Historical Fiction Library

Jack and Annie set off to find an original copy of an ancient Chinese myth. Armed only with their magic library cards, they must take on a book-burning emperor. But with the help of a scholar and a silk weaver, they triumph again.

The number one best-selling Magic Tree House series is ready to whisk you away through time with Jack and Annie! This time, meet famous explorer Leif Erikson and help save a narwhal! When the magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie to Greenland, they're not sure what time they've landed in, but they immediately know what their mission is: save a narwhal! Then, they meet a young hunter named Leif Erikson, and they ask for his help. But Leif has other ideas.... Track the facts with Jack and Annie in the nonfiction companion to this audiobook: Narwhals and Other Whales.

Libby has always been inexplicably drawn to the old Victorian house on Mulberry Lane. So much so that when she sees a For Sale sign go up in the front yard, Libby uses all the money her grandmother left her to pay for college to buy the house instead, determined to fix it up herself—even though she knows her parents will be furious.

It's 1929, and 12-year-old Martha has no choice but to work as a maid in the New York City mansion of the wealthy Sewell family. But, despite the Gatsby-like parties and trimmings of success, she suspects something might be deeply wrong in the household - specifically with Rose Sewell, the formerly vivacious lady of the house who now refuses to leave her room. The other servants say Rose is crazy, but scrappy, strong-willed Martha thinks there's more to the story - and that the paintings in the Sewells' gallery contain a hidden message detailing the truth.

When the magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie to a mountainside, they are surprised to find farmers nearby. Then they learn that the farmer's baby llama has been stolen, and Jack and Annie vow to bring the little animal back to its owners. But the journey is treacherous - they must climb to the peak of Machu Picchu and climb back down in order to complete this mission. Jack and Annie have been on many dangerous travels, but can they survive this one?

After leaving Uncle Chester's homestead claim, orphan Hattie Brooks throws a lasso around a new dream, even bigger than the Montana sky. She wants to be a reporter, knowing full well that a few pieces published in the Arlington News will not suffice. Real reporters must go to Grand Places, and do Grand Things, like Hattie's hero Nellie Bly. Another girl might be stymied by this, but Hattie has faced down a hungry wolf and stood up to a mob of angry men. Nothing can squash her desire to write for a big city newspaper.

This is the story of Anita de la Torre, a 12-year-old girl living in the Dominican Republic in 1960. Most of her relatives have immigrated to the United States, her Tio Toni has disappeared, Papi has been getting mysterious phone calls about butterflies, and someone named Mr. Smith and the secret police have started terrorizing her family. While Anita deals with this frightening series of events, she also struggles with her adolescence and her own personal fight to be free.

Life isn't like the movies, and 11-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple. She's smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935, and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle's mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn't like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida, to stay with relatives she's never met.

Abracadabra! Jack and Annie are on a mission for Merlin the magician. They’re looking for a secret of greatness from the best escape artist that ever lived, Harry Houdini. Using the magic tree house to travel back in time, Jack and Annie head to Coney Island to look for the elusive magician. How can they find the master of escape? It’s going to take some determination, a little bit of trouble, and a whole lot of magic!

In Lions at Lunchtime, the Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie to the vast plains of Africa. Before Jack can find out where the lions are, Annie starts to help hundreds of wildebeasts cross a rushing river. Next, they follow a honey of a bird and meet an awesome Masai warrior. Jack hopes any lions will just stay away. Jack is about to be very disappointed.

On a frosty morning sometime in the 14th century, in a village somewhere in England, a girl known only as Brat was sleeping in a dung heap. "You, girl. Are you alive or dead?" When she opened her eyes, she saw an important-looking woman with a sharp glance and a sharp nose and a wimple starched into sharp pleats. This woman was Jane the midwife, and she needed a helper....

For Alice, danger threatens from inside the library as well as out. Having figured out the role her master and uncle, Geryon, played in her father's disappearance, Alice turns to Ending - the mysterious, magical giant feline and guardian of Geryon's library - for a spell to incapacitate Geryon. But, like all cats, Ending is adept at keeping secrets and Alice doesn't know the whole story. Once she traps Geryon with Ending's spell, there's no one to stop the other Readers from sending their apprentices to pillage Geryon's library.

Before my family lived in this house, a different family did, and before them, another family, and another before them. And before that, the family lived here, not in a house, but a wigwam. Who lived where you are before you got there? This Land teaches listeners that American land, from our backyards to our schools to Disney World, are the traditional homelands of many Indigenous nations. This Land will spark curiosity and encourage listeners to explore the history of the places they live and the people who have lived there throughout time and today.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was only 25 when he helped organize the Montgomery bus boycott and was soon organizing black people across the country in support of the right to vote, desegregation, and other basic civil rights. Maintaining nonviolent and peaceful tactics even when his life was threatened, King was also an advocate for the poor and spoke out against racial and economic injustice until his death - from an assassin's bullet - in 1968.

Meggie Dillon's life has been turned upside down by World War II. Her older brother Eddie enlisted and was shipped off to fight in Europe. And people say that anywhere else Grandpa would be turned in because he's German, and people might think he's a spy. Is it true? Could Grandpa be taken away?

Jack and Annie head to 18th-century Austria, where they must find and help a musician by the name of Mozart. Decked out in the craziest outfits they’ve ever worn - including a wig for Jack and a giant hoopskirt for Annie! - the two siblings search an entire palace to no avail. Their hunt is further hampered by the appearance of a mischievous little boy who is determined to follow them everywhere. But when the boy lets the animals out of the palace zoo, Jack and Annie have to use the only magic at their disposal to save themselves and the naughty little fellow.

Jack and Annie are off on another adventure! This time they are sent to ancient Greece, where a very important event is taking place. Join them as they race against time and witness the very first Olympic Games!

In this new Merlin Mission, Jack and Annie travel to Venice during Carnival time. Their mission: Save the Grand Lady of the Lagoon!

How did Joe, Fred, and Sam end up in King Arthur's court? It all started with The Book, a present from Joe's magician uncle. One minute they were looking at pictures of knights in The Book - and the next minute they are knights, battling fire-breathing dragons and gross-smelling giants! Can the Time Warp Trio escape death and destruction - and make it back to the twentieth century in time for lunch?

Complete with fascinating biographies by Tony Medawar of all the featured authors, this latest volume in the annual Bodies from the Library series once again brings into the daylight the forgotten, the lost and the unknown, and is an indispensable collection for any bookshelf.