"In 1854 in Eastern Maryland twelve-year-old Ann is a slave, grateful that her family is still all together; but when their master, in need of money, decides to sell Ann and her younger brother, their parents decide to take the dangerous step of running away north to freedom--a journey filled with danger, especially since they are not sure how to find the first station on the Underground Railroad"--

"In 1864 twelve-year-old former slave Charlotte is lucky enough to live on a plantation near Richmond, Virginia, owned by a Miss Van Lew, who hates slavery, and when Charlotte overhears a conversation she realizes that her mistress is gathering information and passing it on to the Union army; Charlotte is eager to help, (especially since her own cousin, Mary, is involved) but her enthusiasm may endanger them all--or help free 400 Union soldiers who...

In 1911, fourteen-year-old Lucy Morelli lives with her parents, older brother, and several youngers siblings in a crowded apartment in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Lucy dreams of going to college, but her Italian immigrant family relies heavily on her income from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory to survive. Lucy finds the factory work boring, but the working conditions are better than many other jobs. But when Lucy and her best...

In the late summer and early fall of 1938, ten-year-old Ruth Block, along with her father, mother, and best friend, Miriam, must navigate the increasing pressure placed on the Jewish population in Frankfurt, Germany. Ruth grows more worried by the day. Her father's stationery store is shut down; she and Miriam are belittled on the street; their school is closed. Then one night in November, the family's apartment is broken into. Ruth's father is dragged...

Just turned twelve, Lily is the oldest of the three children in her Chinese American family living in San Francisco when the 1906 earthquake hits; her family has survived the quake, but as the city starts to burn Lily and her younger brother are separated from the others and must get to the safety of Oakland across the bay and hope that the rest of their family and friends are there waiting for them--but between the fire and the anti-Chinese violence...

In 1851 twelve-year-old Sarah is a free Black, happy living with her parents, grandparents, and brother on their own farm in Iowa; but her father has been bitten by the gold bug and wants to take the trail west to California, and after some argument it is decided that the grandparents will stay on the farm, but the rest of the family will go; the journey will be difficult and dangerous, but if they survive extreme weather, difficult terrain, illness,...

After helping prepare their London home for German bombing raids, young Hettie and her brothers are sent to safety in the countryside, where she strives to keep them connected to each other and their parents.

The people of fourteenth-century Florence, Italy, starving after years of bad weather and natural disasters, now face the Black Plague but twelve-year-old Maria is determined to survive. Includes historical note, glossary, and discussion question.

When the Twin Towers fall on September 11, 2001, blocks from her school, twelve-year-old Molly, unable to reach her dads or Gran, must find her seven-year-old sister, Adi, and get her safely home. Includes author's note, glossary, and discussion questions.

While vacationing in Thailand for the holidays, Tara and her mother are thrown into survival mode when a massive tsunami sweeps through Phuket.