Featured books by Laurie Halse Anderson
Author Laurie Halse Anderson writes about the past and present, real people and imagined characters. She plays with form and style to present individuals from the inside, and looks at real history and women who played a role in it. Her middle-grade historical fiction book, Chains, was a National Book Award finalist. She also has a particular love for animals, expressed in her ongoing series, Vet Volunteers. Meet the many sides of an award-winning author for young people on the pages of her books.
Ashes
As the Revolutionary War rages on, Isabel and Curzon have narrowly escaped Valley Forge—but their relief is short-lived. Before long they are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down. With purpose and faith, Isabel and Curzon march on, fiercely determined to find Isabel’s little sister Ruth, who is enslaved in a Southern state — where bounty hunters are thick as flies. Return to the American Revolution in thisconclusion to the middle grade Seeds of America trilogy.
Chains
Isabel, an enslaved 13-year old, and her younger sister are set to be freed but instead are sold to a ruthless Loyalist at the start of the Revolutionary War. Life in New York City during the time comes vividly alive as do the complexities of the war. The first novel in the historical middle grade The Seeds of America trilogy.
Fever 1793
When yellow fever strikes 18th century Philadelphia, 16-year-old Matilda’s life is forever changed. Contemporary readers are likely to see themselves in Matilda while being transported back in time through striking smells and sights of an earlier time.
Fight for Life
Maggie lives with her grandmother who is a veterinarian and owner of the animal clinic called Wild at Heart. In this first in the series, Maggie and other volunteers find the puppy mill responsible for the sick animals brought to the clinic — and help shut it down.
Forge
The Patriot Army was shaped and strengthened by the desperate circumstances of the Valley Forge winter. This is where Curzon the boy becomes Curzon the young man. He navigates the dangers of being a runaway slave in this second novel in the historical middle grade The Seeds of America trilogy.
Homeless
Sunita, a volunteer at the Wild at Heart Animal Clinic, desperately wants a cat of her own, but her parents won't hear of it. Eventually, Sunita gets her animal as readers learn about feral cats and the need for animal control.
Independent Dames: What You Never Knew about the Women and Girls of the American Revolution
This fact and fun-filled look at female contributions to the American Revolution provides a serious but lighthearted introduction to a range of known and unknown women. Affable illustrations include thought and speech bubbles.
Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
Perhaps Abraham Lincoln was persuaded by the many letters written by Sarah Hale, but the all-American Thanksgiving celebration as a national holiday has only been in official since 1863. Humor abounds in this slightly offbeat look at history.
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