Books like 'Serafina's Promise'
Readers who enjoyed Serafina's Promise by Ann E. Burg also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical action / adventure realistic historical-fiction family poc-mc friendship poverty survival children
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The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe extraordinary story of Stefania Podgorska, a Polish teenager who chose bravery and humanity by hiding thirteen Jews in her attic during WWII -- from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon Cameron.One knock at the door, and Stefania has a choice to make..Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction realistic survival 20th-century -
Soon by Morris Gleitzman
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAfter the Nazis took my parents I was scared. After they killed my best friend I was angry. After I joined the partisans and helped defeat the Nazis I was hopeful. Soon, I said, we'll be safe. I was wrong.Soon continues the incredibly moving story of Felix, a Jewish boy still struggling to survive in the wake of the liberation of Poland after the end of World War Two...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction realistic survival 20th-century -
Room to Dream by Kelly Yang
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMia Tang is going for her dreams!After years of hard work, Mia Tang finally gets to go on vacation with her family -- to China! A total dream come true! Mia can't wait to see all her cousins and grandparents again, especially her cousin Shen. As she roams around Beijing, witnessing some of the big changes China's going through, Mia thinks about the changes in her own life, like . . .1...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age exploration family friendship historical-fiction poc-mc realistic -
The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsSurvival for Ki Lim and Sang Ly is a daily battle at Stung Meanchey, the largest municipal waste dump in all of Cambodia. They make their living scavenging recyclables from the trash. Life would be hard enough without the worry for their chronically ill child, Nisay, and the added expense of medicines that are not working...Categorized as:
family friendship historical-fiction poc-mc poverty realistic survival action-adventure -
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The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe new kid in school needs a new name! Or does she?Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction poc-mc realistic action-adventure -
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsAn international bestseller: Grace learns that she can be anything she wants...Categorized as:
children family friendship historical-fiction poc-mc realistic action-adventure book -
Eleven by Tom Rogers
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAlex Douglas always wanted to be a hero. But nothing heroic ever happened to Alex. Nothing, that is, until his eleventh birthday. When Alex rescues a stray dog as a birthday gift to himself, he doesn't think his life can get much better. Radar, his new dog, pretty much feels the same way. But this day has bigger things in store for both of them. This is a story about bullies and heroes...Categorized as:
animals children family friendship historical-fiction realistic action-adventure book -
The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSince the Tall Boots--the Nazis--have marched into Monique's small French village, terrorizing it, nothing surprises her. Until the night Monique encounters "the little ghost" sitting at the end of her bed... -
A Waltz for Matilda by Jackie French
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratings'Once a jolly swagman camped by a Billabong Under the shade of a Coolibah tree And he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled You'll come a‐waltzing Matilda with me...' In 1894, twelve-year-old Matilda flees the city slums to find her unknown father and his farm. But drought grips the land, and the shearers are on strike. Her father has turned swaggie and he's wanted by the troopers...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age friendship historical-fiction survival action-adventure audiobook book -
Goin' Someplace Special by Jerry Pinkney, Patricia C. McKissack
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratings1950s Nashville, Tennessee is segregated, and black people are persecuted, but young Tricia Ann is determined to venture on her own across town to someplace special. A must read book about persecution of minorities, but also about hope and light...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age exploration family historical-fiction poc-mc realistic action-adventure -
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsKek comes from Africa. In America he sees snow for the first time, and feels its sting. He's never walked on ice, and he falls. He wonders if the people in this new place will be like the winter – cold and unkind.In Africa, Kek lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother have survived, and now she's missing. Kek is on his own...Categorized as:
animals children coming-of-age exploration family friendship historical-fiction poc-mc -
Madeline and the Bad Hat by Ludwig Bemelmans
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Spanish Ambassador has moved next door, and Madeline knows right away that his son, Pepito, is bad news... -
The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn instant #1 New York Times Bestseller!From the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winning author Kwame Alexander, comes the first book in a searing, breathtaking trilogy that tells the story of a boy, a village, and the epic odyssey of an African family.In his village in Upper Kwanta, 11-year-old Kofi loves his family, playing oware with his grandfather and swimming in the river Offin...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family coming-of-age poc-mc children friendship realistic survival -
Buddy- How far will a boy go for the dog he loves? by M.H. Herlong
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA classic boy-and-dog tale in the tradition of Old YellerTyrone "Li'l T" Roberts meets Buddy when his family's car accidentally hits the stray dog on their way to church. Buddy turns out to be the dog Li'l T's always wished for--until Hurricane Katrina comes to New Orleans and he must leave Buddy behind... -
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The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman, Bagram Ibatoulline
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Pick whatever you like most. Then I’ll tell you its story." When a little girl visits her great-grandfather at his curio-filled home, she chooses an unusual object to learn about: an old cigar box. What she finds inside surprises her: a collection of matchboxes making up her great-grandfather’s diary, harboring objects she can hold in her hand, each one evoking a memory...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction poc-mc realistic action-adventure book children-books -
The Wall by Eve Bunting
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA young boy and his father visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction poc-mc realistic action-adventure -
Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen, آرزو قلیزاده
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDanger is never far from Audra's family farm in Lithuania. She always avoids the occupying Russian Cossack soldiers, who insist that everyone must become Russian -- they have banned Lithuanian books, religion, culture, and even the language. But Audra knows her parents are involved in something secret and perilous...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age exploration family friendship historical-fiction poc-mc realistic -
Be Still the Water by Karen Emilson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFinalist 2019 Canadian Book Club AwardsShortlisted for the 2017 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction2017 IPPY Silver Medal WinnerSet in 1906 along the unspoiled shores of Lake Manitoba, Be Still the Water brings us into the fold of the Gudmundsson Family—immigrants determined to begin life anew in the Icelandic farming and fishing community of Siglunes...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family survival coming-of-age friendship fiction historical literary-fiction -
Togo by Kate Klimo
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSmall, feisty Siberian husky Togo—the overlooked sled-dog hero of the 1925 serum run to Nome—sets the record straight in Dog Diaries #4! When a diptheria epidemic breaks out in isolated Nome, Alaska, in January 1925, the only way to get life-saving serum to the town is by using dog-sled relay teams...Categorized as:
animals children historical-fiction action-adventure book children-books dogs fiction -
Ginger by Kate Klimo
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGinger the golden retriever narrates the story of her life, from her birth in a puppy mill through the various people who have ''owned'' her...Title: .Ginger..Author: .Klimo, Kate/ Jessell, Tim (ILT)..Publisher: .Random House Childrens Books..Publication Date: .2013/01/08..Number of Pages: .147..Binding Type: .PAPERBACK..Library of Congress:...Categorized as:
animals children family historical-fiction realistic survival action-adventure anthropomorphism -
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 family friendship historical-fiction poc-mc realistic 20th-century action-adventure -
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBased on a true story, the tale of one girl's perilous journey to cross the U.S. border and lead her family to safety during the Mexican Revolution. "Wrenching debut about family, loss, and finding the strength to carry on." ― Booklist , starred review "Blazes bright, gripping readers until the novel's last page." ― Publishers Weekly , starred review "Vital and perilous and hopeful... -
Fiona's Lace by Patricia Polacco
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn Irish family stays together with the help of Fiona’s talent for making one-of-a-kind lace in this heartwarming immigration story from the New York Times bestselling creator of The Keeping Quilt.Many years ago, times were hard in all of Ireland, so when passage to America becomes available, Fiona and her family travel to Chicago... -
A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTwo young girls not only witness but help to change history in this inspiring and urgent Civil Rights-era picture book by three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Angela Johnson.There's a sweet, sweet smell in the air as two young girls sneak out of their house, down the street, and across town to where men and women are gathered, ready to march for freedom and justice...Categorized as:
historical-fiction realistic poc-mc children family exploration children-books historical -
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The Dogs of Winter by Bobbie Pyron
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Mishka is abandoned on the streets of Moscow he falls in with a gang of other homeless children, hoping they’ll give him a chance of survival. But as winter freezes the city and food becomes scarce, he is left alone, to fend for himself.Help comes in an unexpected form: Mishka is adopted by a pack of dogs. The creatures quickly become more than just his street companions, they are his family... -
When Mischief Came to Town by Katrina Nannestad
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn the tradition of Anne of Green Gables and Pippi Longstocking comes a heart-warming novel about love, family, grief, joy and the power of laughter and imagination.When Inge Maria arrives on the tiny island of Bornholm in Denmark to live with her grandmother, she's not sure what to expect... -
Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges, Sophie Blackall
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsRuby is unlike most little girls in old China. Instead of aspiring to get married, Ruby is determined to attend university when she grows up, just like the boys in her family...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family realistic poc-mc children exploration children-books fiction -
The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Mary Ellen gets bored with her reading, Grandpa knows a hunt for a bee tree is just what she needs. Half the town joins the exciting chase, but it's not until everyone returns home that Mary Ellen makes a discovery of her own: Sometimes, even the sweetest of things must be worked for...Categorized as:
animals children family friendship historical-fiction realistic action-adventure book -
That Book Woman by Heather Henson
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCal is not the readin' type. Living way high up in the Appalachian Mountains, he'd rather help Pap plow or go out after wandering sheep than try some book learning. Nope. Cal does not want to sit stoney-still reading some chicken scratch. But that Book Woman keeps coming just the same. She comes in the rain. She comes in the snow...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age exploration family friendship historical-fiction poverty realistic -
Golden Boy by Tara Sullivan
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA shocking human rights tragedy brought to light in a story of heartbreak and triumph.Thirteen-year-old Habo has always been different— light eyes, yellow hair and white skin. Not the good brown skin his family has and not the white skin of tourists. Habo is strange and alone. His father, unable to accept Habo, abandons the family; his mother can scarcely look at him... -
Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis exciting pioneering story, based on actual events, introduces readers to a fascinating chapter in American history, when FDR set up a New Deal colony in Alaska to give loans and land to families struggling during the Great Depression. Terpsichore can’t wait to follow in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s footsteps . . . now she just has to convince her mom...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family children friendship realistic middle-grade fiction children-books -
I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011 by Lauren Tarshis
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEleven-year-old Dexter has always wanted to see a tornado. So when he gets the incredible opportunity to go storm chasing with the famous Dr. Norman Rays, he has to say yes! Dr. Rays is the host of Tornado Mysteries, the show that Dex and his older brother, Jeremy, watched every night until Jeremy joined the U.S. Navy SEALs and left Joplin...Categorized as:
children family friendship historical-fiction natural-disaster realistic survival action-adventure -
Unbound: A Novel in Verse by Ann E. Burg, Bahni Turpin
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the award-winning author of All the Broken Pieces and Serafina's Promise comes a new novel-in-verse that is a gripping, transcendent story about a little-known piece of slave history. The day Grace is called from the slave cabins to work in the Big House, Mama makes her promise to keep her eyes down...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction poc-mc realistic survival action-adventure -
I Survived the Children's Blizzard, 1888 by Lauren Tarshis
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Schoolhouse Blizzard, also known as the Children's Blizzard or the Great Blizzard of 1888, caught people completely by surprise and resulted in 235 fatalities, including several children in one-room schoolhouses. What made the storm so deadly was the timing, the suddenness, and the brief spell of warmer weather that preceded it...Categorized as:
animals children family friendship historical-fiction realistic survival action-adventure -
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Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA middle-grade novel about two enslaved children’s escape from a plantation and the many ways they find freedom.Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail...Categorized as:
historical-fiction children family survival friendship realistic poc-mc middle-grade -
Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M.M. Blume
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsEleven-year-old Cornelia is the daughter of two world-famous pianists—a legacy that should feel fabulous, but instead feels just plain lonely. She surrounds herself with dictionaries and other books to isolate herself from the outside world...Categorized as:
animals children family friendship historical-fiction realistic action-adventure book -
The Explorer by Katherine Rundell
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFred, Con, Lila, and Max are on their way back to England from Manaus when the plane they’re on crashes and the pilot dies upon landing. For days they survive alone, until Fred finds a map that leads them to a ruined city, and to a secret...Categorized as:
animals children coming-of-age exploration family friendship historical-fiction realistic -
I Survived #08 by Lauren Tarshis
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOriginally released by Scholastic Audiobooks...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction natural-disaster realistic survival action-adventure audiobook -
An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWith Lizzie’s father fighting in World War II, her mother takes on the job of a zoo keeper to provide for her family. Lizzie, her mother, and her eight-year-old brother Karli have become especially attached to an orphaned elephant named Marlene...Categorized as:
animals children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction realistic survival -
I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 by Lauren Tarshis
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsBased on true events! It's the summer of 1916 and the Jersey shore is being terrorized by a Great White shark. Can 10-year-old Chet and his friends survive a swim in the local creek?Chet Roscow is finally feeling at home in Elm Hills, New Jersey. He has a job with his uncle Jerry at the local diner, three great friends, and the perfect summertime destination: cool, refreshing Matawan Creek...Categorized as:
animals children family friendship historical-fiction realistic survival action-adventure -
The Box-Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsThe Boxcar Children is a children's literary franchise originally created and written by American writer and first-grade school teacher,[1] Gertrude Chandler Warner. Today, the series includes well over 100 titles. The series is aimed at readers in grades 2-6...Categorized as:
animals children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction poverty realistic -
Across the Great Sparkling Water (The Peacemaker Series) by Zoe Saadia
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTo live in captivity, adopted by the enemies of her people, or to break the law and tradition by running away? That question did not occur to Onheda until after she fled Little Falls on the spur of the moment, against any better judgment. If she was to die in the woods, making her way back to her people, accused, even by them, of breaking the ancient custom, it was still the better choice... -
LOS PREHISTORRATONES 10: ¡LLUEVEN MALAS NOTICIAS, STILTONUT! by Geronimo Stilton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGeronimo Stiltonoot and The Stone Gazette are in the running for the Stone Age Ratitzer: the award for the best prehistoric journalism! But their main competition is Sally Rockmousen, the ruthless host of Gossip Radio -- and she'll stop at nothing to win...Categorized as:
animals children friendship historical-fiction action-adventure book children-books fiction -
House Without Walls by Ching Yeung Russell
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor most people, home is a place with four walls. It's a place to eat, sleep, rest, and live. For a refugee, the concept of home is ever-changing, ever-moving, ever-wavering. And often, it doesn't have any walls at all.Eleven-year-old Lam escapes from Vietnam with Dee Dee during the Vietnamese Boat People Exodus in 1979, when people from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fled their homelands for safety... -
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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 coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLindy and her doll Sally are best friends - wherever Lindy goes, Sally stays right by her side. They eat together, sleep together, and even pick cotton together. So, on the night Lindy and her mama run away in search of freedom, Sally goes too. This young girl's rag doll vividly narrates her enslaved family's courageous escape through the Underground Railroad... -
Firehorse by Diane Lee Wilson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen fifteen-year-old Rachel is forced to move to Boston in 1872, she is furious. She is also lonely, for her beloved horse, Peaches, has been sold. But Rachel soon finds a horse that needs her, and needs her desperately: The Governor's Girl, a famous firehorse, has been badly burned. Rachel gets permission to care for the Girl in a stable behind her house... -
I Love You, Michael Collins by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA funny and heartwarming middle-grade historical fiction novel about a girl who writes letters to her favorite astronaut as America prepares for the moon landing.It’s 1969 and the country is gearing up for what looks to be the most exciting moment in U.S. history: men landing on the moon. Ten-year-old Mamie’s class is given an assignment to write letters to the astronauts...Categorized as:
animals children coming-of-age exploration family friendship historical-fiction realistic -
Naya Nuki: Shoshone Girl Who Ran by Kenneth Thomasma
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAfter being taken prisoner by an enemy tribe, a Shoshoni girl escapes and makes a thousand-mile journey through the wilderness in search of her own people...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction poc-mc realistic survival action-adventure book children-books -
Encounter by Jane Yolen
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Christopher Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador in 1492, what he discovered were the Taino Indians. Told from a young Taino boy’s point of view, this is a story of how the boy tried to warn his people against welcoming the strangers, who seemed more interested in golden ornaments than friendship...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc children exploration realistic family children-books historical
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