Ten terrific books about heroes

Compiled by Shelley Headrick

Children’s Department,

Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library

Fritz and the Beautiful Horses

By Jan Brett
Reading level: PreK–2nd
Fritz, an outcast horse, becomes a hero when he rescues some children.

Superdog: The Heart of a Hero

By Caralyn Buehner
Reading level: PreK–2nd
Even though he is small, Dexter the dog wants to be a superhero.

Violet the Pilot

By Steve Breen
Reading level: K–3rd
In her flying machine, Violet and her dog rescue a troop of Boy Scouts.

Joe Louis, My Champion

By William Miller
Reading level: K–3rd
Joe Louis, the famous boxer, inspires a young boy to reach for his dreams.

The Hero of Third Grade

By Alice DeLaCroix
Reading level: 2nd–4th
After changing schools, Randall sends anonymous letters to his classmates, but learns that being a hero can mean just being yourself.

Especially Heroes

By Virginia Kroll
Reading level: 3rd–5th
After a racial incident, a fourth-grader realizes that her father and others in their neighborhood are heroes.

The Hero of Ticonderoga

By Gail Gauthier
Reading level: 4th–6th
While studying about Vermont history, Thérèse learns about Ethan Allen.

On the Wings of Heroes

By Richard Peck
Reading level: 4th–6th
Davy Bowman’s two heroes are his father, who fought in WWI, and his brother, who is serving as a bombardier during WWII.

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

By Kadir Nelson
Reading level: 4th–9th
Traces the baseball league of all black players from the 1920s to the 1940s.

I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust

By Livia Bitton-Jackson
Reading level: 10th–12th
In this memoir, a young Jewish girl survives the Holocaust in Hungary.