CIVIL WAR HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS FOR
MRS. REILLY’S BOOKTALK.
The following is a list of books (not in any particular order as in keeping with the
way Mrs. Reilly would present the booktalk) about Civil War historical fiction.
LYDDIE. – Katherine Paterson, Lodestar Books, c1991, 182p
Lyddie Worthen, a poor Vermont farm girl, wants to buy back the family farm
lost by her father’s neglect. His wanderlust has taken him to parts unknown and the
family is dispersed to various jobs and relatives’ homes. Lyddie, unhappy as a tavern
worker, decides to seek work in the Lowell factories in Massachusetts. At first, she, an
outdoor girl, cannot imagine working in such a dark, musty, and noisy factory. Over
time, she becomes the Overseer’s best worker. She learns how to read, attends various
lectures and saves her money. Eventually, she is forced to leave the factory and set out
for an Ohio college for women to become a teacher.
JIP; HIS STORY. – Katherine Paterson, Lodestar Books, c1996, 181p.
Jip lives on a Vermont poor farm. No one knows where he came from or who his
family is. Someone named him “Jip”, short for Gypsy, because some townspeople
thought that he had fallen off of a wagon in a Gypsy caravan. Because his skin is a deep
olive tone, this assumption seems to make sense. One day, a Southern gentleman comes
to this little Vermont town and takes an interest in Jip. The townspeople begin to notice
that Jip resembles this man. Jip learns that his mother was a runaway slave who was
recaptured. She pushed her baby out of the wagon, instead of taking him back to
slavery. The Southern gentleman is actually Jip’s father, who wants to bring him back as
one of his plantation workers. Lyddie Worthen, now the town schoolteacher, and Luke, a
Quaker Abolitionist, want to help Jip escape. Will their plan help to keep him from
slavery?
CHARLIE SKEDADDLE. – Patricia Beatty, Morrow, c1987, 186p.
Charlie