Historical+Fiction

(Newberry Award Medal winner) ||= ||= Living a life on the road, constantly being forced to settle in new places only to have to pack up and move again for as long as she can remember thanks to her dad's work on the railroads, Abilene Tucker's dad finally realizes that what his little girl really needs is some stability in her life. He therefore sends her to a sleepy little town called Manifest, to live for the summer...and perhaps longer. While in Manifest, Abilene and her two new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, partake in a series of adventures. They are constantly on the prowl to try and discover the identity of a spy known as "The Rattler," befriend an eccentric Hungarian fortune teller, and uncover the dark and tragic history of the town's inhabitants during their struggles throughout Prohibition and World War I. In a town full of immigrants from over 20 different countries across the world, it seems that everyone has a story to tell, and that perhaps this "sleepy" town isn't so "sleepy" after all. ||= Miss Christensen ||
 * = ** Title of Book and Author's Name ** ||= ** Cover Art ** ||= ** Brief Summary/Synopsis ** ||= ** Reviewer's Name ** ||
 * = __The King of Mulberry Street__ by Donna Jo Napoli ||= [[image:King.jpg width="129" height="166"]] ||= Beniamino, a 9 year old Jewish boy from Napoli, Italy, finds himself on a cargo ship to America in 1892. His mother sent him to America, with hopes that her only son could have a better life there than the life of poverty he had back in Italy. Beniamino, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to return home to Italy. From the moment he sets foot on Ellis Island, he begins plotting ways to try and get back to Italy, all while trying to survive on the streets of New York. Padrones, orphanages, exposure, disease, and hunger, are just a few of the dangers he must escape during his quest. ||= Miss Christensen ||
 * = __King of Shadows__ by Susan Cooper ||= [[image:http://www.toysandbooks.com/Fall99/KingOfShadows.JPG width="113" height="192"]] ||= Nat Field needs a way to escape the harsh realities of the early death of his mother and suicide of his father. That escape is found through the world of theatre and acting. While in London, rehearsing to take part in William Shakespeare's //A Midsummer Night's Dream// as the character Puck, Nat unexpectedly catches a rare and dangerous case of the bubonic plague. In the hospital for a week, Nat quickly discovers that he has travelled through time and switched places with a boy named Nathan Field who lived in London 400 years ago. Although he is concerned about the possibility of never being able to return to his life in the "future," Nat is delighted to partake in the //Dream// with none other than Shakespeare himself! ||= Miss Christensen ||
 * = //Moon Over Manifest// by Clare Vanderpool