Readers interested in historical fiction about major events may enjoy the following titles. In Joann Grote's The American Revolution, thirteen-year-old Stephen Lankford and his older brother William get involved in the "Sons of Liberty" revolutionary group in 1773 Boston. The Great Wheel, written by Robert Lawson, follows the story of eighteen-year-old Conn after he leaves Ireland and sails to America. He eventually overcomes obstacles to help build the first Ferris wheel for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Laura Ingalls Wilder writes about the terrible winter of 1880-81, in The Long Winter, when Almanzo Wilder takes a dangerous and adventurous trip to secure wheat that will save the village from starvation.

For another account of the famous Chicago fire, SURVIVAL! Fire (Chicago, 1871), authored by Kathleen Duey, Karen Bale and Bill Dodge, offers readers a different perspective of the blaze and its effects. With the Chicago fire wild around...