by Elizabeth George SpeareUnconditional Recommendation: Katherine “Kit” Tyler must learn to live in a Puritan community with her relatives but befriends the Witch of Blackbird Pond and risks being persecuted as a witch herself.
Awards: Newbery Medal (1959), Dorothy Canfeld Fisher Children’s Book Award (1960)
by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyConditional Recommendation: From a cruel mother to a good home, this is a young girl’s journey to freedom, healing, and identity through the help and care of her guardian during WWII.
Awards: Newbery Medal Nominee (2016), Schneider Family Book Award for Middle School (2016), Odyssey Award (2016), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award Nominee (2017), Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children’s Literature (2016), Bluestem Book Award Nominee (2017), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Middle Grade & Children’s (2015), Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award Nominee (2017)