Children's Fiction Set in Connecticut

Alex, who won his war by Chester Aaron. Walker 1991.
In the final months of World War II fourteen-year-old Alex, worried about the fate of his brother fighting in Europe, falls into the hands of two Nazi spies intent on sabotage. World War, 1939-1945--Connecticut--Juvenile fiction.

Frozen summer by Mary Jane Auch. Holt 1998.
Sequel to: Journey to nowhere. In 1816, twelve-year-old Mem's new home in the wilderness of western New York is disrupted when the birth of another baby sends her mother into "spells" that disconnect her from reality. (Mem moves from Connecticut to New York. The family plans to return to Connecticut)

Windcatcher by Avi. Bradbury 1991.
While learning to sail during a visit to his grandmother's at the Connecticut shore, eleven-year-old Tony becomes excited about the rumors of sunken treasure in the area and starts following a couple who seem to be making a mysterious search for something. Connecticut--Fiction.

Sophia Scrooby preserved by Martha Bacon. Little, Brown 1968.
A six-year-old African chieftain's daughter, sole survivor of her tribe, begins wanderings that take her into slavery in America, into the company of pirates in New Orleans, to fame and fortune in London, and finally to Canada and the only family she's ever known. (From flap copy: "At six she was nameless and the sole survivor of her tribe... by the time she arrived in New Haven aboard a slave ship, she had been given her first name, Pansy.")

The wavering flame : Connecticut 1776 by Erick Berry. Scribner 1953.
Historical fiction. From flap copy: "Jason Reeves, a young peddler in Connecticut, comes to Litchfield where he becomes apprenticed to a printer, and learns the trade. It is a fascinating and honorable trade, carrying great responsibility... most dramatic scene - the printing by Jason of the Declaration of Independence. We see also the famous melting down of the statue of George II, which actually took place in Litchfield. "

Connecticut low by Bruce Boehm. Houghton 1980.
A 14-year-old boy who feels he has been a disappointment to his family proves himself by his heroic action during a great flood in the Connecticut River Valley. Floods--Fiction. Fathers and sons--Fiction. Friendship--Fiction. Connecticut--Fiction.

Mystery candlestick, The by Jean Bothwell. Dial 1970.
Historical fiction. From flap copy: "Pliny Barstow expects the summer of 1775 to be a dull one in Webbs Landing, Connecticut... discovers a strange candlestick containing a secret message that involves him in the spy network of the Colonial underground."

Goodness and Mercy Jenkins by Bianca Bradbury. Washburn 1963.
Connecticut--Juvenile fiction . New Haven--Juvenile fiction.

Sam and the Colonials by Bianca Bradbury.

A patriot lad of old Connecticut by Russell Gordon Carter. Penn 1935.
Connecticut--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Fiction.

Anywhere else but here by Bruce Clements. Farrar 1980.
When her father's printing business goes broke, 13-year-old Molly wants to leave Schenectady, New York, and start over in Connecticut, but matters are complicated by two selfish, conniving people. Single-parent families--Fiction.

The bloody country by James Lincoln Collier. Four Winds 1976.
In the mid-eighteenth century a family moves from Connecticut to Pennsylvania and becomes involved in the property conflict between the two states. Frontier and pioneer life--Fiction. Wyoming Valley (Pa.)--History--Juvenile fiction. Wyoming Valley (Pa.)--History--Fiction. Pennsylvania--History--Fiction.

The clock James Lincoln Collier. Delacorte 1992.
In 1810 in Connecticut, trapped in a grueling job in the local textile mill to help pay her father's debts, fifteen-year-old Annie becomes the victim of the cruel overseer and plots revenge against him. Mills and mill-work--Fiction. Work--Fiction.

My brother Sam is dead by James Lincoln Collier. Simon & Schuster 1984.
Recounts the tragedy that strikes the Meeker family during the Revolution, when one son joins the rebel forces while the rest of the family tries to stay neutral in a Tory town. Setting: a farm in Connecticut in the 1770's.

War comes to Willy Freeman by James Lincoln Collier. Delacorte 1983.
A free thirteen-year-old black girl in Connecticut is caught up in the horror of the Revolutionary War and the danger of being returned to slavery when her patriot father is killed by the British and her mother disappears. Afro-Americans--Fiction. Slavery--Fiction. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Fiction.

What Katy did at school by Susan Coolidge. Armada 1964.
Sisters--Connecticut--Juvenile fiction. Boarding schools--Connecticut--Juvenile fiction. Connecticut--Juvenile fiction.

Burning up by Caroline B Cooney. Delacorte 1999.
When a girl she had met at an innercity church is murdered, fifteen-year-old Macey channels her grief into a school project that leads her to uncover prejudice she had not imagined in her grandparents and their wealthy Connecticut community.

A little maid of old Connecticut by Alice Turner Curtis. Applewood 1997.
In 1776 a young Connecticut girl, unaware that her hat box contains a mysterious package from a Tory prisoner, travels by stagecoach to visit her grandmother. Connecticut--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Fiction.

Free souls by Mary Dahl. Houghton 1969.
A fictional account of the mutiny of free Negro crewmen against an unjust commander and their subsequent apprehension and trial in Connecticut. Amistad (Schooner)--Juvenile fiction. Amistad (Schooner)--Fiction.

The courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh.
An eight-year-old girl finds courage to go alone with her father to build a new home in the Connecticut wilderness, and to stay with the Indians when her father goes back to bring the rest of the family. Frontier and pioneer life--Fiction. Indians of North America--Fiction. Fear--Fiction.

26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie de Paola.
Children's author-illustrator Tomie De Paola describes his experiences at home and in school when he was a boy. [Meriden, Connecticut}

Liberty boy by Maxine Drury. McKay 1967.
Connecticut--Juvenile fiction.

Magic or not? by Edward Eager. Harcourt 1999.
When the family moves to Connecticut, twins James and Laura make new friends and begin a series of unusual adventures after discovering an old well that seems to be magic in their backyard. Magic--Fiction. Wishes--Fiction. Moving, Household--Fiction. Friendship--Fiction.

Moffat Museum, The by Eleanor Estes. Harcourt 1983.
Jane Moffat decides to open a family museum in the barn behind the little grey house at Twelve Ashbellows Place in Cranbury, Connecticut. Connecticut--Fiction.

Moffats, The by Eleanor Estes. Harcourt 1969.
The adventures of the four Moffat children before they move away from their big yellow house on New Dollar Street in Cranbury, Connecticut. Connecticut--Fiction.

McBroom tells the truth by Sid Fleischman. Price Stern Sloan 1998.
After leaving their rocky Connecticut farm to seek their fortunes in the West, Josh McBroom, his wife Melissa, and their eleven redheaded children stop in Iowa where they become the owners of a small but very unusual piece of property. Farms--Fiction. Redheads--Fiction. Family life--Fiction. Humorous stories. Tall tales.

The secret diary of Jeb & Abigail : growing up in America, 1776-1783 by Jean Fritz. Readers Digest 1976.
Reader's Digest /76
Diary of two children describing everyday life on a Connecticut farm in 1776. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Juvenile fiction. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Fiction.

Hope's crossing by Joan E. Goodman. Houghton 1998.
During the Revolutionary War, thirteen-year-old Hope, seized by the band of Tories who attack her Connecticut home, finds herself enslaved in a Tory household on Long Island and uses all her resources to escape from her captors and make her way home.

When JFK was my father by Amy Gordon. Houghton 1999.
Feeling neglected by her father in Brazil and her mother in Washington, D.C., Georgia Hughes tries to cope with life at a boarding school in Connecticut by imagining relationships with John Kennedy and Miss Beard, the ghost of the former headmistress of the school.

Beneath another sun by Marjory Hall. Westminster 1970.
When her father joins the Confederates in the Civil War, a sixteen-year-old girl, her little sister, and mother unwillingly move from Connecticut to Richmond. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Fiction.

You've been away all summer by Sheila Hayes. Dutton 1986.
After a summer spent away in Connecticut, twelve-year-old Fran looks forward to resuming her usual activities with her best friend Sarah, but Sarah has a new friend that seems to claim all her time and attention. Friendship--Fiction. New York (N.Y.)--Fiction.

Fourth of July raid by Wilma Pitchford Hays. 1959.
Xerox Ed /59
Connecticut--History--Revolution--Fiction.

Ten-speed babysitter, The by Alison Cragin Herzig. Dutton 1987.
In a coastal town in Connecticut, a fourteen-year-old babysitter's job is filled with surprises when his employer jets off to the Caribbean for the weekend and leaves him in charge of a toddler. Babysitters--Fiction. Connecticut--Fiction.

The purple car : a novel of mystery and adventure by Robert Holland. Frost Hollow Publishers, 1998
Maria, Peter, and Brian are drawn into a mystery surrounding the 1940 shooting and disappearance of a gangster on the farm they've just moved to in Connecticut. Gangsters--Fiction. Ghosts--Fiction. Brothers and sisters--Fiction. Moving, Household--Fiction. Mystery and detective stories. Connecticut--Fiction.

Cassandra : live at Carnegie Hall! by Nancy J. Hopper. Dial 1998.
Moving with her parents and younger sister from Connecticut to her father's studio in Carnegie Hall during World War II is difficult for thirteen-year-old Cassandra.

Through the lock by Carol Otis Hurst. Houghton 2000.
Etta, a twelve-year-old orphan in nineteenth-century Connecticut, meets a boy living in an abandoned cabin on the New Haven and Northampton Canal and has adventures with him while trying to be reunited with her siblings. Orphans--Fiction. Canals--Fiction. New Haven and Northampton Canal (Conn. and Mass.)--Fiction. Connecticut--Fiction.

Orp and the chop suey burgers by Suzy Kline. Putnam 1990.
Young Reader's Choice Award (nomination), 1993
Eleven-year-old Orville enters a cooking contest, which he has high hopes of winning with his recipe for chop suey burgers. Cookery--Fiction. Contests--Fiction. (Orp lives in Connecticut)

A place to call home by Jackie French Koller. Atheneum, 1995
Caring for her two younger siblings after their unreliable mother abandons them, fifteen-year-old Anna discovers the difficulties of trying to be a parent. Family problems--Fiction. Mother and child--Fiction. Afro-Americans--Fiction.

An acceptable time by Madeleine L'Engle. Farrar 1989.
FSG /89 0374300275
Polly's visit to her grandparents in Connecticut becomes an extraordinary experience as she encounters old friends and mysterious strangers and finds herself traveling back in time to play a crucial role in a prehistoric confrontation. Space and time--Fiction. Time travel--Fiction. Druids and druidism--Fiction.

Blueberry corners by Lois Lenski. Lippincott 1940.
Lippincott /40
Connecticut--Fiction

Flood Friday by Lois Lenski. Lippincott 1956.
A the CT floods of 1955."

We live in the country by Lois Lenski. Lippincott 1960.
Stories of the way of life on four farms where there are neither cows nor hay: a chicken farm in Connecticut; a cotton farm in Arkansas; a sheep farm in Texas; and a tree farm in Louisiana. Farm life--Fiction. Short stories.

The spinner's daughter by Amy Littlesugar. Pippin 1994.
Pippin /94 0945912226
When Elspeth, a hardworking Puritan girl, receives a cornhusk doll from a Pequot Indian, her mother fears that Elspeth will become idle. Puritans--Fiction. Pequot Indians--Fiction. Indians of North America--Connecticut--Fiction. Dolls--Fiction. Work--Fiction. Play--Fiction.

Ferryboat by Betsy & Giulio Maestro. HarperCollins 1987.
A family crosses a river on a ferryboat and observes how the ferry operates.
Bina "Ferryboat by Betsy and Guilio Maestro about the Chester Ferry"

Dawn on the coast by Ann M. Martin (Baby-sitters Club #23).
Since her parents' divorce, Dawn lives in Connecticut with her mother while her brother and father are in California, but after a week's vacation in sunny, healthy southern California, Dawn isn't sure she wants to return to the East Coast. Divorce--Fiction. Babysitters--Fiction. Clubs--Fiction. Family life--Fiction. California--Fiction.

Junebug by Alice Mead. Farrar 1995.
An inquisitive young boy who lives with his mother and younger sister in a rough housing project in New Haven, Connecticut, approaches his tenth birthday with a mixture of anticipation and worry. Single-parent families-- Fiction. Brothers and sisters--Fiction. Inner cities--Fiction. City and town life--Fiction. Afro-Americans--Fiction.

Jubilee journey by Carolyn Meyer. Harcourt 1997.
Emily Rose has always felt comfortable growing up in Connecticut with her African American mother and her "French American" father, but when they spend some time with her great-grandmother in Texas, Emily Rose learns about her black heritage and uncovers some new and exciting parts of her own identity. Racially mixed people--Fiction. Afro-Americans--Texas--Fiction. Great-grandmothers--Fiction. Identity--Fiction.

The secret of the Sachem's Tree by F. N. Monjo. Coward McCann 1972.
The Wadsworth children must abandon their plans for Halloween mischief to help prevent the King's representative from taking away Connecticut Colony's charter. Connecticut--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775--Fiction.

The red petticoat by Joan E. Palmer. Lothrop 1969.
In 1777 a thirteen-year-old Connecticut girl gets a chance to help the Revolutionary forces. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Fiction.

The education of Mary : a little miss of color, 1832 by Ann Rinaldi. Hyperion 2000.
In 1832, Prudence Crandall begins admitting black girls to her exclusive Connecticut school, scandalizing white society and eventually causing her arrest and the closing of her school. Race relations--Fiction. Prejudices--Fiction. Schools--Fiction. Racially mixed people--Fiction. Afro-Americans--Fiction. Connecticut--Fiction.

The onion maidens by A. K. Roche. Prentice-Hall 1968.
The young maidens of colonial Wethersfield, Connecticut, weeded and wept in the town's famous onion fields, but they became the best-known cooks of the region. Wethersfield (Connecticut)--Fiction. United States--Social life and customs--To 1775--Fiction.

The pumpkin heads by A. K. Roche. Prentice-Hall 1968.
In colonial New Haven all men and boys had their hair cut around a special cap--until the day the cutting cap disappeared and a replacement had to be found. New Haven (Connecticut)--Fiction. United States--Social life and customs--To 1775--Fiction.

The fresh air kid by Brigette Roux-Lough. Viking 1990.
Leigh, a street-smart teenager living in a tenement building in the Bronx, spends the summer in suburban Connecticut. City and town life--Fiction. Suburban life--Fiction.

Aurora means dawn by Scott R. Sanders (a picture book). Bradbury 1989.
Bradbury /89 0027782700
After traveling from Connecticut to Ohio in 1800 to start a new life in the settlement of Aurora, the Sheldons find that they are the first family to arrive there and realize that they will be starting a new community by themselves. Frontier and pioneer life--Fiction. Ohio--Fiction.

Warm as wool by Scott R. Sanders (a picture book). Bradbury 1992.
When Betsy Ward's family moves to Ohio from Connecticut in 1803, she brings along a sockful of coins to buy sheep so that she can gather wool, spin cloth, and make clothes to keep her children warm. Subjects: Frontier and pioneer life--Fiction. Sheep--Fiction. Ohio--Fiction.

The silent spillbills by Tor Seidler. HarperCollins 1998.
Thirteen-year-old bird-lover Katerina, plagued by stuttering and lack of self-confidence, stands up to her cantankerous grandfather, head of Farnsworth Aeronautics, to save the unique Connecticut wetland birds which inspired the design of the latest Farnsworth airplane.

Tucker's countryside by George Selden. Farrar 1969.
The adventures of a city bred cat and mouse when they go to the country in Connecticut to visit their friend, Chester Cricket. Sequel to: The cricket in Times Square. Cats--Fiction. Mice--Fiction. Crickets--Fiction. Country life--Fiction. Variant

The Stratford devil by Claude Clayton Smith (Walker's American history series for young people). Walker 1984.
A fictionalized account of the struggles of a Puritan settlement and events leading to the historical hanging of Goody Bassett for witchcraft in Stratford, Connecticut, in the spring of 1651. Witchcraft--Fiction. Puritans--Fiction. Stratford (Conn.)--History--Juvenile fiction. Connecticut--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775--Juvenile fiction. Connecticut--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775--Fiction.

Witch of Blackbird Pond, The by Elizabeth George Speare. 1958.
In 1687 in Connecticut, Kit Tyler, feeling out of place in the Puritan household of her aunt, befriends an old woman considered a witch by the community and suddenly finds herself standing trial for witchcraft. Puritans--Fiction. Witchcraft--New England--Fiction. Prejudices--Fiction.

Tory hole by Louise Hall Tharp.
Connecticut--History--Revolution--Fiction.

Matty's war by Caroll Thomas. Smith & Kraus 1999.
Two cousins share their experiences during the Civil War, both in the Simsbury, Connecticut, home of one girl, and through the letters the other writes when she goes, disguised as a boy, to fight in Virginia. Subjects: Cousins--Fiction. Unites States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Juvenile fiction. Unites States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Fiction.

Tamarack tree, The by Betty Underwood.
Bina "The Tamarack Tree by Betty Underwood about Prudence Crandall"

Hannah of Fairfield by Jean Van Leeuwen (Pioneer daughters) Dial 1999.
In 1779 in Fairfield, Connecticut, Hannah and her family try to maintain a sense of normalcy as the Revolutionary War rages around them, threatening to destroy their way of life.

Hannah's helping hands by Jean Van Leeuwen. Phyllis Fogelman 1999.
In 1779 in Fairfield, Connecticut, Hannah and her family try to maintain a sense of normalcy as the Revolutionary War rages around them, threatening to destroy their way of life.

Hannah's winter of hope by Jean Van Leeuwen. Penguin 2000.
In 1780 in Fairfield, Connecticut, Hannah worries about her brother Ben, a colonial soldier being held prisoner by the British, and joins her family in rebuilding their home and preparing for Ben's homecoming. Notes: Sequel to: Hannah's helping hands. Subjects: Connecticut --History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Juvenile fiction. Connecticut--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Fiction. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Fiction.Series:Pioneer daughters

The homecoming by Cynthia Voigt.
Setting: Rt. 15 from Rhode Island to Yale, including Hammonasset Beach.

Same scene, different place by Amelia Elizabeth Walden. Lippincott 1969.
A Spanish Harlem girl living on probation in a wealthy Connecticut town cannot seem to escape the influence of her old environment. Subjects: Juvenile delinquency--Fiction. Entertainers--Fiction.

Jordan Freeman was my friend by Richard White. Four Walls 1994.
Billy, son of Captain Latham, an American patriot, describes his friendship with a former slave in the days leading up to and including the British attack on Fort Griswold. Groton Heights, Battle of, 1781--Fiction. Afro-American men--Fiction. Freedmen--Fiction. Friendship--Fiction. Groton Heights, Battle of, 1781--Fiction. Afro-Americans--Fiction. Connecticut--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Fiction. Connecticut--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Fiction. Genre/Form: Historical fiction. War stories.

Jared's blessing by Hildegard Woodward. Scribners 1942.
Connecticut--Juvenile fiction.

The Beetle and me : a love story by Karen Romano Young. Greenwillow, 1999
When 15-year-old Daisy Pandolfi falls in love for the first time, the object of her affection is a 1957 purple Volkswagen Beetle slowly rusting away in the icehouse on the family farm. Daisy wants to restore the car, even though her father, uncle, and aunt--experienced mechanics all--tell her it can't be done. Daisy persists and prevails after six months of obsessive work, but her first drive leads to disaster. Set in a small town along Route 44 in western Connecticut. (author annotation)

Upcoming
Outside in by Karen Romano Young. Greenwillow, 2002
Cherie is the newspaper girl in her Connecticut shoreline town in 1968 -- a year in which the news from the outside world is full of turmoil. How it gets to Cherie, and how she saves herself from losing hope, is the subject of this story.

Video by Karen Romano Young. Greenwillow, 1999
A bully of a girl who doesn't understand the changes in her social circle, a boy flooded with disappointment, a video camera, and a handsome stranger -- these elements are woven together in a believable suburban setting (Connecticut) that is immediately recognizable. (author annotation)

This is list is always a list in progress. Please email or call Linda Williams at the Willimantic Library Service Center, 800-253-7944 with corrections, additions, or comments.