Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction genre

Out Of War: True Stories From The Front Lines Of The Children’s Movement For Peace In Colombia

Through nine intimate first-person narratives, Out of War tells the story of the Children’s Movement for Peace, a network of organizations struggling against the forty-year civil war in Colombia. Readers will meet young people like Juan Elias, who decided he could best avenge his father’s murder by fighting to end the war; Maritza, who found refuge in the peace movement after her family and friends abandoned her in the communas of Medellin; and Beto, who works for the peace he never had in his abusive home. The voices of these children are raw and real, and their stories are nothing short of inspirational. In 1996, the Children’s Movement for Peace helped organize the Children’s Mandate, a referendum on children’s rights in Colombia. Two million children turned out to vote for their right to peace, sending the Colombian government a powerful message about its inability to control the violence within its borders. Since then, the Movement has worked to help children cope with loss, displacement, poverty, and other effects of the war. It has also taught children how to resolve conflict without fighting. The movement’s work is impressive, yet Out of War is really about the individual children who lead the group. Through them, readers will learn not only about the tenuous life of children in Colombia, but about what it means to give back to your community and face adversity with true courage and hope.

Yo, Juan De Pareja

This Spanish translation of the historical novel I, Juan De Pareja is based on the life of Juan de Pareja, the black assistant to the 17th-century Spanish painter Velazquez. Newbery Medal Book.

Young Zorro (Spanish Edition): El Joven Zorro: La Marca De Hierro

De niño, a Diego le interesaba más montar a caballo y hacer travesuras con su mejor amigo, Bernardo, que luchar contra la injusticia. No obstante, cuando comienzan a desaparecer algunos hombres del pueblo de los Ángeles y ganado del rancho del padre de Diego, él y Bernardo se topan con una injusticia tan grande que tienen que tomar acción.

Inspirada en la novela Zorro de Isabel Allende, que narra cómo Diego de la Vega se convirtió en el legendario héroe enmascarado, El joven Zorro: La marca de hierro introduce a los lectores a una tierra de vaqueros y secuestradores: un mundo lleno de emociones en el que se forma el joven héroe.

The Sad Night: The Story Of An Aztec Victory And A Spanish Loss

An account of the establishment of the Aztec empire in Mexico and of the terrible battle between the Aztecs and the Spaniards known as the Sad Night, of La Noche Triste.

“This sensitive treatment of La Noche Triste, or The Sad Night, the last battle the Aztecs won against the Spaniards, is a highly effective melding of graceful, lucid text and stylized art. Designed to resemble Aztec codices, the illustrations appear in double-page strips above the bordered text. Beginning with the Aztec migration to Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City), the history of this people is traced through their final conquest by Cortés’s forces…. This title has the distinction of combining myth with historical fact in a particularly successful manner. An engaging introduction to Mexican history.” —School Library Journal

El pececito mágico (Spanish Edition)

Description in Spanish: La indiecita Yaití, en uno de sus paseos cerca del río, conoce a un pececito muy especial. Y cuando un huracán destruye el yucayeque en el que vive con su familia, recibe la ayuda de su nuevo amigo, que no sólo le demuestra aprecio, sino que le revela un secreto gracias al cual los lectores sabrán por qué el pececito es mágico.

The Firefly Letters

A stunning novel in verse by a Newbery Honor-winning author paints a portrait of early women’s right pioneer Frederika Bremer and the journey to Cuba that transformed her life.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 1

Morning Girl

Morning Girl, who loves the day, and her younger brother Star Boy, who loves the night, take turns describing their life on an island in pre-Columbian America; in Morning Girl’s last narrative, she witnesses the arrival of the first Europeans to her world.

The Meaning Of Consuelo: A Novel

La nina seria, the serious child. That’s how Consuelo’s mother has cast her pensive, book-loving daughter, while Consuelo’s younger sister Mili, is seen as vivacious–a ray of tropical sunshine. Two daughters: one dark, one light; one to offer comfort and consolation, the other to charm and delight. But something is not right in this Puerto Rican family. Set in the 1950s, a time when American influence is diluting Puerto Rico’s rich island culture, Consuelo watches her own family’s downward spiral. It is Consuelo who notices as her beautiful sister Mili’s vivaciousness turns into mysterious bouts of hysteria and her playful invented language shift into an incomprehensible and chilling “language of birds.” Ultimately Consuelo must choose: Will she fulfill the expectations of her family–offering consolation as their tragedy unfolds? Or will she risk becoming la fulana, the outsider, like the harlequin figure of her neighbor, Mario/Maria Sereno, who flaunts his tight red pedal pushers and empty brassiere as he refuses the traditional macho role of his culture. This affecting novel is a lively celebration of Puerto Rico as well as an archetypal story of loss, the loss each of us experiences on our journey from the island of childhood to the uncharted territory of adulthood.

Americas Award For Children’s And Young Adult Literature. Winner