Girls survive

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.

Although Emmi has lived in Chicago for two years, she finds it hard to love her adopted city. As a German immigrant in the early 1870s, she's often teased by her America-born peers. But when the Great Fire breaks out on October 8, 1871, Emmi and her enemies find themselves braving the smoke and flames together.

In 1912, thirteen-year-old Noelle and her parents are aboard the Titanic, when she is awoken to a sinking ship and must evacuate to a lifeboat with her mother, but first she has to find and help her new friend, Pauline, who is in steerage.

Leah dreams of leaving behind the crowded streets of Boston's North End neighborhood to journey west. It's the only way she'll have the future she wants - one that doesn't involve her getting married or working in a factory. But then the molasses tank at the local plant explodes, sweeping through the city streets. The wave destroys everything in its path, and suddenly Leah must fight to survive if she wants to have any future at all.

In 1980s Washington state, Mt. St. Helens is rumbling. Twelve-year-old Maribel isn't concerned at first, despite officials evacuating her neighborhood. Her family is convinced it's just a precaution, even as the mountain continues to rumble. Maribel decides to disobey orders and return home for items she and her sister left behind - just as the volcano finally erupts. As ash rains down, Maribel realizes she must learn to focus if she's going to survive....

The American Revolution is raging in Philadelphia, and Rebecca is determined to do all she can to help. With her father stationed with Washington's army at nearby Whitemarsh, it's up to Rebecca to help her mother at home with her younger siblings. That includes selling vegetables to British officers stationed in wealthy houses nearby. When Rebecca intercepts a message about an impending British attack against the Patriots from one such house, she...

When her mother announces a holiday vacation to Thailand, Tara isn't thrilled. She'd rather stay home with her friends, but Mom is determined they use the girls' trip to explore their Thai heritage. Tara is reluctant to travel so far from home, especially to a country she doesn't feel connected to. But then disaster strikes. The day after Christmas, a massive tsunami sweeps through Phuket, Thailand. Tara's resort vacation suddenly becomes a fight...

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.

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.

Twelve-year-old Lena is aware of racism, but she lives a comfortable life in the segregated but relatively wealthy Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma; but on May 31, 1921 racial tensions explode, and men from downtown Tulsa invade Greenwood, set on killing and destroying the district--and as the violence escalates Lena, her parents, and her older sister search desperately for a safe place to hide from the mob.

Twelve-year-old Millie's family is hesitant to leave the farm their family has owned for generations, but after Black Sunday they leave Oklahoma for California where they find a new kind of stuggle.

"Twelve-year old Essie believes that Black people should be allowed to vote, and she's willing to march for that right. On Sunday, March 7, 1965, Essie puts on her best dress to join protesters as they plan to visit the governor in Montgomery, Alabama. But as the 600 marchers approach the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, they are stopped by angry state troopers who will do whatever it takes to stop the peaceful protesters."

When the Great Kanto Earthquake strikes Tokyo on September 1, 1923, twelve-year-old Fumiko must navigate the ensuing chaos and confusion in her fight for survival. Includes information about the Great Kanto Earthquake, a glossary, discussion questions, and writing prompts.