Medieval Times Across the Globe: historical fiction for teens
compiled 5-24-05

The Dungeon by Lynne Banks
YA FIC BANK
Driven by his grief over the loss of his family and by his longing for adventure, Bruce MacLennan sets out from Scotland for China, where he buys a young girl, who tries to ease his pain but instead is caught up in his desire for vengance.

The Examination by Malcolm Bosse
YA FIC BOSS
Fifteen-year-old Hong and his older brother Chen face famine, flood, pirates, and jealous rivals on their journey through fifteenth century China as Chen pursues his calling as a scholar and Hong becomes involved with a secret society known as the White Lotus.

There Will Be Wolves by Karleen Bradford
YA FIC BRAD
Ursula, condemned as a witch because of her knowledge of healing, escapes being burned to death when she joins her father and thousands of others who follow Peter the Hermit on the First Crusade from Cologne to Jerusalem in 1096.

Peregrine by Joan Goodman
YA FIC GOOD
In 1144, fifteen-year-old Lady Edith, having lost her husband and child and anxious to avoid marrying a man she detests, sets out from her home in Surrey to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Revenge of the Forty-Seven Samurai by Erik Haugaard
YA FIC HAUG
A 14-year-old serving boy finds himself surrounded by suspicion and betrayal as his master gathers a group of samurai to avenge Lord Asano's death.

The Boy and the Samurai by Erik Haugaard
YA FIC HAUG
Having grown up as an orphan of the streets while Japan is being ravaged by civil war, Saru seeks to help a samurai rescue his wife from imprisonment by a warlord so they can all flee to a more peaceful life.

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
YA MYS HOOB
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. First in a series.

Freedom Beyond the Sea by Waldtraut Lewin
YA FIC LEWI
To escape the Inquisition, Esther Marchadi, the sixteen-year-old daughter of a murdered Jewish rabbi, disguises herself as a boy and joins the crew of Christopher Columbus's "Santa Maria."

The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean
YA FIC MCCA
In thirteenth-century China, after trying to save his widowed mother from a horrendous second marriage, twelve-year-old Haoyou has life-changing adventures when he takes to the sky as a circus kite rider and ends up meeting the great Mongol ruler Kublai Khan.

Den of the White Fox by Lensey Namioka
YA FIC NAMI
In medieval Japan, two out-of work samurai warriors must use their fighting skills when they join a group of local boys, led by the mysterious White Fox, in resistance to a cruel occupying force.

Village of the Vampire Cat by Lensey Namioka
YA FIC NAMI
Set in medieval Japan during the time of the Shogun, and full of Japanese tradition and history, this murder mystery features two Samurai youths that attempt to save their teacher's village from bandits and a madman.

The Transformation by Mette Newth
YA FIC NEWT
On a journey to appease the Sea's Mother, Navarana saves the life of one of the Strangers who had come to Greenland to rescue the few Christians living there and together they find a way to end the suffering of Navarana's people.

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
YA FIC PARK
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.

Manwolf by Gloria Skurzynski
YA FIC SKUR
A diseased boy is accused of being a werewolf in fourteenth-century Poland.

Heart of a Jaguar by Marc Talbot
YA FIC TALB
In this sometimes graphic account of thirteenth century Mayan village life, Balam, a Mayan boy struggling to achieve manhood, participates in fasts, prayers, and rituals to appease the gods and bring rain to his village.

The Ramsay Scallop by Frances Temple
YA FIC TEMP
At the turn of the fourteenth century in England, fourteen-year-old Elenor finds her betrothal to an ambitious lord's son launching her on a memorable pilgrimage to far-off Spain. Sequel is The Beduin’s Gazelle.

I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade by Diane Wilson
YA FIC WILS
Oyuna tells her granddaughter the story of how love for her horse enable her to win a race and bring good luck to her family living in Mongolia in 1339.