Set in medieval times during the time of the London plague, Robin finds himself sick and completely alone. His father has gone off to fight, and his lady mother has gone to serve the queen.  A friar rescues Robin and cares for him.  Slowly, Robin improves, but he has lost the use of his legs.  The friar tells him to look for the door in the wall,  but Robin is not sure what the friar really means.(MK) 

  1951  Yates, Elizabeth.  Amos Fortune, Free Man.  New York: Dutton, 1950. 

Based on the original Amos Fortune papers in the library at East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, the reader learns of the inner strength of Amos Fortune.  Deemed inferior because of his color, Amos overcomes one hardship after another with a perseverance built of solid rock. Through hard work, Amos, an African prince, takes care of his people in the hostile environment of 18th century America. (JHP)

  1952  Estes, Eleanor.  Ginger Pye.  New York: Harcourt, 1951. 

Meet the Pye family.  Papa is a famous bird expert.  Mama met him when he knocked her off her feet while he was  running up the DOWN  escalator.  Jerry Pye wants to be a rock man, and Rachel wants to be a bird “man” like Papa.  But one member of the Pye family is missing.  Some one has stolen Ginger Pye, their extraordinarily smart little puppy. It is up to Jerry and Rachel to find Ginger, and they promise NEVER to give up until they do! (AB) 

  1953  Clark, Ann Nolan.  Secret of the Andes.  New York: Viking, 1952. 

High up on the overhanging rock, Cusi looked down into the valley and watched them.  People—he had never seen them before.  How he wanted a family.  Maybe he could belong to them.  And with that, Cusi and the old Indian knew that it was time.  Cusi must go on a journey. (MK) 

  1954  Krumgold, Joseph.  ...And Now Miguel.  New York: Crowell, 1953. 

More than anything, Miguel wants to be big enough to go with the men when they take the sheep to graze in the mountains in New Mexico.  And so, he makes a wish.  But how was he to know that in order to get the wish, he would have to give up something that nearly breaks his heart?  (MK) 

  1955  DeJong, Meindert. The Wheel on the School.  New York: Harper, 1954. 

In the little fishing village of Shora in Holland, there were only six children.  Lina wonders why the storks fly past their village and settle in other places.  When the children decide to find out why, their actions lead them to discover things about storks and about the people in their village. (JP) 

  1956  Latham, Jean Lee.  Carry on Mr. Bowditch.  Boston: Houghton, 1955. 

Nathanel Bowditch knows math like no one else in Salem and learning is what he loves best.  But due to a string of bad luck in his family, Nat must leave school and becomes an indentured servant for the ship chandlers. During his nine years of indenture, Nat learns about ships and how to become a successful navigator.  This fictionalized biography is not only an American success story but gives lots of information about America's shipping industry following the American Revolution. (JP) 

  1957  Sorenson, Virginia.   Miracles on Maple Hill.   New York: Harcourt 1956. 

After the war, Daddy comes home sick and short-tempered.  Marly and her family head for Pennsylvania to live in Grandmother’s house up on Maple Hill.  Mr. Chris promises them a weekly miracle.  Marly hopes that a miracle will happen to Daddy. (MK) 

  1958  Keith, Harold.  Rifles for Watie.  New York: Crowell, 1957. 

Soon after bushwhackers come to torment his family, sixteen-year-old Jefferson Davis Bussey leaves his Kansas home and sets off to join the Union army.  (MK) 

  1959  Speare, Elizabeth George.  The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  Boston: Houghton, 1958. 

It is 1687 and Kit Taylor is on her way to a new life in Connecticut Colony.  She knows her new home will never be like the one in Barbados that she's left behind.  How will she fit in with her new Puritan relatives?  What strange turns will her new life take? (JP)