Deborah Hopkinson

Author Information
Deborah Hopkinson's Latest Book

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  • Bibliography:
    51 Books (1 Series)
  • First Book:
    August 1995
  • Latest Book:
    July 2024
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Full Series List in Order

The Prairie Skies

1 - Pioneer Summer (May-2002)
2 - Cabin in the Snow (Sep-2002)

Multi-Author Series List

Dear America

Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker New York City, 1909 (Oct-2004)

Book List in Order: 51 titles

  • Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

    An inspiring tale of creativity and determination on the Underground Railroad from Coretta Scott King Award winner James Ransome and acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson.Clara, a slave and seamstress on Home Plantation, dreams of freedom -- not just fo...

  • Birdie's Lighthouse

    Birdie's family moves to a small, isolated island off the coast of Maine. Birdie enjoys watching her lightkeeper father as he tends the lights. Then, one stormy night, her father falls ill. Only Birdie knows how to keep the lightho...

  • Bluebird Summer

    Mags and Cody spend every summer with Gramps and Grandma at their farm, but after Grandma dies, the house is shadowed with sadness and the bluebirds are silent, so Mags decides to revitalize Grandma's garden, and soon the bluebirds return and Gramps ...

  • Fannie in the Kitchen: The Whole Story from Soup to Nuts of How Fannie Farmer Invented Recipes with Precise Measurements

    Marcia was trying to help her mama. So maybe balancing on top of a tower of chairs to dip candles wasn't such a good idea. And perhaps her biscuits worked better as doorstops than dessert. Still, does her mama really need to hire a mother's helper? ...

  • Band of Angels

    A Band of Angels is fiction, but it is based on real events and people. The character of Ella was inspired by Ella Sheppard Moore, who was born February 4, 1851, in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father was able to free himself and young Ella from slavery...

  • Under the Quilt of Night

    When night falls, and all is quiet, a slave girl starts to run. She follows the moon into the woods, leading her loved ones away from their master. There's only one place where he might not find them, and it's under the quilt of night. Guided by the...

  • Pioneer Summer

    The Prairie Skies - 1
    Ready-for-Chapters

    Westward Ho! Congress has ruled that settlers in Kansas Territory will decide whether Kansas will enter the Union as a free or a slave state. Charlie Keller's papa is an abolitionist, and he's moving the family to Kansas so he can cast his vote for ...

  • Cabin in the Snow

    The Prairie Skies - 2

    STORMS ARE BREWING When Charlie and Papa arrive in Lawrence for supplies, they find the bustling Kansas town threatened by border ruffians from proslave Missouri. Papa decides to remain behind with other free-soil settlers to defend the town, so Cha...

  • Maria's Comet

    Maria longs to be an astronomer -- wish that burns as brightly as a star. But girls in the nineteenth century don't grow up to be scientists, especially those who are needed at home. Each night when her papa sweeps the sky with his telescope, Maria s...



  • Packet of Seeds

    Having moved to the frontier, Anna is aware of her mother's homesickness for her family, friends, and garden back east and so decides to give her a gift she will truly appreciate using a special pack of seeds she packed before they moved out west....

  • Fannie in the Kitchen

    Marcie enjoys being her mother's helper , so she's hurt when Mother hires Fannie Farmer to prepare the family's meals. But sure enough Fannie's charm ( and griddle cakes) win Marcie over, and she finds herself cooking up delights she never thought po...

  • Apples to Oregon

    The slightly true narrative of how a brave pioneer father brought apples, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries (and children) across the plains.Apples, ho!When Papa decides to pull up roots and move from Iowa to Oregon, he can’t bear to leave his pre...

  • Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker New York City, 1909

    Dear America

    Critically acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson's HEAR MY SORROW is back with a beautiful new cover!Fourteen-year-old Angela Denoto and her family have arrived in New York City from their village in Italy to find themselves settled in a small tenement ...

  • Billy and the Rebel

    Ready-to-Read: Level 3

    This story is based on the life of Billy Bayly, a real boy who lived in Pennsylvania during the Civil War and had an unlikely friendship with a Southern soldier. Ready-to-Read books offer children a world of possibilities at four different reading l...

  • Saving Strawberry Farm

    One penny.

    In the hot, mean summer of 1933, a penny is enough to buy caramels or red hots or peppermint sticks or licorice strings. Is it enough to buy Miss Elsie's Strawberry Farm?

    There's only one way to find out. Davey takes a deep breath a...

  • From Slave to Soldier

    Johnny loves his Uncle Silas and his master's mule, Nell, but he hates being a slave. So when a group of soldiers marches by the farm and asks Johnny if he wants to join the Union Army, Johnny accepts, even though it means leaving Uncle Silas and Nel...

  • Susan B. Anthony: Fighter for Women's Rights

    Unlike most girls of her time, Susan B. Anthony received an education. And besides reading and writing, her schooling taught her that women should have the same rights as men, above all the right to vote. So from the time she was a young woman until...

  • Girl Wonder

    Did you ever hear the story of the Girl Wonder? Alta Weiss was born to play baseball, simple as that. From the age of two, when she hurls a corncob at a pesky tomcat, folks in her small Ohio town know one thing for sure: She may be a girl, but she's...

  • From Slave to Soldier: Based on a True Civil War Story

    FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. In an incident drawn from a former slave's narrative and carefully fleshed out, young Johnny runs away to join a company of Union soldiers. Taking up an invitation from a passing bluecoat, he joins troops on the...



  • Into the Firestorm

    “I believe I can just see you on the streets of that bright city.”Gran’s gone now, but her words live on with Nicholas Dray, almost twelve, as he makes his way from the hot cotton fields to that Queen of Cities: San Francisco. Nick’s on his o...

  • Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek

    Now, I’m sure you know lots about Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States. But what you might not know is that Abe would never have become president if it hadn’t been for Austin Gollaher.

    Learn the story of what real...

  • Stagecoach Sal

    Sal sure can sing. But she can also catch a fish with her bare hands, ride a wild bronco, and drive a stagecoach.  And she's nobody's fool. When Sal makes her first stagecoach journey alone to deliver the mail for her sick pa, her ma is nervous. But...

  • The Humblebee Hunter

    On a beautiful day, the last thing Etty wants to do is sit inside baking honey cake. Sheâ,"d much rather be outside exploring with her father, Charles Darwin.

    Many are familiar with Darwinâ,"s theory of evolution, but few know Darwin...

  • Adventure in Gold Town

    The trip down the Yukon River from Lake Bennett to Dawson City is exciting and dangerous, but Davey's adventures don't end once he arrives at the bustling mining town. Dawson is overrun with sad-looking, abandoned dogs Davey longs to help, but what c...

  • Sailing for Gold

    Gold Rush! Seattle, July 1897 Ever since his mother died, Davey has had a secret plan: He's saving his money so he can run away to Alaska to find Uncle Walt, the only relative he has. No one is going to stop him -- not even mean Mrs. Tinker, who ow...

  • The Long Trail

    Klondike or bust! Stowing away on the steamer Al-Ki was only the beginning of Davey's daring quest to find his uncle in the Klondike. Now he's camping in the rough-and-tumble town of Skagway, working for his photographer friend Erik Larsen, and prep...

  • A Boy Called Dickens

    For years Dickens kept the story of his own childhood a secret. Yet it is a story worth telling. For it helps us remember how much we all might lose when a child's dreams don't come true . . . As a child, Dickens was forced to live on his own and wor...

  • Knit Your Bit

    Mikey’s dad has left home to fight overseas during World War I, and Mikey wants to do something BIG to help. When his teacher suggests that the class participate in a knitting bee in Central Park to knit clothing for the troops, Mikey and his frien...

  • The Great Trouble

    Eel has troubles of his own: As an orphan and a "mudlark," he spends his days in the filthy River Thames, searching for bits of things to sell. He's being hunted by Fisheye Bill Tyler, and a nastier man never walked the streets of London. And he's go...



  • Beatrix Potter and the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig

    Published in time for the 150th anniversary of her birth, this story stars a young Beatrix Potter, creator of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" and many other classic children’s books.   Master of the historical fiction picture book, Hopkinson takes r...

  • A Bandit's Tale

    From an award-winning author of historical fiction comes a story of survival, crime, adventure, and horses in the streets of 19th century New York City. Eleven-year-old Rocco is an Italian immigrant who finds himself alone in New York City after h...

  • Steamboat School

    Missouri, 1847 When James first started school, his sister practically had to drag him there. The classroom was dark and dreary, and James knew everything outside was more exciting than anything he'd find inside. But his teacher taught him otherw...

  • Beatrix Potter and the Unfortunate Tale of the Guinea Pig

  • A Letter to My Teacher

    This funny, touching picture book "the perfect gift for a child to give to his/her own teacher" celebrates the difference a good teacher can make. Written as a thank-you note to a special teacher from the student who never forgot her, this moving...

  • Independence Cake

    Celebrate American independence with this delightful picture book as you travel to Revolutionary America and meet the amazing Amelia Simmons: mother's helper, baker of delectable cakes, and soon-to-be authoress of the first American cookbook! Mas...

  • Under the Bodhi Tree

  • How I Became a Spy

    A story of espionage, survival, and friendship during World War II. Bertie Bradshaw never set out to become a spy. He never imagined traipsing around war-torn London, solving ciphers, practicing surveillance, and searching for a traitor to the All...

  • Sweet Land of Liberty

    This inspiring story of little-known civil rights champion Oscar Chapman reminds readers that one person can truly make a difference.On Easter Sunday 1939, Marian Anderson performed at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial for a crowd of over 75,000 peopl...

  • Mindful Day

    From the sounds of a bird greeting the morning sun to the rising of a silver moon at bedtime, a young girl experiences “a mindful day” from start to finish.Want to turn a dull day into a wonderful day? Make it a mindful day! When we slow dow...



  • Butterflies Belong Here

    Butterflies Belong Here is a powerful story of everyday activism and hope. In this moving story of community conservation, a girl finds a home in a new place and a way to help other small travelers. This book is about the real change children c...

  • Keep On!

    This stunning picture book offers a riveting account of African American explorer Matthew Henson's 1909 journey to the North Pole with Admiral Peary.Matthew Henson was born just after the Civil War, a time when slavery had been abolished, but few opp...

  • We Must Not Forget

    Sibert Honor author Deborah Hopkinson unearths the heroic stories of Jewish survivors from different countries so that we may never forget the past.As World War II raged, millions of young Jewish people were caught up in the horrors of the Nazis' Fin...

  • The Story of a Story

    Help young readers become young writers with this sweet picture book about a child finding the words to tell his own story! If you’ve ever tried to write a story of your own, you know it’s not as easy as it looks. Words get tangled, pencils ge...

  • Cinderella and a Mouse Called Fred

    This fresh, hilarious retelling of Cinderella—told by the mouse who will become Cinderella's coach horse—has a girl-power ending, a celebration of inclusivity, illustrations by a Caldecott Medalist...and even an explanation of how fairy tal...

  • The Plot to Kill a Queen

    From award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson comes an utterly charming, deftly crafted mystery about an intrepid young girl's quest to foil a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. Emilia Bassano is a girl who relishes the music of words. Although she...

  • Small Places, Close to Home

    The rights of children—and of all living things—begin in small places, close to home.This is a poetic and moving adaptation of U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights in honor of its seventy-fifth anniversary.In backyards and city park...

  • Trim Helps Out

    One small kitten learns about the great big world as he sets sail with his fellow shipmates, animal and human, in this historical fiction intermediate reader.Trim is eager to do a good job on his first day as ship’s cat -- but what is his job? All ...

  • Trim Sets Sail

    One small kitten learns about the great big world as he sets sail with his fellow shipmates, animal and human, in this historical fiction intermediate reader.When Trim trips over a napping dog, little does he know that soon he’ll set sail and begin...

  • Trim Saves the Day

    One small kitten learns about the great big world as he sets sail with his fellow shipmates, animal and human, in this historical fiction intermediate reader.Trim like’s being part of the ship’s crew. The captain says that I’s like a family or ...



  • On a Summer Night

    Step into the quiet magic of this celebration of summer nighttime and the mystery of a world lit differently by the moon.On a summer night, the world is still. Even the crickets think it’s too hot to sing. But all at once, a girl wakes. I...

  • Trim Sails the Storm

    One small kitten learns about the great big world as he set sail with his fellow shipmates, animal and human, in this historical fiction intermediate reader.Trim has learned a lot about life at sea. He understands the daily routines and the responsib...

Award-Winning Books by Deborah Hopkinson

Apples to Oregon
2004 Golden Kite -- Picture Book Text
2005 Spur Award -- Storyteller


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Deborah Hopkinson has published 51 books.

The next book by Deborah Hopkinson, Trim Sails the Storm, will be published in July 2024.

The first book by Deborah Hopkinson, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, was published in August 1995.

Yes. Deborah Hopkinson has 1 series.
Author Series
Multi-Author Series
Publisher Series
Top Authors in Mystery
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