Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie the Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell / Kristiana Gregory 163 p.

13-year-old Hattie Campbell tells the story of her family's wagon trip from Missouri to Oregon in the 1847. She describes the hazards, losses, and joys on this 6 month long race to their new home.  A work in the Dear America series.

Like the Willow Tree : the diary of Lydia Ame / Lois Lowry 216 p.

Only eleven-year old Lydia Pierce and her older brother Daniel survive the horrific flu epidemic of 1918 that took both their parents and baby sister in a matter of days.  Their grieving uncle takes them to be raised in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake near Portland, Maine.  In this installment of the Dear America series of diary novels, Lydia tells the story of their adapting to this new way of life.

2012 Notable Children's Books