12 Amazing Historical Fiction Recommendations for Upper Elementary
By Kirsten Hammond
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If you’re looking for a powerful and engaging way to bring the past to life in your classroom, historical fiction might just be your new best friend. This beloved genre helps students step into the shoes of characters living through real historical events, giving them a deeper, more personal understanding of history – one that facts and dates alone can’t always provide.
In this post, you’ll learn why historical fiction is such an effective tool for teaching upper elementary students, what to look for when choosing a book, and discover top historical fiction recommendations to add to your classroom library or use in read-alouds, novel studies, or thematic book clubs.
Why Use Historical Fiction in the Classroom?
When it comes to teaching history, historical fiction offers something special. It connects students to the past through story, allowing them to feel empathy and explore different perspectives. It also helps students have a deeper understanding and appreciation of historical events.
Here’s why historical fiction is a classroom must:
It Makes History Personal
Reading about a character their own age living during the American Revolution or World War II helps students form emotional connections and better understand the challenges of that time.
It Builds Empathy and Understanding
Great historical fiction allows students to experience events from multiple points of view – something textbooks alone rarely achieve.
It Adds Context to Complex Topics
Whether it’s the Great Depression or the Civil Rights Movement, historical fiction fills in the emotional and human details that bring these events to life.
It Strengthens Reading Skills
Students analyze character development, setting, and plot while also practicing inference and comparison while also learning social studies.
It Engages Reluctant Readers
Some students may find history “boring,” but a compelling story set in the past can pull them in and spark curiosity about the real-world events behind the fiction.
What to Look for in Great Historical Fiction Books
Not all historical fiction is created equal. When choosing books for your classroom, here are five important elements to consider:
- Authentic Historical Setting: The time period should feel real with accurate details about daily life, clothing, and language.
- Relatable Protagonists: Look for main characters close in age to your students.
- Historical Accuracy: While the characters might be fictional, the events should align with what really happened.
- Themes That Spark Discussion: Great books raise big questions and encourage deeper thinking about justice, identity, or resilience.
- Engaging Storytelling: The book should feel like a story, not a textbook in disguise.
Historical Fiction Recommendations for Upper Elementary
To help you get started, here are 12 historical fiction book recommendations organized mostly by time period:
Colonial America & The American Revolution
Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone
Follows a boy in the Jamestown colony – perfect for teaching early American history.
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Tells the story of an enslaved girl in New York during the Revolution.
Civil War & Reconstruction
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
A young soldier fights for both the Union and Confederate sides.
Freedom’s Wings (My America Series) by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
Diary-style narrative of a boy escaping slavery through the Underground Railroad.
The Great Depression & Dust Bowl
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
A boy journeys across Michigan during the Depression in search of his father.
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Told in free verse, this story captures a young girl’s life in Dust Bowl-era Oklahoma.
World War II & The Holocaust
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
A Danish girl helps her Jewish best friend escape the Nazis.
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Follows a disabled girl evacuated from London during the war.
Civil Rights Movement & 20th Century America
Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood
Set in Mississippi during Freedom Summer, this story tackles segregation and change.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
A memoir in verse about growing up as a young Black girl during the Civil Rights era.
Immigration & Global History
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Follows a Vietnamese girl’s journey to the U.S. after the Vietnam War.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
A young Mexican girl becomes a farmworker during the Great Depression.
For even more historical fiction recommendations check out these additional sources!
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/historical-fiction-picture-books
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/5th-grade-historical-fiction
https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/genre/historical-fiction.html?p=1&n=20
How to Use Historical Fiction in Your Classroom
Once you’ve selected a great historical fiction book, try these classroom ideas to make it meaningful:
Read-Aloud Discussions: Pause to ask questions like “How does this compare to what we’ve learned in social studies?” or “What choices would you make in this situation?”
Fact vs. Fiction Projects: Have students research the real history behind the story and compare it to the events in the book.
Creative Writing: Let students write diary entries, letters, or newspaper articles from a character’s perspective.
Book & Movie Comparisons: If there’s a film adaptation, compare the storytelling approaches and what historical details are emphasized (or left out).
Thematic Book Clubs: Let students choose from a list of historical fiction books on a common theme or time period and discuss them in small groups.
Why Historical Fiction Matters
The power of historical fiction lies in its ability to humanize the past. When students walk in the shoes of people from other times, they don’t just learn history. They feel it. They question it. They understand it.
Whether you’re building empathy, reinforcing reading skills, or simply trying to engage a reluctant learner, historical fiction opens the door to deeper connections and lifelong curiosity
kirsten hammond
Kirsten is a former 3rd and 5th grade teacher who loves helping upper elementary teachers by creating resources and sharing ideas that are engaging, research-based, and TEKS-aligned. She is a work-from-home mama of 3 rambunctious little ones and loves running, true crime, and lots of coffee.
Thank you for this post! I’m so excited to do read-aloud in my classes. I was given a book called A Paradise Called Texas to do for my Texas History class.
Historical fiction is my favorite genre for sure. The Nightingale is sooooo good, but also heartbreaking. Kate Quinn has some incredible historical fiction books too if you haven’t read her yet. I recommend The Rose Code and Briar Club. I’m going to start a book by Pam Jenoff soon that came highly recommended.
Keep up the good work and thank you!
I haven’t heard of A Paradise Called Texas – I’ll have to check it out! I’ve also heard great things about Kate Quinn and will add those books to my Goodreads list!