Colonial Times

Avi - Night journeys (143 pages) In the spring of 1768, twelve-year-old Peter, living with his Quaker guardian near the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border, joins in the search for two runaway indentured servants.

Bruchac, Joseph - The Arrow Over the Door (89 pages) Recounts the events of a memorable meeting between a group of Quakers and a party of Indians in the year 1777.

Bulla, Clyde Robert –

• Charlie's house (81 pages) A poor, friendless English boy, shipped to America as an indentured servant in the early eighteenth century, runs away from a cruel master and dreams of building a house of his own.
• A lion to guard us (117 pages) Left on their own in London, three impoverished children draw upon all their resources to stay together and make their way to the Virginia colony in search of their father

Dillon, Eilis - The seekers (136 pages) Sixteen-year-old Edward sails with friends from England to the New World in 1632 and joins the colony founded by the Pilgrims at Plymouth, discovering the perils and hardships of colonial life.

Edmonds, Walter Dumaux - The Matchlock Gun (50 pages) Based on a true story, this Newbery Award winning book tells the story of a small boy, his younger sister and mother, and a huge matchlock gun that helps the family during a confrontation with Indians in 1756.

Field, Rachel - Calico bush (201 pages) In 1743, thirteen-year-old Marguerite Ledoux travels to Maine as the indentured servant of a family that regards her as little better than the Indians that threaten them, but her strength, quick thinking and courage surprise them all.

Fleischman, Paul - Saturnalia (113 pages) In 1681 in Boston, fourteen-year-old William, a Narraganset Indian captured in a raid six years earlier, leads a productive and contented life as a printer's apprentice but is increasingly anxious to make some connection with his Indian past.

Fritz, Jean - Early Thunder (255 pages) Traces a youth's growth to maturity as he resolves his political conflicts in pre-revolutionary Salem, a center of high feeling between the British and colonists.

Hermes, Patricia - The Starving Time: Elizabeth's Diary, book two (108 pages) Part of the My America series. Nine-year-old Elizabeth keeps a journal of her experiences in the New World as she encounters Indians, suffers hunger and the death of friends, and helps her father build their first home.

Jacobs, Paul Samuel - James Printer: a Novel of Rebellion (220 pages) Although he has lived and worked as a printer’s apprentice with the Green family in Cambridge Massachusetts, for many years, James, a Nipmuck Indian, finds himself caught up in the events that lead to a horrible war.

Keehn, Sally - I am Regina (240 pages) In 1755, as the French and Indian War begins, ten-year-old Regina is kidnapped by Indians in western Pennsylvania and she must struggle to hold onto memories of her earlier life as she grows up under the name of Tskinnak and starts to become Indian herself.

Krensky, Stephen - The Printer’s Apprentice (103 pages) In 1735 in New York City, a young printer’s apprentice learns about the importance of freedom of speech when the printer Peter Zenger is arrested and tried for writing articles criticizing the government.

Lawson, Robert –

• Ben and Me (113 pages) Benjamin Franklin’s companion, Amos the mouse, recounts how he was responsible for Franklin’s many inventions and discoveries in this delightful story.
• Captain Kidd’s Cat (151 pages) McDermot the cat sails aboard the Adventure with the infamous pirate and his crew, presenting an inside view of life on the high seas along with revelations about his notorious master.

Moore, Robin - Bread Sister of Sinking Creek (154 pages) Fourteen-year-old Maggie Callahan, who has a special talent for making bread, struggles to survive on the Pennsylvania frontier in the late 1700s.

Moss, Marissa - Emma's Journal: The Story of a Colonial Girl (unpaged) Part of the Young American voices series. From 1774 to 1776, Emma describes in her journal her stay in Boston, where she witnesses the British blockade and spies for the American militia. Features hand-printed text, drawings, and marginal notes.

Nixon, Joan Lowery –

• Ann's Story, 1747 (147 pages) Ann, a young girl in eighteenth-century Williamsburg, wants to become a doctor like her father, but she is not allowed even to study Latin or mathematics.
• Caesar's Story, 1759 (165 pages) After having been a slave on Carter's Grove plantation near Williamsburg, Virginia, since childhood, Caesar finally finds a way to plan his own future.

O'Dell, Scott - The Serpent Never Sleeps (227 pages) In the early 17th century, Serena Lynn, determined to be with the man she has loved since childhood, travels to the New World and comes to know the hardships of colonial life.

Osborne, Mary Pope - Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catherine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763 (184 pages) A Quaker girl's diary reflects her experiences growing up in the Delaware River Valley of Pennsylvania and her capture by Lenape Indians in 1763.

Speare, Elizabeth George - The Sign of the Beaver (135 pages) Left alone to guard the family’s wilderness home in 18th-century Maine, a boy is hard-pressed to survive until local Indians teach him their skills.

Tripp, Valerie - Meet Felicity, an American Girl (68 pages) In Williamsburg in 1774, nine-year-old Felicity rescues a beautiful horse who is being beaten and starved by her cruel owner.