Fiction:
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Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover
When she was a baby, Crow washed ashore on a tiny Island that is part of the Elizabeth Islands chain off the coast of Massachusetts. Now twelve-year-old Crow wants to know where she came from and why did her parents send her adrift in the sea?
The writing in this novel is so beautiful it makes your eyes tear up. While you are reading, you want to soak the words into your skin. It is a must read.
- Age Range: 10 and up
- Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers (May 2, 2017)
- ISBN-10: 1101994851
- ISBN-13: 978-1101994856
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover
Although Little Women is set in New England, the Alcott family home is in Concord, Massachusetts.
- Reading age : 9 – 12 years
- Publisher : Puffin Books (August 28, 2014)
- ISBN-10 : 0147514010
- ISBN-13 : 978-0147514011
Sleds on the Boston Common by Louise Borden and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker
A fictional account of event that happened in Boston prior to the revolutionary War, loosely based on local folklore.
- Age Range: 9 – 12 years
- Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books; First Edition edition (September 1, 2000)
- ISBN-10: 0689828128
- ISBN-13: 978-0689828126
Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes
Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover
This classic historical fiction won a Newbery in 1944. The story is set in Boston in 1773, revealing the events leading up to the American Revolution.
- Age Range: 9 – 12 years
- Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (May 28, 2011)
- ISBN-10: 0547614322
- ISBN-13: 978-0547614328
Bus Route to Boston by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
In this picture book, a mom and her two daughters take a trip through historical Boston (last century) via bus.
- Age Range: 5 – 7 years
- Publisher: Boyds Mills Press; Reprint edition (August 1, 2009)
- ISBN-10: 1590787471
- ISBN-13: 978-1590787472
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover
In this class picture book, a mother duck decides to raise her ducklings in the pond in the Boston Public Gardens. McClosky’s fabulous tale is based on a real duck that lived in Beacon Hill. The book won a Caldecott in 1941.
- Age Range: 3 – 8 years
- Publisher: Viking Juvenile (January 1, 1941)
- ISBN-10: 0670451495
- ISBN-13: 978-0670451494
Nonfiction:
The Great Molasses Flood: Boston 1919 by Deborah Kops
On a quiet day in January 1919, a huge tank of molasses burst open and flooded a Boston waterfront neighborhood. The massive wall of sticky liquid did an amazing amount of damage. People were injured and eventually 21 died. Several buildings were destroyed and the elevated train tracks were damaged. After the immediacy of rescue and clean up efforts came the questions. Why had the giant tank broken open? What caused this disaster?
- Age Range: 9 – 12 years
- Publisher: Charlesbridge; 1st Edition, 1st Printing edition (February 1, 2012)
- ISBN-10: 1580893481
- ISBN-13: 978-1580893480
C is for Cape Cod by Christie Laurie and photographs by Steve Heaslip
Lovely photographs by award-winning photographer Steve Heaslip paired with simple verse make this alphabet book for the youngest set appeal to adults as well.
- Age Range: 3 – 10 years
- Publisher: Islandport Press (March 14, 2014)
- ISBN-10: 1939017130
- ISBN-13: 978-1939017130
B is for Berkshires by Joan Duris and illustrated by Gillian Jones
Investigate the Berkshire region of western Massachusetts through this travel guide organized as an alphabet book.
- Age Range: 3-10
- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Publisher: Islandport Press; Sew edition (March 10, 2015)
- ISBN-10: 1939017513
- ISBN-13: 978-1939017512
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