The Bicycle Spy

McDonough, Yona Zeldis. The Bicycle Spy. New York: Scholastic Press, 2016.
Twelve-year-old Marcel – riding his bicycle and dreaming of racing in the Tour de France – discovers that he is delivering more than bread from his family’s bakery. He is delivering secret messages that must be kept hidden from the German soldiers who have invaded France. Set in 1942, this suspenseful novel – with widely spaced lines and relatively large print – will appeal to readers 10 years old and up. 

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Paper Son

Leung, Julie. Paper Son : the Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2019.
In 1919, a nine-year-old boy left his home in China to move to America with his father. Every night on the long voyage across the ocean, he memorized the answers he would need to correctly answer the questions sure to be asked by immigration officials. Years later, after studying art in California, he became one of the animators who helped create Disney’s famous film, Bambi. This beautiful picture book – accompanied by photographs and historical information – is highly recommended for readers 8 years old and up.

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A Song for China

Zhang, Ange. A Song for China: How My Father Wrote Yellow River Cantata. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2019.
A fascinating account of the author’s father, a writer who used his art and writing to fight for social justice in China. Illustrated with photographs and wood-block style illustrations and  supplemented by the English and Chinese words of the cantata, this 54-page biography is highly recommended for readers 14-years-old and up who want to expand their understanding of Chinese history.

Orphan Train Girl

Kline, Christina Baker. Orphan Train Girl: the Young Readers’ Edition of Orphan Train. New York: Harper, 2017.
Molly, a foster child in Maine, is court-ordered to do community service after stealing a book from the public library. Forced to help an elderly woman clean up her attic, she makes a friend who shares her own past as a homeless Irish-Catholic child sent out to work without pay in order to earn her keep. A powerful story based on history as explained – and illustrated with photographs – in an afterward. Highly recommended for readers 11 years old and up.

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Words on Fire

Nielsen, Jennifer A. Words on Fire. New York: Scholastic Press, 2019.
“In 1893 twelve-year-old Audra lives on a farm in Lithuania, and tries to avoid the Cossack soldiers who enforce the Russian decrees that ban Lithuanian books, religion, culture, and even the language; but when the soldiers invade the farm Audra is the only one who escapes and, unsure of what has happened to her parents, she embarks on a dangerous journey, carrying the smuggled Lithuanian books that fuel the growing resistance movement, unsure of who to trust, but risking her life and freedom for her country.” – CIP
A 322-page historical novel highly recommended for readers 11 years old and up.

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Catch You Later, Traitor

Avi. Catch you Later, Traitor. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2015.
Twelve-year-old Pete Collison enjoys reading detective novels and listening to radio dramas. But in 1950s America, the government’s search for communist sympathizers leads to a real-life mystery when the FBI shows up at Pete’s home in Brooklyn, New York. Could there be Communist spies in his family? A note at the end of the story provides more information about this time in American history, describing the author’s connections to his own life growing up in New York City. A fast-moving suspenseful novel highly recommended for readers 11 years old and up.

Stories of controlling societies

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Plagues and Pandemics

Deadly Invaders

Grady, Denise. Deadly Invaders: Virus Outbreaks Around the World, from Marburg Fever to Avian Flu. Boston: Kingfisher, 2006.

An American Plague

Murphy, Jim. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. New York: Clarion Books, 2003.  An extensively documented Newbery Honor Book by an award-winning writer. Recommended for competent and curious readers 12 years old and up.

Peters, Merilee. Patient Zero: Solving the Mysteries of Deadly Epidemics. Toronto: Annick Press, 2014.

Saidmann, Fr̩d̩ric. Wash Your Hands!: The Dirty Truth about Germs, Viruses, and EpidemicsРand the Simple Ways to Protect Yourself in a Dangerous World. New York: Weinstein Books, 2008.