Ancient Civilizations in YA Fiction
7th Grade Language Arts and Social Studies
1000 B.C. – 1750 A.D.
Bolich Middle School Library 2010-2011
Adam of the Road
by Elizabeth Janet Gray (FIC GRA)
The adventures of
eleven-year-old Adam
as he travels the
open roads
of
thirteenth-century England searching for his missing father, a minstrel, and his
stolen red spaniel, Nick.
Alchemy
and Meggy Swann by
Karen Cushman (FIC CUS)
In 1573, the crippled, scorned, and destitute Meggy Swann goes to London, where
she meets her father, an impoverished alchemist, and eventually discovers that
although her legs are bent and weak, she has many other strengths.
Anna of Byzantium
by Tracy Barrett (FIC BAR)
In the eleventh century the teenage princess Anna
Comnena fights for her birthright, the throne to the Byzantine Empire, which she
fears will be taken from her by her younger brother John because he is a boy.
Apprentice’s
Masterpiece: A Story of Medieval Spain
by Melanie Little (FIC LIT)
Tells the story of two teenage boys, one a converso and the other a Muslim,
living in Spain during the Inquisition as their lives take very different paths
when one is enslaved and the other is brought into the service of the
Inquisitors.
At the Crossing-Places
by Kevin Crossley-Holland (FIC CRO)
In late twelfth-century England, the
thirteen-year-old Arthur goes to begin his new life as squire to Lord Stephen at
Holt, where crusaders ready themselves.
Atticus of Rome : 30 B.C.
by Barry Denenberg (FIC DEN)
In ancient Rome,
Atticus,
a young slave purchased by a wealthy and powerful lawyer, finds that he is
completely invisible to the people from whom he must gather information in order
to help foil a plot against the Emperor.
Beware,
Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer (FIC
MEY)
After the
death of her father, King Henry VIII, in 1547, thirteen-year-old Elizabeth must
endure the political intrigues and dangers of the reigns of her half-brother
Edward and her half-sister Mary before finally becoming Queen of England eleven
years later. (Young Royals)
Blaze
of Silver by K. M. Grant (FIC GRA)
Using
principles of their shared Muslim faith to persuade him, an agent of the Old Man
of the Mountain convinces Kamil to lead Will and Ellie into a trap, but Kamil
repents and seeks a way to save his friends and redeem himself. (DeGranville
Trilogy #3)
Blood
Red Horse by K. M. Grant (FIC GRA)
A special horse
named Hosanna changes the lives of two English brothers and those around them as
they fight with King Richard I against Saladin's armies during the Third
Crusades. (DeGranville Trilogy #1)
The
Book of Mordred
by Vivian Vande Velde (FIC VEL)
As the
peaceful King Arthur reigns, the
five-year-old daughter of
Lady Alayna, newly widowed of
the
village-wizard Toland, is abducted by knights who leave their barn burning and
their only servant dead.
The Book Without Words: A
Fable of Medieval Magic by Avi (FIC AVI)
The Book
Without
Words
appears to be a
volume of
blank parchment pages. But for a
green-eyed reader filled with great desire, it may reveal the
forgotten magical arts of
making gold and achieving immortality. For generations, its magic
has been protected from those who would exploit it. But on a
terrible day of
death and destruction, the
Book Without
Words
falls into the
hands of a
desperate person.
The Boy from Seville by Dorit Orgad (FIX ORG)
At age eleven, Manuel has already fled with his family from Portugal to
Spain, because the seventeenth-century persecution of Jews is less severe there,
but passing as Christian becomes more and more difficult as the Inquisition
continues.
Brian Boru, Emperor of the
Irish by Morgan Llywelyn. (FIC LLY)
Brian Boru
rises to become the
leader of
the Irish
after Vikings kill members of
his family.
Bound
by Donna Jo Napoli (FIC NAP)
In a novel based on Chinese Cinderella tales,
fourteen-year-old stepchild Xing-Xing endures a life of neglect and servitude,
as her stepmother cruelly mutilates her own child's feet so that she alone might
marry well.
The
Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (FIC
SPE)
When the Romans brutally kill Daniel
bar Jamin's father, the young Palestinian searches for a leader to drive them
out, but comes to realize that love may be a more powerful weapon than hate.
Catherine, Called Birdy
by Karen Cushman (FIC CUS)
The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English country
knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly
her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to
avoid being married off.
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi (FIC AVI)
Falsely accused of
theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees
his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret.
Crispin: The End of Time
by Avi (FIC AVI)
As Crispin tries to fulfill Bear's dream of moving to Iceland, he must
leave Troth behind at a convent that needs a healer but, after falling in with
thieves posing as musicians, he makes a new friend, Owen, and together they
continue the arduous journey.
Crispin: At the Edge of
the World by Avi (FIC AVI)
Branded as traitors by the
king's authorities, Crispin
and his guardian, Bear, flee to coastal towns in fourteenth-century England,
where they perform a musical juggling act and bond as a family after befriending
a disfigured girl.
Detectives In Togas
by Henry Winterfeld (FIC WES)
In an effort to save a boy
wrongly accused, a group of young friends living in
ancient
Doomed
Queen Anne by Carolyn Meyer (FIC MEY)
In 1520, thirteen-year-old Anne
Boleyn, jealous of her older sister's beauty and position at court, declares
that she will one day be queen
of England, and that her sister will kneel at her feet. (Young Royals)
The Door in the Wall
by Marguerite DeAngeli (FIC DEA)
A ten-year-old disabled boy in
fourteenth-century
Duchessina: A Novel of
Catherine de Medici by Carolyn Meyer (FIC MEY)
While her tyrannical family is out of favor in Italy,
young Catherine de Medici is raised in convents, then in 1533, when she is
fourteen, her uncle, Pope Clement VII, arranges for her marriage to prince Henri
of France, who is destined to become king. (Young Royals)
Eleanor of Aquitaine
by Kristiana Gregory (FIC GRE)
The diary of
Eleanor,
first daughter of
the duke of
Aquitaine,
from 1136 until 1137, when at age fifteen she becomes queen of France.
Includes historical notes on her later life.
Elizabeth
I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor by Kathryn Lasky (FIC LAS)
In a series of
diary entries, Princess Elizabeth,
the
eleven-year-old daughter of King Henry VIII, celebrates
holidays and birthdays, relives her mother's execution, revels in her studies,
and agonizes over her father's health.
The Examination by
Malcolm Bosse (FIC BOS)
Fifteen-year-old Hong and his older brother Chen face
famine, flood, pirates, and jealous rivals on their journey through fifteenth
century China as Chen pursues his calling as a scholar and Hong becomes involved
with a secret society known as the
White Lotus.
Falconer’s
Knot by Mary Hoffman (FIC HOF)
Silvano and Chiara, teens sent to live in a friary and a nunnery in Renaissance
Italy, are drawn to one another and dream of a future together, but when murders
are committed in the friary, they must discover who is behind the crimes before
they can realize their love.
Girl in a Cage
by Jane Yolen (FIC YOL)
As English armies invade
Scotland in
1306, eleven-year-old Princess Marjorie, daughter of the newly crowned Scottish
king, Robert the Bruce, is captured by England's King Edward Longshanks and held
in a
cage
on public display.
Girl
With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
(FIC CHE)
A poor
seventeenth-century servant girl
knows her place in the household of the painter Johannes Vermeer, but when he
begins to paint her, nasty whispers and rumors circulate throughout the town.
Goddess of Yesterday
by Caroline B. Cooney (FIC COO)
Taken from her home on an Aegan island as a
six-year-old girl, Anaxndra calls on the protection of
her goddess
as she poses as two different princesses over the next six years, before ending
up as a servant in the company of
Helen and Paris as they make their way to Troy.
The
Golden Goblet
by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (FIC MCG)
Ranofer struggles to thwart the plottings of his evil brother, Gebu, so
he can become master goldsmith like their father in this exciting tale of
ancient Egyptian mystery and intrigue.
Green
Jasper
by K. M. Grant (FIC GRA)
Having returned to a politically unstable England after the Crusades, brothers
Will and Gavin--with the help of the red horse Hosanna--attempt to rescue their
friend Ellie who is being held prisoner by an enemy of King Richard I. (DeGranville
Trilogy #2)
How
the Hangman Lost His Heart by K.M. Grant (FIC
GRA)
What’s a nice girl like Alice doing with a hangman named Dan Skinslicer? He
likes a good, clean killing and a
hearty supper afterward. She likes pretty dresses and riding a well-bred horse.
Together, they’re on the run from every soldier in London. It could be their
necks next.
I
Am Morgan le Fay
by Nancy Springer (FIC SPR)
In a war-torn
I
Am Mordred: A Tale from Camelot
by Nancy Springer (FIC SPR)
When Mordred
learns the identity of his father, he struggles with feelings of hatred, but
also fights the fate which determines that he kill the good and gracious king.
Incantation
by Alice Hoffman (FIC HOF)
During the Spanish Inquisition, sixteen-year-old Estrella, brought up a
Catholic, discovers her family's true Jewish identity, and when their secret is
betrayed by Estrella's best friend, the consequences are tragic.
Isabel:
Jewel of Castilla
by Carolyn Meyer (FIC MEY)
While waiting anxiously for others to choose a
husband for her, Isabella, the future Queen of
Spain, keeps a diary account of
her life as a member of
the royal family.
It’s
All Greek to Me by Jon Scieszka (FIC
SCI)
As they
are about to go on stage, Joe, Fred, and Sam are transported back to the time of
Zeus and the other gods in Greek mythology, who, strangely enough, behave much
as the characters in the trio's class play.
Jahanara,
Princess of Princesses by Kathryn Lasky
(FIC LAS)
Beginning
in 1627, Princess Jahanara,
first daughter of Shah Jahan of India's Mogul Dynasty, writes in her diary about
political intrigues, weddings, battles, and other experiences of her life.
Includes historical notes on Jahanara's
later life and on the Mogul Empire.
King
Arthur, His Knights, and Their Ladies
by Johanna Johnston (FIC JOH)
Was there ever a real King Arthur? Historians say yes, but not the one of
the legends and stories. Discover the stories about the loves and triumphs,
tragedies and losses of those enchanting days at Camelot. Return to the times of
the famous Knights of the Round Table.
King
of Shadows by Susan Cooper (FIC COO)
While in London as part of
an all-boy acting company preparing to perform in a replica of
the famous Globe Theatre, Nat Field suddenly finds himself transported back to
1599 and performing in the original theater under the tutelage of
Shakespeare himself.
King of the Middle March
by Kevin Crossley-Holland (FIC CRO)
Arthur de Caldicot, on his way to becoming a man,
witnesses the
horrors of the
Fourth Crusade in Venice and Zara, as well as the
downfall of
King
Arthur's court, in his seeing stone.
Kite
Fighters by Linda Sue Park (FIC PAR)
In Korea in 1473, eleven-year-old Young-sup overcomes his rivalry with his older
brother Kee-sup, who as the first-born son receives special treatment from their
father, and combines his kite-flying
skill with Kee-sup's kite-making
skill in an attempt to win the New Year kite-fighting
competition.
The Knight at Dawn
by Mary Pope Osborne (FIC OSB)
Four time-traveling adventures find Jack and Annie
whisked back to the
time of the
dinosaurs, medieval
Kristina: The Girl King
by Carolyn Meyer (FIC MEY)
Kristina, who became king--not
queen--of
Lady
of Ch’iao Kuo: Warrior of the South
by Laurence Yep (FIC YEP)
In 531 A.D., a
fifteen-year-old princess of
the Hsien tribe in southern China keeps a diary which describes her role as
liaison between her own people and the local Chinese colonists, in times of
both peace and war.
Leonardo’s Shadow
by Christopher Grey (FIC GRE)
Fifteen-year-old Giacomo--servant to Leonardo da Vinci--helps his
procrastinating master finish painting "The Last Supper" while also
trying to find clues to his parentage and pursue his own career as an artist in
late fifteenth-century Milan.
Marie,
Dancing by Carolyn Meyer (FIC MEY)
Marie van Goethem, a fourteen-year-old ballet dancer in the famed Paris Opéra,
has led a life of hardship and poverty. For her, dancing is the only joy to
counter the pain inflicted by hunger, her mother's drinking, and her selfish
older sister. But when famed artist Edgar Degas demands Marie's presence in his
studio, it appears that her life will be transformed: He will pay her to pose
for a new sculpture, and he promises to make her a star.
Mary,
Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer (FIC MEY)
Mary
Tudor, who would reign briefly as Queen of England during the mid sixteenth
century, tells the story of her troubled childhood as daughter of King Henry
VIII. (Young Royals)
Mary, Queen of Scotts:
Queen Without a Country by Kathryn
Lasky (FIC LAS)
Mary, the young Scottish queen,
is sent a
diary from her mother in which she records her experiences living at the court
of France's King Henry II as
she awaits her marriage to Henry's son, Francis.
Master
Puppeteer by Katherine Patterson (FIC
PAT)
A young
boy describes the poverty of 18th century Osaka, Japan, and the world of the
puppeteers in which he lives.
Matilda Bone by Karen
Cushman (FIC CUS)
Fourteen-year-old Matilda,
an apprentice bonesetter and practitioner of medicine in a village in medieval
England, tries to reconcile the various aspects of her life, both spiritual and
practical.
Maude
Reed Tale by Norah Lofts (FIC LOF)
A girl living in England in the
Middle Ages wants to become a wool merchant but is sent, instead, to a castle in
Sussex to learn to be a lady.
The Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman (FIC CUS)
In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is
taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship,
eventually gains the
three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in
this world.
My Guardian Angel by Sylvie Weil (FIC WEI)
In 11th century Troyes, France, Elvina, the unusual granddaughter of
renowned Jewish rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, who prefers studying and writing to
activities considered respectable for girls, takes a great risk by helping a
young boy who has run away from a group of Christian Crusaders.
Nine
Days a Queen: The Short Life and Reign of Lady Jane Grey
by Ann Rinaldi (FIC RIN)
Lady Jane Grey, who at sixteen was Queen
of England for nine
days
before being executed, recounts her life story from the age of nine.
Nobody’s Princess
by Esther Friesner (FIC FRI)
Determined to fend for herself in a world where only
men have real freedom, headstrong Helen, who will be called queen of Sparta and
Helen of Troy one day, learns to fight, hunt, and ride horses while disguised as
a boy, and goes on an adventure throughout the Mediterranean world.
Nobody’s
Prize by Esther Friesner (FIC FRI)|
Still
longing for adventure, Princess Helen of Sparta maintains her disguise as a boy
to join her unsuspecting brothers as part of the crew of the Argo, the ship
commanded by Prince Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece.
Pandora of Athens: 399
B.C. by Barry Denenberg (FIC DEN)
In 399
B.C.
in Athens,
thirteen-year-old Pandora
dreads her upcoming marriage to a man twice her age, but a chance meeting with
the philosopher Socrates encourages her to question traditional female roles and
to seek her own truth.
Patience,
Princess Catherine by Carolyn Meyer (FIC
MEY)
In 1501
fifteen-year-old Catharine of Aragon arrives in England to marry Arthur, the
eldest son of King Henry VII, but soon finds her expectations of a happy settled
life radically changed when Arthur unexpectedly dies and her future becomes the
subject of a bitter dispute between the kingdoms of England and Spain.
Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen (FIC YOL)
Nicola Ambruzzi, a poor traveling player, is an unlikely person to end up
"fool" and friend to Mary Queen of Scots. But tumbling and clowning at
court, she catches the young queen's eye and heart. As Mary is caught in the
winds of fate-running from France to Scotland, confronted by rebellious lords
and her unpredictable Scots, Nicola-Le Jardiniere-is there, buffeting and aiding
the queen with her wit and wiles.
The
Ravenmaster's Secret: Escape From the Tower of London
by Elvira Woodruff (FIC WOO)
The
eleven-year-old son of the
Ravenmaster at the
The
Redheaded Princess by Ann Rinaldi (FIC
RIN)
In 1542, nine-year-old Lady Elizabeth lives on an estate near London, striving
to get back into the good graces of her father, King Henry VIII, and as the
years pass she faces his death and those of other close relatives until she
finds herself next in line to ascend the throne of England in 1558.
See
You Later, Gladiator by Jon Scieszka (FIC
SCI)
Joe, Fred, and Sam demonstrate some of their favorite professional wrestling
moves, including the "Time Warp Trio Blind Ninja Smackdown," when
they're transported to ancient Rome and forced to fight as gladiators
in the Colosseum.
The Seeing Stone
by Kevin Crossley-Holland (FIC CRO)
In late twelfth-century England, a thirteen-year-old
boy named Arthur recounts how Merlin gives him a magical seeing stone which
shows him images of the legendary King Arthur, the events of whose life seem to
have many parallels to his own.
Shakespeare’s
Spy by Gary Blackwood (FIC BLA)
The winter
of 1602 brings many changes for Widge, a young apprentice at London's Globe
Theatre, as he becomes infatuated with Shakespeare's daughter Judith, attempts
to write a play, learns more about his past, endangers himself to help a friend,
acquires a new identity, and finds a new purpose in life.
The
Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood (FIC
BLA)
A young orphan boy is ordered by his master to infiltrate Shakespeare's
acting troupe in order to steal the
script of "Hamlet," but he discovers instead the
meaning of friendship and loyalty.
A
Single Shard
by Linda Sue Park (FIC PAR)
Tree-ear, a
thirteen-year-old orphan in medieval Korea, lives under a
bridge in a
potters' village, and longs to learn how to throw the delicate celadon ceramics
himself.
The
Smile
by Donna Jo Napoli (FIC NAP)
In Renaissance Italy, Elisabetta longs for romance, and when Leonardo da Vinci
introduces her to Guiliano de Medici, whose family rules Florence but is about
to be deposed, she has no inkling of the romance--and sorrow--that will ensue.
In a series of messages placed in her
grandmother's ancestral jar, a seventh century princess and future ruler of the
Korean kingdom of Silla vents her frustration at not being permitted to study
astronomy because she is a girl.
Song of the Sparrow
by Lisa Ann Sandell (FIC SPA)
In fifth-century Britain, nine years after the
destruction of
their home on the
island of
Shalott brings her to live with her father and brothers in the
military encampments of
Arthur's army, seventeen-year-old Elaine describes her changing perceptions of
war and the people
around her as she becomes increasingly involved in the
bitter struggle against the
invading Saxons.
Sword
of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen (FIC
YOL)
Merlinnus the magician devises a way for King
Arthur to prove himself the rightful king
of England--pulling a sword from a
stone--but trouble arises when someone else removes the
sword first.
Last update May 18, 2011