Do You Know Who Wrote This? 
"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them." [Tell Me!]
Europe, Renaissance 
1300 - 1600
Chapter books (J Fiction) -- Grades 3-8
ALCHEMY AND MEGGY SWANN
by Cushman, Karen
J FICTION CUS
In 1573, the crippled, scorned, and destitute Meggy Swann goes to London, where she meets her father, an impoverished alchemist, and eventually discovers that although her legs are bent and weak, she has many other strengths.
ASSASSIN
Series Title: LADY GRACE MYSTERIES
by Cavendish, Grace
13-year-old Lady Grace Cavendish, favorite maid of honor of Elizabeth I of England, must solve a murder mystery and clear the name of her betrothed.
1. ASSASSIN
2. BETRAYAL
3. CONSPIRACY
4. DECEPTION
5. EXILE
COMPANY OF FOOLS
by Ellis, Deborah
The life of Henri, a quiet, sickly boy who has grown up behind abbey walls, changes forever when he is befriended by Micah, a joyful, undisciplined street urchin who joins the choir at St. Luc's in 1348, just before France is stricken by the Plague.
DAUGHTER OF VENICE
by Napoli, Donna Jo
Frustrated with the restrictions her gender imposes on her life, 14-year-old Donata, disguised as a boy, sneaks out of her noble family's house to roam the streets of late 16th-century Venice and then must confront the repercussions of her actions.
DEVIL AND HIS BOY
by Horowitz, Anthony
In 1593, 13-year-old Tom travels through the English countryside to London, where he falls in with a troupe of actors and finds himself in great danger from several sources.
DOGBOY
by Russell, Christopher
In 1346, 12-year-old Brind, an orphaned kennel boy raised with hunting dogs at an English manor, accompanies his master, along with half of the manor's prized mastiffs, to France, where he must fend for himself when both his master and the dogs are lost at the decisive battle of Crecy.
DOOR IN THE WALL
by De Angeli, Marguerite
A disabled boy in 14th-century England proves his courage and earns recognition from the King. Newbery Award winner, 1950
ELIZABETH I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor
Series Title: Royal Diaries
by Lasky, Kathryn
J FICTION LAS
In England in 1544, through a series of diary entries, Princess Elizabeth, the daughter-age 11-of King Henry VIII, celebrates holidays and birthdays, relives her mother's execution, revels in her studies, and agonizes over her father's health.
EXECUTIONER'S DAUGHTER
by Williams, Laura E.
13-year-old Lily, daughter of the town's executioner living in 15th century England, decides whether to fight against her destiny or to rise above her fate.
GRACE THE PIRATE
by Lasky, Kathryn
J FICTION LAS
Grace O'Malley finds excitement and danger when she defies Irish tradition and goes off to sea with her father, a trader and pirate in the 1500's.
ISABEL, Jewel of Castilla
Series Title: Royal Diaries
by Meyer, Carolyn
J FICTION MEY
While waiting anxiously for others to choose a husband for her in 1466, Isabella, the future Queen of Spain, keeps a diary account of her life as a member of the royal family.
ISABEL: Taking Wing
Series Title: Girls of Many Lands
by Dalton, Annie
J FICTION DAL
In 1592, 12-year-old Isabel dreams of adventure and finds it, not only on her journey from her London home to her aunt's manor house in Northamptonshire, but also through the healing arts her aunt teaches her.
MARGUERITE MAKES A BOOK
by Robertson, Bruce
In medieval Paris, Marguerite helps her nearly blind father finish painting an illuminated manuscript for his patron, Lady Isabelle.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS
Series Title: Royal Diaries
by Lasky, Kathryn
J FICTION LAS
Mary, the young Scottish queen, is sent a diary from her mother in which she records her experiences living at the court of France's King Henry II as she awaits her marriage to Henry's son, Francis, in 1553.
RALEIGH'S PAGE
by Armstrong, Alan
In the late 16th century, 15-year-old Andrew leaves school in England and must prove himself as a page to Sir Walter Raleigh before for Virginia, where he helps to establish relations with the Indians.
SECOND MRS. GIACONDA
by Konigsburg, E.L.
Relates, from the point of view of his servant Salai, how Leonardo da Vinci came to paint the Mona Lisa. [Italy, early 1500's]
SHAKESPEARE STEALER
by Blackwood, Gary
In London in the late 1500's, a young orphan boy is ordered by his master to infiltrate Shakespeare's acting troupe in order to steal the script of "Hamlet," but he discovers instead the meaning of friendship and loyalty.
SHAKESPEARE'S SCRIBE
by Blackwood, Gary
In plague-ridden 1602 England, a 15-year-old orphan boy, who has become an apprentice actor, goes on the road with Shakespeare's troupe and finds out more about his parents along the way. Sequel to SHAKESPEARE STEALER.
SHAKESPEARE'S SPY
by Blackwood, Gary
The winter of 1602 brings many changes for Widge, a young apprentice at London's Globe Theatre, as he becomes infatuated with Shakespeare's daughter Judith, attempts to write a play, learns more about his past, endangers himself to help a friend, acquires a new identity, and finds a new purpose in life.
Sequel to SHAKESPEARE'S SCRIBE.
SHIP OF FIRE
by Cadnum, Michael
In 1587, sailing to Spain on board Sir Francis Drake's ship "Elizabeth Bonaventure," 17-year-old surgeon's apprentice Thomas Spyre finds that, with the sudden death of his master, he must take over as ship's surgeon and prove his skill not only as a doctor, but also as a fighter when he is enlisted by Drake to face battle.
YOUNG JOAN
by Dana, Barbara
Joan, a girl growing up in the French countryside during the Hundred Years' War (early 1400's), begins to hear voices telling her she is destined to reunite her torn country in opposition to the English invaders.
Books for Teens (YA Fiction)
BURNING TIME
by Matas, Carol
YA FICTION MAT
After her father's sudden death, 14-year-old Rose Rives finds that 16th-century France is a dangerous place for women, when some greedy, vindictive men charge her mother and others with being witches.
FALCONER'S KNOT: A Story of Friars, Flirtation and Foul Play
by Hoffman, Mary
YA FICTION HOF
Silvano and Chiara, teens sent to live in a friary and a nunnery in Renaissance Italy, are drawn to one another and dream of a future together, but when murders are committed in the friary, they must discover who is behind the crimes before they can realize their love.
FREEDOM BEYOND THE SEA
by Lewin, Waldtraut
To escape the Spanish Inquisition, Esther Marchadi, the 16-year-old daughter of a murdered Jewish rabbi, disguises herself as a boy and joins the crew of Christopher Columbus's "Santa Maria."
GIRL IN A CAGE
by Yolen, Jane
As English armies invade Scotland in 1306, 11-year-old Princess Marjorie, daughter of the newly crowned Scottish king, Robert the Bruce, is captured by England's King Edward Longshanks and held in a cage on public display.
Incantation
by Hoffman, Alice
YA Fiction
During the Spanish Inquisition, 16-year-old Estrella, brought up a Catholic, discovers her family's true Jewish identity, and when their secret is betrayed by Estrella's best friend, the consequences are tragic.
MARY, BLOODY MARY
by Meyer, Carolyn
Mary Tudor, who would reign briefly as Queen of England during the mid-16th century, tells the story of her troubled childhood as daughter of King Henry VIII.
QUEEN'S OWN FOOL
Series Title: Scottish Quartet
by Yolen, Jane
When 12-year-old Nicola leaves Troupe Brufort and serves as the fool for Mary, Queen of Scots, she experiences the political and religious upheavals in both France and Scotland. #1 in the SCOTTISH QUARTET series.
TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
by Torrey, Michele
In Spain in 1519, after the death of his parents, 14-year-old Mateo Macias becomes cabin boy to Ferdinand Magellan on a dangerous journey in search of a route to the fabled Spice Islands.







