Auckland Council Libraries: If you like fiction based on true events...for tweens

If you like fiction based on true events...for tweens

Mēnā he pai ki a koe te kōrero paki mō ngā mahi pono... mā te taiohi

​Sometimes, the truth is stranger than fiction. If you can’t get your ‘reluctant’ reader to read fiction, ease their way gently, with this list of novels based on true events and real people. 

The topic Teens has been added to your favourites.

The topic Teens has been removed from your favourites.

The topic Teens will be added to your favourites. What does this mean?

A long walk to water

Linda Sue. Park

Book

When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, 11 year-old Salva is separated from his family. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.

See more

Heart of a samurai

Margi Preus

Book

In 1841, rescued by an American whaler after a terrible shipwreck leaves him and his companions castaways on a remote island, 14 year-old Manjiro learns new laws and customs as he becomes the first Japanese to set foot in the US.

See more

India dark

Kirsty Murray

Book

Madras 1910: Poesy and Tilly are caught up in a scandal that will change their lives forever. India Dark is a story of things kept secret, of conflicting wills and desires, set against the heat and dust of the lost empire.

See more

Hachiko waits

Lesléa Newman

Book

Story of a faithful dog in Tokyo who met his master at the train station every day and continued to wait for him for ten years after his master's death.

See more

The elephant thief

Jane Kerr

Book

When pickpocket Danny accidentally bids for Maharajah the elephant at an Edinburgh auction, he's swept up on an unforgettable journey.

See more

The tin snail

Cameron McAllister

Book

Set in pre-Second World War and occupied France, The Tin Snail is the story of the invention of the Citroen 2CV car - the first car to be affordable to the ordinary person.

See more

Journey to Tangiwai

David Hill

Book

It's 1953, in Napier, and Peter Cotterill starts the year writing in a journal given to him by his Great Aunt. We follow him through a year of many changes and to Auckland by train on Christmas Eve, a journey that he will never forget.

See more

Run, boy, run

Uri Orlev

Book

Based on the true story of a nine-year-old boy who escapes the Warsaw Ghetto and must survive throughout the war in the Nazi-occupied Polish countryside.

See more

Soldier bear

Bibi Dumon Tak

Book

An orphaned Syrian brown bear cub is adopted by Polish soldiers during World War II and serves for five years as their mischievous mascot in Iran and Italy. Based on a true story.

See more

Salt river

Elizabeth Hegarty

Book

Based on the true story of the Pook family in the early 1920s living in a remote area of the Kaipara Harbour. Tom and his younger sister are left in charge and must complete all the daily tasks as well as take care of their younger siblings.

See more

Book list by:

Anne Coppell.

Annie

LibrarianHelensville Library

Auckland Council Libraries:Book list Recommended reading lists about different topics and genres to help you find new books to read.