Civil War Fiction
for Grades K-2
at the Elmhurst Public Library

The Tin Heart by  Karen Ackerman.
As the onset of the Civil War causes a rift between their fathers, Mahaley and Flora find a way to preserve their friendship.  (J E Ack)

Li’l Dan, the Drummer Boy:  A Civil War Story by Romare Bearden. 
When a company of black Union soldiers tells L'il Dan that he is no longer a slave, he follows them, and uses his beloved drum to save them from attack. (J E Bea)

The Blue and the Gray by Eve Bunting.
As a black boy and his white friend watch the construction of a house which will make them neighbors on the site of a Civil War battlefield, they agree that their homes are monuments to that war. (J E Bun)

Hold the Flag High by Catherine Clinton.
An introduction to the Civil War battle of Morris Island, South Carolina, during which Sergeant William H. Carney became the first African American to earn a Congressional Medal of Honor by preserving the flag. (J E Cli)

Dadblamed Union Army Cow by Susan Fletcher ; illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root.
Based upon true events, tells the story of a devoted cow who followed her owner from 1862 to 1865 when he joined the Union Army, and stayed with him and his regiment until the end of the fighting.

Billy and the Rebel:  Based on a True Civil War Story by Deborah Hopkinson.  
During the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, a mother and son shelter a young Confederate deserter. Includes a historical note on the incident. 44 pages  (J Fic Hopkinson)

From Slave to Soldier: Based on a True Civil War Story by Deborah Hopkinson.
A boy who hates being a slave joins the Union Army to fight for freedom, and proves himself brave and capable of handling a mule team when the need arises.  44 pages  (J Fic Hopkinson)

Spy in the Sky by Kathleen Karr
When Northerner Thaddeus Lowe lands his huge balloon in South Carolina at the beginning of the Civil War, ten-year-old orphan Ridley Jones joins up with him and the two set out to find a way to use Lowe's balloon to help the North.  (J Fic Karr)

Cecil’s Story by George Ella Lyon. 
A boy thinks about the possible scenarios that exist for him at home if his father goes off to fight in the Civil War. (J E Lyo)

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco.
Say Curtis describes his meeting with Pinkus Aylee, a black soldier, during the Civil War, and their capture by Southern troops. Based on a true story about the author's great-great-grandfather.  (J Fic Polacco)

Alec’s Primer by Mildred Pitts Walter.
A young slave's journey to freedom begins when a plantation owner's granddaughter teaches him how to read. Based on the childhood of Alec Turner (1845-1923) who escaped from slavery by joining the Union Army during the Civil War and later became a landowner in Vermont. (J E Wal)

7/2010 (BA)