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World Historical Fiction for Children: Asia

A selection of historical fiction books for children that take place on the continent of Asia.

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30 items

  • Alexandra's Scroll

    the Story of the First Hanukkah

    Chaikin, Miriam
    Alexandra, a young Jewish girl from Jerusalem, describes her life and the creation of Hanukkah, more than 2000 years ago. Grade: 4+
    Book, 2002New York : Henry Holt and Co., 2002. — Chaikin
  • After witnessing his father's crucifixion by Roman soldiers, Daniel bar Jamin is fired by a single passion: to avenge his father's death by driving the Roman legions from the land of Israel. Grade: 5+
    Book, 1989Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1989. — Speare
  • Tree-ear, a thirteen-year-old orphan in medieval Korea, lives under a bridge in a potters' village, and longs to learn how to throw the delicate celadon ceramics himself. Grade: 5+
    Book, 2001New York : Clarion Books, 2001. — Newbery 2002
  • In Korea in 1473, eleven-year-old Young-sup overcomes his rivalry with his older brother Kee-sup, who as the first-born son receives special treatment from their father, and combines his kite-flying skill with Kee-sup's kite-making skill in an…
    Book, 2000New York : Clarion Books, [2000] — Park
  • Beginning in 1627, Princess Jahanara, first daughter of Shah Jahan of India's Mogul Dynasty, writes in her diary about political intrigues, weddings, battles, and other experiences of her life. Includes historical notes on Jahanara's later life and…
    Book, 2002New York : Scholastic, 2002. — Dear
  • Even though he has only one leg, Niya Moto is studying to be a samurai, and his five fellow-students are similarly burdened, but sensei Ki-Yaga, an ancient but legendary warrior, teaches them not only physical skills but mental and spiritual ones as…
    Book, 2010Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2010. — Fussell
  • While attempting to solve the mystery of a stolen jewel, Seikei, a merchant's son who longs to be a samurai, joins a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth-century Japan. Grade: 6+
    Book, 2005New York : Sleuth Puffin, 2005. — Hoobler
  • A thirteen-year-old boy describes the poverty and discontent of eighteenth century Osaka and the world of puppeteers in which he lives. Grade: 5+.
    Book, 1989New York : HarperTrophy, 1989. — Paterson
  • Heart of a Samurai

    Based on the True Story of Nakahama Manjiro

    Preus, Margi
    In 1841, rescued by an American whaler after a terrible shipwreck leaves him and his four companions castaways on a remote island, fourteen-year-old Manjiro, who dreams of becoming a samurai, learns new laws and customs as he becomes the first…
    Book, 2010New York : Amulet Books, 2010. — Preus
  • Called boyish by her new family for being able to read and write, twelve-year-old orphaned Spring Pearl's "odd ways" help save the family during the 1857 Opium War in Canton, China. Grade: 4+
    Book, 2002Middleton, Wis. : Pleasant Co. Publications, [2002] — Girls of Many
  • Kazunomiya

    Prisoner of Heaven

    Lasky, Kathryn
    Princess Kazunomiya, half-sister of the Emperor of Japan, relates in her diary and in poems the confusing events occurring in the Imperial Palace in 1858, including political and romantic intrigue. Grade: 4+.
    Book, 2004New York : Scholastic, 2004. — Royal Diaries
  • Twelve-year-old Ning doesn't know where she belongs. The daughter of a Chinese woman and American man, Ning doesn't fit in in 1870s Shanghai, where her American features and unbound feet make her stand out. When she receives news that her father…
    Book, 2021New York, NY : Calkins Creek, an imprint of Boyds Mills & Kane, [2021] — MacColl
  • In 1883 thirteen-year-old Katrien Courtlandt is more interested in science and exploring the Javanese jungle for beetles with her native friend, than in becoming a young lady like her despised cousin Brigitta--but when Krakatoa erupts, the tsunami…
    Book, 2015[Place of publication not identified] : Holiday House, 2015. — Joiner
  • When thirteen-year-old Koly enters into an ill-fated arranged marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated by India's tradition or find the courage to oppose it. Grade: 5+
    Book, 2001New York : HarperTrophy, 2001. — J Whelan
  • In the 1920's, a Chinese youth from the country comes to Chungking with his mother where the bustling city offers adventure and his apprenticeship to a coppersmith brings good fortune. Grade: 5+.
    Book, 2007New York : Henry Holt, 2007. — Lewis Newbery Medal
  • As Rosalind continues to straddle the proper English world of her family and the culture of 1920s India where they live, her support of Gandhi and his followers in opposing British rule grows and she considers trying to carry the rebels' message to…
    Book, 2013New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2013] — Whelan
  • Sunflower is an only child, and when her father is sent to the rural Cadre School, she has to go with him. When her father tragically drowns, Sunflower is taken in by the poorest family in the village, a family with a son named Bronze. Bronze and…
    Book, 2017Somerville, MA : Candlewick Press, [2017] — + Cao
  • In 1940, when Simona is eight and her sister, Carolina, is five, their father becomes the cook to the Italian ambassador to Japan, and the family leaves Italy for Tokyo. The girls learn perfect Japanese, make friends, and begin to love life in their…
    Book, 2020New York : Wendy Lamb Books, 2020. — Napoli
  • In 1942, when Mahatma Gandhi asks Indians to give one family member to the freedom movement, ten-year-old Anjali is devastated to think of her father risking his life for the freedom struggle. But it turns out he isn't the one joining. Anjali's…
    Book, 2017New York : Tu Books, an imprint of Lee & Low Books Inc., [2017] — Kelkar
  • With national pride and occasional fear, a brother and sister face the increasingly oppressive occupation of Korea by Japan during World War II, which threatens to suppress Korean culture entirely. Grade: 5+
    Book, 2012[Place of publication not identified] : Turtleback Books, [2012] — Park