Will Sparrow's Road / Karen Cushman / 214 pages

Karen Cushman excels at making history come alive through the stories of her characters.  In Will Sparrow's Road she takes us back to 1599 England.  Will Sparrow does not have a mother, his drunken father sold him to an innkeeper and the innkeeper plans to sell him as a chimney sweep.  Will instead runs away and this is his story.  Through Will's adventures we experience privation, meet some unsavory and unkind people, learn about what happens in the Elizabethan market fairs, and watch Will discover who he is...a person who really does care about things beyond himself and his belly.  Character and setting are the driving forces of this book.  If common core state standards use fiction in the study of world history, Will Sparrow's Road would be a good recommendation.