Books like 'Blackboard Bear'
Readers who enjoyed Blackboard Bear by Martha Alexander also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical 20th century children friendship
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Heaven to Betsy & Betsy in Spite of Herself by Vera Neville
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHeaven to Betsy : Betsy Ray is loving every minute of freshman year at Deep Valley High-with new and old friends all around her...not to mention boys! But most intriguing of all is the one she and her best friend, Tacy, dub "the Tall Dark Stranger... -
Betsy Was a Junior & Betsy and Joe by Vera Neville
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBetsy Was a Junior: It's the best school year ever, especially now that charming, funny Tib Muller is back in Deep Valley. But when her crowd gets into trouble, Betsy's best year could turn out to be her worst... -
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThis is the first book of A.A. Milne's verses for children, with Ernest H. Shepard's line illustrations in colour...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure animals audiobook book children-books -
Ascolta il mio cuore by Bianca Pitzorno
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsQuando la nuova maestra viene soprannominata Arpia Sferza e quando ogni giorno di scuola si trasforma in una battaglia, potete ben credere che in IV D ne succedono davvero di tutti i colori! Tra scheletri da rimontare e motociclette, generali austriaci e fantasmi in cornice, lettrici di fotoromanzi e pantere di velluto, tre eroine come Elisa, Prisca, Rosalba condurranno la loro lotta contro... -
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The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWelcome to Noisy Village! Go crayfishing in the summer at Nocken, "dipping in the pot" at Christmastime with Lisa and Karl, and join Britta and Anna who know the best way to go about "nutting" for the New Year...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books classics -
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsHairy Maclary goes off for a walk with a few of his friends - and comes up against a nasty surprise, in the shape of the cat Scarface Claw, who chases the dogs away. This bestselling story is now available as an adorable mini paperback in a brand new series of Pocket Puffins... -
Seacrow Island by Astrid Lindgren
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLife in their rented summer cottage on Seacrow Island is sometimes happy, sometimes exciting, and sometimes tragic, but never uneventful for a Swedish author, his three sons, and nineteen-year-old daughter...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books classics -
The Folk Of The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsJo, Bessie and Fanny have a visit from snooty friend Connie. Connie won't believe in the Faraway Tree and the magical people who live there - Moon-face, Silky the fairy and Saucepan Man. There's only one way to prove her wrong - together the children climb the tree, and visit some of the lands at the top of it, like the Land of Secrets and the Land of Treats...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books classics -
Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 30 ratings"Good night, Gorilla," says the zookeeper. But mischievous Gorilla isn't quite ready to go to sleep. He'd rather follow the zookeeper on his rounds and let all of the other animals out of their cages. Little night owls can sneak along with Gorilla and see who gets the last laugh in this riotous goodnight romp...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure animals anthropomorphism book children-books -
Betsy and Joe by Maud Hart Lovelace
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMade for Each Other? Betsy Ray has always thought that she and the fascinating Joe Willard would make the perfect couple. Now, in her senior year at Deep Valley High School, it looks as though she'll get her wish. As soon as Joe returns from his summer job in North Dakota, he's on the Rays' porch with sweet words for Betsy... -
Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWith Father in Washington and Cuffy, their housekeeper, away visiting a sick cousin, almost anything might happen to the Melendy kids left behind at the Four-Story Mistake. In the Melendy family, adventures are inevitable: Mr...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books classics -
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsA modern classic that no child should miss. Since it was first published in 1939, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel has delighted generations of children. Mike and his trusty steam shovel, Mary Anne, dig deep canals for boats to travel through, cut mountain passes for trains, and hollow out cellars for city skyscrapers -- the very symbol of industrial America...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books classics -
Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAvailable in paperback for the first time, the modern classic that introduced the beloved baby-sitting rottweiler to the world...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure animals anthropomorphism book children-books -
The Girls from the Local by Rosie Archer
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGosport, Hampshire 1943, and even in the middle of war the local pub provides a warm welcome, thanks to its trio of barmaids. Ruby has been living and working at the Point of No Return pub since her parents were killed by a bomb. She loves the bustle of the pub; it helps take her mind off worrying about her fiance, Joe, away fighting in France... -
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Winning Through by Marcia Willett
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt's nearly thirty years since the Chadwick siblings arrived from Kenya at The Keep in Devon to live with their grandmother Freddy. And while much has altered since in their lives, The Keep remains a sanctuary for the whole family; warm, unchanging, filled with love... -
Walt Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice (A Little Golden Book) by Don Ferguson, Peter Emslie
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsApprenticed to a sorcerer, Mickey Mouse tries to use magic to save himself some work... -
Blue by Joyce Moyer Hostetter
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWith her father away at war to fight Hitler, a young girl gains strength by joining her community in battling polio in this Parents' Choice Silver Honor Book based on the 1944 epidemic and the "Miracle of Hickory" Hospital in Hickory, North Carolina. Ann Fay Honeycutt accepts the role of "man of the house" when her father leaves because she wants to do her part for the war... -
One Snowy Night Miniature by Nick Butterworth
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPercy the park keeper always feeds the animals in the park where he lives. But one cold winter’s night Percy discovers that his little friends need more than food, and he must think of a way to help them find a warm place to sleep for the night. Percy’s hut is nice and warm, but he discovers that if you invite one animal in you’ll have to invite them all in...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century animals anthropomorphism book children-books classics -
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA VERY classic from Eric Carle, creator of The Very Hungry CaterpillarEarly one morning a little spider spins her web on a fence post. One by one, the animals of the nearby farm try to distract her, yet the busy little spider keeps diligently at her work...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure animals book children-books classics -
Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWelcome back to Deep Valley Emily Webster, an orphan living with her grandfather, is not like the other girls her age in Deep Valley, Minnesota. The gulf between Emily and her classmates widens even more when they graduate from Deep Valley High School in 1912. Emily longs to go off to college with everyone else, but she can't leave her grandfather... -
Betsy in Spite of Herself by Maud Hart Lovelace
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBetsy Ray is now a sophomore, and she and her Crowd are in the thick of things at Deep Valley High. Whether she's carrying out her duties as class secretary, trying to charm the exasperating Joe Willard, or juggling the demands of rhetoricals, football games, parties, and exams, Betsy's got her hands full. She should be happy... but she is dissatisfied... -
The Paul Street Boys by Ferenc Molnár
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe war between two groups of Hungarian boys living in Budapest. One with Hungarian national colours (red, white, green) is defending the square from redshirts (from Garibaldi's redshirts), who want to occupy the square...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books classics -
Betsy-Tacy and Tib by Maud Hart Lovelace
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThree of a Kind Betsy and Tacy are best friends. Then Tib moves into the neighborhood and the three of them start to play together. The grown-ups think they will quarrel, but they don't. Sometimes they quarrel with Betsy's and Tacy's bossy big sisters, but they never quarrel among themselves.They are not as good as they might be... -
The Story That Cannot Be Told by J. Kasper Kramer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA powerful middle grade debut that weaves together folklore and history to tell the story of a girl finding her voice and the strength to use it during the final months of the Communist regime in Romania in 1989.Ileana has always collected stories...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books communism -
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Holding on by Marcia Willett
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOver the years, the magnificent Keep in Devon has provided a bolt hole for the Chadwick family. Now the five young cousins who grew up there have left home and their grandmother Freddie wonders anxiously whether she will live to see the arrival of the next generation. No matter what happens to them, she knows that The Keep must remain within the family, ready and waiting for their return... -
What Was I Scared Of?: A Glow-in-the Dark Encounter by Dr. Seuss
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDr. Seuss in a glowing new format!What were we waiting for? We’ve taken the classic Dr...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure animals book children-books classics -
The Sky Is Falling by Kit Pearson
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt is the summer of 1940, and all of England fears an invasion by Hitler’s army. Norah lies in bed listening to the anxious voices of her parents downstairs. Then Norah is told that she and her brother, Gavin, are being sent to Canada. The voyage across the ocean is exciting, but at the end of it Norah is miserable... -
The Robber Hotzenplotz by Otfried Preußler
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe robber Hotzenplotz works hard at his job, waking early to hide behind the gorse bushes in the woods and wait for unsuspecting victims...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books classics -
Betsy Was a Junior by Maud Hart Lovelace
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Best School Year Ever That's the kind of junior year Betsy Ray has planned for herself. And when her childhood friend Tib Muller moves back to Deep Valley, Betsy's sure her perfect year is off to a grand start. With charming, funny Tib around, Crowd doings are more fun than ever -- especially after Betsy starts Okto Delta, the first -- ever sorority at Deep Valley High... -
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown by Maud Hart Lovelace
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBetsy, Tacy, and Tib are twelve—old enough to do lots of things...even go downtown on their own. There they see their first horseless carriage, discover the joys of the public library, and see a real play at the Opera House. They even find themselves acting in one! Best of all, they help a lonely new friend feel at home in Deep Valley—the most wonderful place in the world to grow up... -
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson, Paul Howard
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsPlop is a baby Barn Owl.He is the same as every baby Barn Owl there has ever been - except for one thing ...- He is afraid of the dark...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure animals book children-books classics -
Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsBetsy, Tacy, and Tib can't wait to be ten. After all, getting two numbers in your age is the beginning of growing up—exciting things are bound to happen. And they do! The girls fall in love with the King of Spain, perform in the School Entertainment, and for the first time, go all the way over the Big Hill to Little Syria by themselves... -
The Uprising: Three Young Women Caught in the Fire That Changed America by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Suzanne Toren
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsAround her the workers were screaming out prayers and curses.... She herself was sobbing tearlessly....Her only prayer was still, "I don't want to die." Oh, please, God, don't let me die, she thought. I've never even had a chance to live.Bella, newly arrived in New York from Italy, gets a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book coming-of-age death -
The Flying Classroom by Erich Kästner
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsFive boys are preparing for their school Christmas play: conscientious Martin, too poor to pay for his train fare home at the end of term; Johnny, whose parents have left him and who'll have to stay at school over the holidays; Matthew, strong, thick-skinned and good-natured, looking forward to the punching ball he's been promised for Christmas; sensitive and fearful Uli; and intelligent,...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook boarding-school book children-books -
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The Puffin Keeper by Michael Morpurgo
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom bestselling author Michael Morpurgo comes a beautifully illustrated classic story about a lighthouse keeper, a daring rescue and puffins, for fans of War Horse and The One and Only Ivan.As a child, Allen is saved from a nautical disaster by Benjamin Postlethwaite, a solitary lighthouse keeper...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure animals audiobook book children-books -
Pack Up Your Troubles: War at Home 6 by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings1919: The war is over, but peace is yet to come. As men are demobbed, women must give up positions that gave them freedom. Edward is given an important job at the Peace Conference in Paris, but it means more lonely months away from Beattie and his hoped-for reconciliation. Fred's unit is sent to the Rhine, and Cook feels a guilty relief that her uprooting has been postponed... -
From this Day Forth by Lyn Andrews
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo feuding families. A secret friendship. A love doomed to heartbreak? In her gripping saga From This Day Forth, Lyn Andrews writes an engrossing tale of a family feud threatening the happiness of the younger generations. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Sheila Newberry.Celia and Lizzie are the best of friends... -
Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Alan Gratz
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz ( Refugee ; Ground Zero ; Two Degrees ) is a major publishing moment. A new World War II novel from Alan Gratz? That's even bigger! Get ready for an action-packed, inventive, and powerful take on the attack on Pearl Harbor, as only Alan Gratz can tell it. December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good...Categorized as:
friendship children historical-fiction middle-grade young-adult historical fiction war -
The Wainscott Weasel by Tor Seidler
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhile other young weasels dance under the pines, Bagley thinks about Bridget, the mesmerizing fish who lives in a pond down the brook from his den. Only a true hero can save Bridget from the gruesome death that awaits her'and this is exactly what Bagley, much to his own surprise, proves himself to be...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure animals anthropomorphism audiobook book -
4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by Johan Twiss
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDiagnosed with a rare form of meningitis, a teenage boy is paralyzed from head to toe--trapped in his own mind. To cope with his imprisonment, he retreats to an imaginary world called his Mind Palace, but the lines between reality and time blur into wild adventures after he gets a new roommate--an old, outspoken, Jewish jazz musician with dementia...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book coming-of-age family -
Walt Disney's The Jungle Book by Walt Disney Company
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsRelive Walt Disney's 19th full-length animated feature in this beautiful, hardcover, 96-page classic storybook that accurately captures the movie magic and places it right into a child's hands. With every turn of a page, adventure unfolds to create memories that will last a lifetime... -
I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA bird can fly. So can I. A cow can moo. I can, too. So begins the simple, delightful rhyme by Ruth Krauss that both celebrates and encourages a child’s imagination. Mary Blair’s vibrant artwork, found in the Golden Books archives and newly scanned, looks as fresh as it did 50 years ago... -
Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIll and bored with having to stay in bed, Marianne picks up a pencil and starts doodling - a house, a garden, a boy at the window. That night she has an extraordinary dream. She is transported into her own picture, and as she explores further she soon realises she is not alone...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure book children-books classics coming-of-age -
天使的禮物 by Astrid Lindgren
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTraditional Chinese edition of a classic from Swedish legend Astrid Lindgren: Madicken och Junibackens Pims (Madicken: present from an angel). The book was adapted to a 1980 family film titled "Mag of June Hill." In Traditional Chinese. Annotation copyright Tsai Fong Books, Inc. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc... -
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The Diddakoi by Rumer Godden
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"There's a girl who's a gypsy. She has rings in her ears and she sometimes comes to school in a little wagon."Kizzy Lovell is a gypsy girl. She has her gran and her horse, Joe, and she doesn't need anything else. Then Gran dies, her wagon burns, and Kizzy is left all alone - in a community that hates her... -
The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMary Lindsay met her little niece and namesake only once, but she saw in the quiet, imaginative child a kindred spirit to inherit her ancient house. Fifty years later her niece inherited the house with no knowledge of it beyond her indelible childhood memories, and no experience at all of living in the country... -
The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt is the early 1970s. Twelve-year-old Joan is sure that she is going to be miserable when her family moves from Connecticut to California. Then she meets a most unusual girl. Sarah prefers to be called "Fox" and lives with her author dad in a rundown house in the middle of the woods...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books coming-of-age -
Secret Water by Arthur Ransome
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJohn, Susan, Titty and Roger, the crew of the Swallow, take on the job of mapping the mass of small islands round Pin Mill while living on the biggest one. But who are the mysterious savages who lurk in the islands - and is the tribal totem they find in their campsite a threat of attack...Categorized as:
children friendship 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books classics -
Looking At The Moon by Kit Pearson
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNorah, an English "war guest"living withthe wealthy Ogilvie family in Toronto, can hardly wait for August. She'll spend it at the Ogilvie's lavish cottage in Muskoka—a whole month of freedom, swimming, adventures with her "cousins"... But this isn't an ordinary summer. It's 1943, and the war is still going on... -
Carney's House Party by Maud Hart Lovelace
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt is the summer of 1911, and Carney Sibley is back home in her beloved town of Deep Valley, Minnesota. She's looking forward to hosting a month-long house party, with guests including her Vassar college roommate Isobel Porteous and old chum Betsy Ray. With lots of the old Crowd and a new friend--wealthy, unkempt, but lovable Sam Hutchinson--around, the days are filled with fun...
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