Children's Fiction with a Strong Geographic Background
(Outside the U.S.)
(This is an extremely long list. Printing is not
advised)
Australia
Beatty, Patricia. Jonathan Down Under. J FIC Beatty
Thirteen-year-old Jonathan accompanies his luckless miner father to
the gold fields of Australia, where he learns to be his own man amidst
the rough-and-ready society of nineteenth-century Victoria.
Clark, Mavis Thorpe. Wildfire. J FIC Clark
Chronicles the terrifying events of the day that uncontrolled wildfire
sweeps across the countryside and records the reactions of five youngsters
caught in it.
Honey, Elizabeth. Fiddleback. J FIC Honey
Twelve-year-old Henni records her account of a camping trip with friends
and neighbors.
Lester, Alison. Quicksand Pony. J FIC Lester
After her pony Bella, trapped in quicksand, is rescued by a mysterious
unseen person, ten-year-old Biddy follows the trail into the Australian
bush and discovers the solution to a disappearance that happened years
ago.
Thiele, Colin. The Hammerhead Light. J FIC Thiele
A lighthouse, a whimbrel, and an old man help a young girl accept the
meaning of change.
Thiele, Colin. Shadow Shark. J FIC Thiele
Two fourteen-year-old cousins join a group of fishermen in pursuit
of a massive shark off the coast of Southern Australia.
Austria
Härtling, Peter. Crutches. J FIC
Heartling
A young boy, searching vainly for his mother in post-war Vienna, is
befriended by a man on crutches and together they find hope for the future.
Canada
Burnford, Sheila Every. The Incredible Journey.
J FIC Burnford/ Y FIC Burnford/ Y PB B
A Siamese cat, an old bull terrier, and a young Labrador retriever
travel together 250 miles through the Canadian wilderness
to find their family.
Ellis, Sarah. Next-Door Neighbors. J FIC Ellis
Her family's move to a new town in Canada leaves shy twelve-year-old
Peggy feeling lonely and uncomfortable, until she befriends the unconventional
George and the Chinese servant of her imperious neighbor Mrs. Manning.
Costa Rica
Bischoff, Julia Bristol. Mystery on the Rancho Grande.
J FIC Bischoff
Twelve-year-old Tamara tries to discover who is sabotaging her father's
work on the new family ranch in Costa Rica.
China
Fritz, Jean. Homesick, My Own Story. J FIC Fritz/
J PB F
The author's fictionalized version, though all the events are true,
of her childhood in China in the 1920's.
Lattimore, Eleanor Frances. Little Pear and His Friends.
J FIC Lattimore
Six-year-old Little Pear has many adventures with Big Head and his
other friends in his village in China.
Denmark
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. J FIC Lowry // J
PB L
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie
learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish
friend from the Nazis.
Egypt
Bradshaw, Gillian. The Dragon and the Thief.
J FIC Bradshaw
In ancient Egypt an unlucky young man meets a wealthy dragon and together
they find dangerous but exciting adventure.
Reig, June. Diary of the Boy King, Tut-Ankh-Amen.
J FIC Reig
A fictionalized diary kept by Tutankhamen during his ninth year, the
year he became King of Egypt, about 1334 B.C.
England
Allan, Mabel Esther.The May Day Mystery. J FIC Allan
While visiting a friend's family in Cornwall during the traditional
May Day celebrations, eighteen-year-old Laura becomes involved in an old
family mystery concerning the disappearance of ancient heirlooms.
Bauer, Marion Dane. A Dream of Queens and Castles.
J FIC Bauer
In England with her mother for a year, dreamy Diana meets an eccentric
old man and shares his frustrations and use of the royal family as a means
of escape.
Bellairs, John. The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder.
J FIC Bellairs
In 1951, while visiting a distant cousin in the English countryside,
thirteen-year-old Lewis Barnavelt accidentally unleashes demonic forces
and summons the ghost of an evil wizard bent on killing the Barnavelt family.
Carris, Joan Davenport. Beware the Ravens, Aunt Morbelia.
J FIC Carris
Todd Fearing, his aunt Morbelia, and his friend Jeff are shadowed by
mysterious characters when they visit London and their ancestral home.
Carris, Joan Davenport. Hedgehogs in the Closet.
J FIC Carris
Unhappy with his family's move to England, eleven-year-old Nick slowly
begins to thrive in the very British setting of his new home and school.
Gordon, John. The Giant Under the Snow; A Story of Suspense.
J FIC Gordon
When one of them finds an ancient talisman in the backlands, three
British teen-agers are plunged into a terrifying and dangerous mystery
that appears to be connected with an old legend.
Haywood, Carolyn. Robert Rows the River. J FIC Haywood
A young English boy finds adventure and friendship as he roams the
river near his home.
Leitch, Patricia. Dream of Fair Horses. J
FIC Leitch
A thirteen-year-old girl is given the chance to ride and show her neighbor's
spirited pony which is being groomed for national competition.
Paton Walsh, Jill. Gaffer Samson's Luck. J
FIC Paton Walsh
James's difficulty in adjusting to a new school and life in the Fens
is further complicated by the request of an elderly neighbor to find his
lucky piece, a task which puts James in some danger.
Smaridge, Norah. The Mystery at Greystone Hall.
J FIC Smaridge
While vacationing in England, a young sleuth becomes involved in a
mystery at Greystone Hall
Townsend, John Rowe. Tom Tiddler's Ground.
J FIC Townsend
Amid the backwater canals of an English industrial town, five children
unravel a fifty-year-old mystery about a half-sunken canalboat and its
hidden treasure.
Egypt
Bradshaw, Gillian. The Dragon and the Thief. J
FIC Bradshaw
In ancient Egypt an unlucky young man meets a wealthly dragon and together
they find dangerous but exciting adventure.
France
Cowley, Marjorie. Dar and the Spear-Thrower. J FIC Cowley
A young Cro-Magnon boy living 15,000 years ago in southeastern France
is initiated into manhood by his clan and sets off on a journey to trade
his valuable fire rocks for an ivory spear thrower.
Maguire, Gregory. The Good Liar. J FIC Maguire
Now an old man living in the United States, Marcel recalls his childhood
in German-occupied France, especially the summer that he and his older
brother Rene befriended a young German soldier.
India
Litowinsky, Olga. The High Voyage. J FIC
Litowinsky
Fernando Columbus recounts his eventful voyage with his father in search
of a passage to India.
Israel
Bergman, Tamar. The Boy from over There. J FIC Bergman
Avramik, a young Holocaust survivor, has difficulties adjusting to
life on a kibbutz in the days before the first Arab-Israeli War.
Italy
Haugaard, Erik Christian. The Little Fishes.
J FIC Haugaard
A tale of the tragedy of war: the story of a twelve-year-old orphaned
beggar in occupied Italy, his daily search for food and for meaning in
the life he witnesses, and the development of compassion and understanding
that will help him survive.
Konigsburg, E. L. The Second Mrs. Giaconda. J FIC
Konigsburg
Relates, from the point of view of his servant Salai, how Leonardo
da Vinci came to paint the Mona Lisa.
Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. The Famous Stanley Kidnapping Case.
J FIC Snyder
Kidnappers in Italy have their hands full when the captive American
children advise them on running a better kidnapping and on proper nutrition.
Japan
Paterson, Katherine. The Master Puppeteer.
J FIC Paterson
A thirteen-year-old boy describes the poverty and discontent of eighteenth
century Osaka and the world of puppeteers in which he lives.
Paterson, Katherine. Of Nightingales That Weep.
J FIC Paterson
The vain young daughter of a samurai finds her comfortable life ripped
apart when opposing warrior clans begin a struggle for imperial control
of Japan.
Netherlands
Propp, Vera W. When the Soldiers Were Gone. J FIC
Propp
After the German occupation of the Netherlands, Benjamin leaves the
Christian family with whom he had been living and reunites with his real
parents who returned from hiding.
Poland
Kelly, Eric Philbrook. The Trumpeter of Krakow.
J FIC Kelly
A Polish family in the Middle Ages guards a great secret treasure and
a boy's memory of an earlier trumpeter of Krakow makes it possible for
him to save his father.
Radin, Ruth Yaffe. Escape to the Forest. J FIC Radin
A young Jewish girl living with her family in the town of Lida at the
beginning of World War II recalls the horrors of life under first the Russians
then the Nazis, before fleeing to join Tuvia Bielski, a partisan who tried
to save as many Jews as possible. Based on a true story.
Singer, Isaac Bashevis. Naftali the Storyteller and
His Horse, Sus : And Other Stories. J FIC Singer
A collection of short stories which explores the humor and life of
the people of Poland.
Slobodkin, Florence. Sarah Somebody. J FIC Slobodkin
A poor little Polish girl learns to write names and becomes someone
special to her family and school friends.
Puerto Rico
Mohr, Nicholasa. Felita. J FIC Mohr
The everyday experiences of an eight-year-old Puerto Rican girl growing
up in a close-knit, urban community.
Mohr, Nicholasa. Going Home. J FIC Mohr
Feeling like an outsider when she visits her relatives in Puerto Rico
for the first time, eleven-year-old Felita tries to come to terms with
the heritage she always took for granted.
Russia
Zee, Alke. The Sound of the Dragon's Feet. J FIC Zei
The time spent with her "revolutionary" tutor opens 10-year-old Sasha's
eyes to more of life in turn-of-the-century Russia than her somewhat sheltered
existence had previously allowed her to experience.
Sweden
Beckman, Gunnel. The Girl Without a Name. J FIC Beckman
Faced with the prospect of a dull summer, a young Swedish girl is excited
when a new family with a girl her age moves next door.
Lindgren, Astrid. The Children of Noisy Village.
J FIC Lindgren
Ten-year-old Lisa tells about her brothers and playmates and the happy
times they spend at work and at play in their Swedish village.
Switzerland
Pullman, Philip. Count Karlstein. J FIC Pullman
In the mountains of Switzerland the wicked Count Karlstein plots to
abandon his two nieces in a hunting lodge as prey for the Demon Huntsman
and his ghostly hounds.
Spyri, Johanna. Heidi. J FIC Spyri
A Swiss orphan is heartbroken when she must leave her beloved grandfather
and their happy home in the mountains to go to school and to care for an
invalid girl in the city.