Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

"As the frightening impact of World War II creeps closer and closer to her door, eleven-year-old Ada learns to manage life on the home front"--

This story of Thomas Jefferson's children by one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, tells a darker piece of America's history from an often unseen perspective-that of three of Jefferson's slaves-including two of his own children. As each child grows up and tells his story, the contradiction between slavery and freedom becomes starker, calliing into question the real meaning of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This poignant story sheds

...

No one would guess that a 13-year-old schoolgirl and singer named Suzanne would become one of France's great heroes. But when the German army occupies her home town of Cherbourg during World War II, Suzanne learns that there are some things worth fighting for, any way she can. Recruited by the French Resistance, Suzanne becomes a spy covertly working for a noble cause. Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's historical novel is a captivating tale of courage.

Depending on an older sister who protected her when their mother went to prison and their mother's boyfriend committed a terrible act, 10-year-old Della tries to figure out what to do when her older sister attempts suicide.

Ten-year-old Lizzy Baker loves her life in the Southwest Territory. Her family's farm is doing well, and her mother earns extra money by weaving. But at harvest time Lizzy suffers bouts of sickness. And each year is worse than the last. The doctor and the mid-wife say her terrible coughing is asthma. But they don't know the cause, and their potions and prescriptions aren't much help. Just when Lizzy thinks she can no longer struggle for another breath,...

Ten-year-old Ada has never left her family's one-room apartment. Her bitter mother is too humiliated by Ada's twisted foot to let her outside. But when her little brother, Jamie is going to be shipped out of London to escape World War II, Ada doesn't waste a minute: she sneaks out to join him. So begins a new adventure for Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take in two kids. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read,...