Civil War Fiction for Grades 3-5
at the Elmhurst Public Library
All fiction can be found on the shelves filed alphabetically by the authors’ last names.
Iron Thunder: The Battle Between the Monitor & the Merrimac: A Civil War Novel by Avi
Tom's job as an assistant to Captain John Ericsson, the inventor of the Monitor, makes him a target of Confederate spies.
Pride of Green Mountains by Carin Greenberg Baker.
With her father away fighting in the Civil War and her mother struggling to keep their Vermont dairy farm despite increasingly hard times, ten-year-old Rosalie tries to come up with a plan that will save their home without selling her beloved Morgan horse, Major.
A Thief on Morgan’s Plantation by Lisa Banim.
After being sent to live on her uncle's plantation in Maryland at the start of the Civil War, Constance Morgan finds herself defending a slave child accused of stealing a family heirloom.
Hot Iron: The Adventures of a Civil War Powder Boy by Michael Burgan.
Twelve-year-old Charlie O'Leary signs about the USS Varuna in order to locate his brother Johnny, and finds himself in the middle of a deadly battle in New Orleans during the Civil War. (J High Interest Fic Burgan)
Diary of a Drummer Boy by Marlene Targ Brill.
The fictionalized diary of a twelve-year-old boy who joins the Union army as a drummer, and ends up fighting in the Civil War.
Shadows on Society Hill: An Addy Mystery by Evelyn Coleman.
When her family moves to Philadelphia's Society Hill neighborhood in 1866, Addy discovers that her new home holds dangerous secrets--including one connected to the North Carolina plantation she had escaped from only two years earlier. Includes a brief overview of the experiences of African Americans during Reconstruction, the period immediately following the Civil War.
When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson by Barry Denenberg.
The diary of a fictional fourteen-year-old girl living in Virginia, in which she describes the hardships endured by her family and friends during one year of the Civil War. (J Fic Dear America)
All Their Names Were Courage: A Novel of the Civil War by Sharon Phillips Denslow.
In 1862, as William Burd fights in the Civil War, he exchanges letters with his sister, Sallie, who is also writing to Confederate and Union generals asking about their horses in order to write a book.
The Mystery of the Caramel Cat by Lynn Hall.
Willie's encounter with a feline ghost outside a deserted mansion leads to a strange dream about events which occurred prior to the Civil War.
Ghosts of the Civil War by Cheryl Harness.
The ghost of Willie, President Abraham Lincoln's older son, transports Lindsey back to his own time, where she sees and hears many things from both sides of the Civil War.
Gabriel’s Horses by Alison Hart.
In Kentucky, during the Civil War, the twelve-year-old slave Gabriel, contends with a cruel new horse trainer and skirmishes with Confederate soldiers as he pursues his dream of becoming a jockey.
Gabriel’s Triumph by Alison Hart.
A thirteen-year-old newly-freed slave faces the challenges of freedom and horse racing as he pursues his dream of becoming a famous jockey in Civil War Kentucky and New York.
The Brothers’ War by Patricia Hermes.
Contains two stories centering on a Civil War adventurer in Virginia; the first story is told by a young girl, the second by a young boy. (J PB MY SIDE OF THE STORY)
A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin by Karen Hesse.
In 1860 and 1861, while working in her father's lighthouse on an island off the coast of Delaware, fifteen-year-old Amelia records in her diary how the Civil War is beginning to devastate her divided state. (J Fic Dear America)
The Journal of Rufus Rowe: Witness to the Battle of Fredericksburg by Sid Hite.
In 1862, sixteen-year-old Rufus Rowe runs away from home and settles in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he documents in his journal the battle he watches unfold there. (J Fic My Name Is America)
Sally Bradford: the Story of a Rebel Girl by Dorothy Hoobler.
A young girl experiences the cruelty, danger, and destruction of the Civil War in Virginia. (J PB Hoobler)
Seeing the Elephant: A Story of the Civil War by Pat Hughes.
Ten-year-old Izzie wants to join the war like his older brothers and go into battle against the Confederate Army, but when he meets a Rebel soldier in a hospital, he begins to see things differently.
Jim Dandy by Hadley Irwin.
Living after the Civil War on a Kansas homestead with his stern stepfather, thirteen-year-old Caleb raises a beloved colt and becomes involved in General Custer's raids on the Cheyenne.
Watcher in the Piney Woods by Elizabeth McDavid Jones.
In 1865, while helping her family keep their Virginia farm going through the end of the Civil War, twelve-year-old Cassie meets a Confederate deserter and a Yankee prisoner of war and tries to discover who has been stealing from the farm. (J Fic History Mysteries)
Three Against the Tide by D. Anne Love.
After her father is called away from their plantation near Charleston, S.C., during the Civil War, twelve-year-old Susanna must lead her brothers on a difficult journey in hopes of being reunited with him.
Jesse Bowman: A Union Boy’s War Story by Tom McGowen.
At the age of seventeen, Jesse Bowman of Chicago joins the Union Army to fight in the Civil War, having only a romantic notion of what war is all about, but once he enlists he learns about both the tedium of daily life as a soldier and the hardships and cruelty of battle.
The Totally Made-Up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish by Claudia Mills
While dealing with her parents' separation and her best friend's distance, Amanda is able to work out some of her anxiety through her fifth-grade project--writing a diary from the point of view of a ten-year-old girl whose brothers fight on opposite sides in the Civil War.
The Journal of James Edmond Pease, A Civil War Union Soldier by Jim Murphy.
James Edmond, a sixteen-year-old orphan, keeps a journal of his experiences and those of "G" Company which he joined as a volunteer in the Union Army during the Civil War. (J Fic My Name Is America)
The Last Brother: A Civil War Tale by Trinka Hakes Noble
Eleven-year-old Gabe enlists in the Union Army in Pennsylvania along with his older brother Davy and, as bugler, does his best to protect Davy during the Battle of Gettysburg.
After the Rain by Mary Pope Osborne.
In her diary, a ten-year-old girl writes about her family’s experiences living in Washington, D.C., in 1864-65, during which time the Civil War comes to an end and President Lincoln is assassinated. (J F My America)
Civil War on Sunday by Mary Pope Osborne.
Jack and Annie are transported by their magic tree house to the time of the Civil War where they meet Clara Barton.
My Brother’s Keeper: Virginia’s Diary by Mary Pope Osborne
In 1863, as the Civil War approaches her quiet town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, nine-year-old Virginia records in a journal the horrible things she witnesses before, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg.
Time to Dance: Virginia’s Civil War Diary by Mary Pope Osborne
Virginia records the events of her life as her family moves to New York City in the aftermath of the Civil War, and she begins to dream of a life in the theater. (J Fic My America)
The Code of the Drum by L. L. Owens.
After his father dies in a Civil War battle, twelve-year-old Jacob runs away from home to join his father's old regiment as a drummer boy.
Devil’s Den by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
Joey has often thought about the biological father who left before he was born, but when, during a trip to a Civil War battlefield, his stepfather announces his plan to legally adopt Joey, Joey decides he must find out why his father has never contacted him.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by W. R. Philbrick.
Twelve-year-old Homer, a poor but clever orphan, has extraordinary adventures after running away from his evil uncle to rescue his brother, who has been sold into service in the Civil War.
Addy Learns a Lesson: A School Story by Connie Rose Porter.
After escaping from a plantation in North Carolina, Addy and her mother arrive in Philadelphia, where Addy goes to school and learns a lesson in true friendship. (J Fic American Girl)
Addy’s Surprise by Connie Rose Porter.
Addy and her mother forgo their Christmas plans to help the newly freed slaves arriving in Philadelphia during the Civil War.
Addy’s Wedding Quilt by Connie Rose Porter
Though her parents "jumped the broom" to get married when they were slaves, now that they are living free in Philadelphia after the Civil War they plan to have a church wedding and Addy works to complete a special quilt to give them as a wedding gift. (J Fic American Girl)
Meet Addy: An American Girl by Connie Rose Porter
In 1864, after her father and brother are sold to another owner, nine-year-old Addy Walker and her mother escape from their cruel life of slavery in North Carolina to freedom in Philadelphia.
Joseph: A Rumble of War, 1861 by Bonnie Pryor.
After his stepfather becomes an abolitionist, ten-year-old Joseph struggles with his own thoughts about slavery as he sees its divisive power in his small Kentucky town.
Joseph’s Choice, 1861 by Bonnie Pryor.
In the early days of the Civil War, Joseph must decide whether to defend his stepfather's abolitionist and pro-Union beliefs or side with the slave owners and Southern rights supporters in his home town of Branson Mills, Kentucky.
Signals in the Sky by Candice F. Random.
Whisked back to 1863 Virginia with the aid of a magical spyglass, the three Chapman children meet real-life Civil War spy, John Doyle.
Captain Kate by Carolyn Reeder.
Determined to take her father's coal-carrying barge on the C & O Canal from Cumberland, Maryland, to Georgetown in D.C., twelve-year-old Kate learns hurtful truths about herself.
Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder.
At the end of the Civil War, twelve-year-old Will, having lost all his immediate family, reluctantly leaves his city home to live in the Virginia countryside with his aunt and the uncle he considers a "traitor" because he refused to take part in the war.
Ironclad!: A True Story of the Civil War by Seymour Reit.
For two sisters growing up surrounded by the Civil War, there is conflict both outside and inside their house.
Grace’s Letter to Lincoln by Connie Roop.
On the eve of the 1860 presidential election, as war clouds gather and the South threatens to secede, eleven-year-old Grace decides to help Abraham Lincoln get elected by writing and advising him to grow a beard.
A Ballad of the Civil War by Mary Stolz.
Weary of the war, a Union lieutenant recalls his life with his twin brother on their family's Virginia plantation and the events that led them to fight on different sides in the Civil War.
Civil War Days by Ellen Weiss
Hitty is a wooden doll whose owner, Nell, lives on a plantation in North Carolina. When a slave girl named Sarina comes to work on the plantation, Nell and Sarina become friends. But then they break the unwritten rules of the plantation and trouble ensues.
7/2010 (BA)
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