Books on 1920s Stock Market Crash, the Depression, American Life, World War II
Books on 1920’s and 1930’s has titles on the Stock Market Crash & the Great Depression. In the 1940’s, the Molly series gives a good picture of American life in the early 1900’s.
Books on World War II listed here deal specifically with American topics. Click here to find a more complete list (i.e., more than just American themes) on World War II.
AMERICAN HISTORY: Books on 1920s
Black Tuesday (The American Adventure Series) by Joann Grote, illus. Adam Wallenta, Peter Pagano. UE-JH
Christian historical fiction. Historical theme: Stock Market Crash.
Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 A Wall Street Journal Book for Children
AMERICAN HISTORY: Books on 1930s
Bud, Not Buddy (Newbery Medal Winner, 2000) by Christopher Paul Curtis. Random House 1999. UE-JH
Set in the Depression, a young orphaned boy sets off in search of his father. Newbery Medal.
The Great Depression (The American Adventure Series) by Joann A. Grote, illus. Adam Wallenta. UE-JH
Christian historical fiction.
Kit: An American Girl: 1934 (The American Girls Collection): The set includes Meet Kit: An American Girl,
Kit Learns a Lesson: A School Story,
Kit’s Surprise: A Christmas Story,
Happy Birthday Kit: A Springtime Story,
Kit Saves the Day: A Summer Story, and Changes for Kit: A Winter Story by Valerie Tripp. The Pleasant Co. 2000. E-JH
Based on the life of a fictional American girl during the Depression, and written especially for girls.
Potato: A Tale From The Great Depression by Kate Lied, illus. Lisa Campbell Ernst. National Geographic, 1997. E
Charming pictures & a simple story tell how difficult the
Depression years were for a young family, complete with a happy ending! Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor JH-HS
Newbery Medal. The struggle of a black family against the extremes of racial injustice in Depression Mississippi.
Caution: Subject matter may be disturbing to sensitive children.
Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski. UE-JH
Newbery Medal
Welcome to Kit’s World, 1934 : Growing Up During America’s Great Depression (The American Girls Collection). Pleasant Co. UE-JH
Expanding on the Kit series, this book illustrates and explains many
facets of the typical way of life of her time period and location.
AMERICAN HISTORY: 1940s — not World War II
Molly: An American Girl: 1944 (The American Girls Collection): The set includes: Meet Molly: An American Girl,
Molly Learns a Lesson: A School Story,
Molly’s Surprise: A Christmas Story,
Happy Birthday, Molly: A Springtime Story,
Molly Saves the Day: A Summer Story, and
Changes for Molly: A Winter Story by Valerie Tripp. The Pleasant Co. 1986. E-JH
Based on the life of a fictional American girl during World War II, and written especially for girls.
Welcome to Molly’s World, 1944: Growing Up in World War Two America (American Girls Collection). Pleasant Co. UE-JH
Expanding on the Molly series, this book illustrates and explains
many facets of the typical way of life of her time period and location.
AMERICAN HISTORY: 1940s — World War II
Click here to see the complete Reading List for World War II.
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, illus. Dom Lee. Lee & Low Books, 1993. E-UE
Picture book, telling of the hardships of Japanese Americans during
the war. This simple story delivers a big impact. Good ending. Content
may be too serious for the K child.
But No Candy by Gloria Houston. K-E
Coming Home (The American Adventure Series #48) by Veda Boyd Jones, illus. Adam Wallenta. UE-JH
Christian historical fiction.
The Home Front (The American Adventure Series #47) by Bonnie Hinman, Bonnie Harvey, illus. Adam Wallenta. UE-JH
Christian historical fiction.
Journey to Topaz
by Yoshiko Uchida, illus. Donald Carrick. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971. JH+
The greatest value in this book (& its sequel) is that this story
is rarely told & not vey well-known. The Japanese-Americans from
California were quarantined into camps during WWII, experiencing
hardships and loss of business and property. This book tells of one
Japanese-American family’s journey to the camp, and its sequel, Journey Home, chronicles them going back home with all its challenges. Both books are based on the author’s own experiences as a child.
Navajo Code Talkers by Nathan Aaseng. UE-JH+
Not yet reviewed. The Navajos provided undecipherable communication for American armed forces.
The Ring and the Window Seat by Amy Hest, illus. Deborah Haeffelle. 1990. K-E
A little girl gives her savings to help rescue a girl her own age from war-torn Europe.
Rumblings of War (The American Adventure Series #45) by Norma Jean Lutz, illus. Adam Wallenta. UE-JH
Christian historical fiction.
War Strikes (The American Adventure Series #46) by Norma Jean Lutz, illus. Adam Wallenta. UE-JH
Christian historical fiction.
