THE IMPOSSIBLE RESCUE: THE TRUE STORY OF AN AMAZING ARCTIC ADVENTURE

THE IMPOSSIBLE RESCUE: THE TRUE STORY OF AN AMAZING ARCTIC ADVENTURE, by Martin W. Sandler (Candlewick Press 2012)(ages 12+).  In late 1897, a fleet of whaling vessels from San Francisco is trapped in the ice in the Arctic Circle, near Point Barrow, Alaska.  Their only chance of survival is to wait for the ice to melt, sometime in the middle of the next summer.  But then, under the direct orders of President McKinley, three men from the forerunner of the Coast Guard undertake a treacherous overland mission to bring desperately needed supplies...

THE IMPOSSIBLE RESCUE is an engrossing tale of arctic survival and determination -- suspenseful and fascinating, bringing to life countless acts of heroism, both large and small.

CROW

CROW, by Barbara Wright (Random House 2012)(ages 8-12).  It's Wilmington, North Carolina in 1898, and Moses Thomas has just finished fifth grade with perfect attendance.  His father works at the daily African American newspaper and is one of four African American aldermen on the city council.

His grandmother and mother were born into slavery.  But Moses's father knows that so long as Moses has an education and self-respect, he can grow up to make something of himself.

Although Moses has fun that summer (he gets to take his first train ride and starts to teach Boo Nanny how to read), there are ominous signs -- he has issues with his friends and tensions between the white and African American communities begin to rise...

CROW is a fascinating and poignant story of one boy's summer in the time leading up to the Wilmington Massacre of 1898.  Thought-provoking, but not preachy, CROW pulls no punches as it remains true to the era yet always maintains the perspective of an eleven-year-old.  Altogether, it's a compelling read with an engaging and likeable protagonist.       

THE YEAR WE WERE FAMOUS

THE YEAR WE WERE FAMOUS, by Carole Estby Dagg (Clarion/HMH 2011)(12+).  It's 1896, and seventeen-year-old Clara Estby and her mother Helga need to raise a lot of money fast -- to prevent foreclosure on the family farm.  Inspired by the intrepid Nellie Bly, they hatch a scheme to walk across the United States, from Spokane to New York City.  If they make it by the seven month deadline, a mysterious benefactor will pay them $10,000 and publish the account of their journey as a book.

En route, the mother-daughter pair encounters hardships and dangers and finds out more than a little bit about themselves and each other.

Based on the true story of the author's great-aunt and great-grandmother, THE YEAR WE WERE FAMOUS is a satisfying and thoroughly fascinating adventure road-trip.  Dagg offers a likeable protagonist and relationships that feel real in their complexity, while compellingly evoking the atmosphere of the era of William Jennings Bryan and William McKinley.

THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE

THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE, by Jacqueline Kelly (Henry Holt 2009)(ages 12+). The middle child of seven (the rest are boys), eleven year old Calpurnia Tate is not your typical girl in 1899 Texas. As she becomes fascinated by the natural world, she grows closer to her fearsome grandfather, an amateur naturalist. When they discover a new plant which they send to the Smithsonian for corroboration, Calpurnia begins to struggle with what it means to be a girl in turn-of-the-century Texas and what it will mean for her dream of going to college to become a professional naturalist.

In a voice that resonates with nostalgia, Kelly evokes simpler times and richly details episodes in one summer of Calpurnia's life as she and her grandfather await the important scientific news...