year in a Wisconsin log cabin in the 1870s. The first Little House book.

    Watch for: Contains outdated portrayals of Native Americans in later books.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  2. Sarah, Plain and Tall

    Patricia MacLachlan · Ages 7-10

    A mail-order bride from Maine arrives on the prairie. Newbery winner; short and quiet.

    Watch for: A mother's death.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  3. Across Five Aprils

    Irene Hunt · Ages 10-14

    A family in southern Illinois is split by the Civil War. Newbery Honor.

    Watch for: War deaths.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  4. Elijah of Buxton

    Christopher Paul Curtis · Ages 10-14

    A boy in a Canadian settlement of freed slaves goes to Michigan to recover stolen money. Newbery Honor.

    Watch for: Slavery and violence.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  5. Bud, Not Buddy

    Christopher Paul Curtis · Ages 9-12

    A ten-year-old runs away in Depression-era Michigan to find the man he thinks is his father. Newbery and Coretta Scott King winner.

    Watch for: Hunger and a mother's death.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  6. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

    Mildred D. Taylor · Ages 10-14

    A Black family in 1930s Mississippi tries to keep its land. Newbery winner.

    Watch for: Racist violence and slurs.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  7. Number the Stars

    Lois Lowry · Ages 9-12

    A Danish girl helps her Jewish friend escape the Nazis in 1943. Newbery winner.

    Watch for: War and a death.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  8. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

    Christopher Paul Curtis · Ages 9-13

    A funny family story turns serious when the Watsons drive to Alabama. Newbery Honor.

    Watch for: The church bombing.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  9. Esperanza Rising

    Pam Muñoz Ryan · Ages 9-13

    A rich girl from Mexico becomes a farm worker in California during the Depression.

    Watch for: A father's death.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  10. Out of the Dust

    Karen Hesse · Ages 10-14

    Billie Jo lives in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, told in verse. Newbery winner.

    Watch for: A severe accident and a death.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  11. Hattie Big Sky

    Kirby Larson · Ages 10-14

    Sixteen-year-old Hattie homesteads in Montana in 1918. Newbery Honor.

    Watch for: Wartime prejudice.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  12. Moon Over Manifest

    Clare Vanderpool · Ages 10-13

    Abilene arrives in a Kansas town in 1936 and uncovers its past. Newbery winner.

    Watch for: Some wartime and immigrant prejudice.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  13. Al Capone Does My Shirts

    Gennifer Choldenko · Ages 10-13

    Moose lives on Alcatraz in 1935 because his father works there. His sister has autism.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  14. Fever 1793

    Laurie Halse Anderson · Ages 11-14

    A girl survives the yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia.

    Watch for: Many deaths.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  15. Lyddie

    Katherine Paterson · Ages 11-14

    A farm girl works in a textile mill in 1840s Massachusetts.

    Watch for: Hard labor.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  16. Letters from Rifka

    Karen Hesse · Ages 9-12

    A Jewish girl flees Russia in 1919, written as letters. Based on the author's relative.

    Watch for: Illness and loss.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

More lists

All 348 lists →