Best friends Anne Ferguson and Julie Sawyers are on a class field trip to the Aquarium in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor when Anne suddenly disappears. Looking for her friend, Julie enters a dark room filled with deep-sea creatures…and a bony hand grasps her ankle! The hand belongs to a ragged girl named Millie, who claims to be running north to escape a notorious slave catcher. Before Julie can learn more, Millie has fled. Julie chases after her – and is stopped by the vision of a ghostly wooden ship that seems to be suspended above a modern-day touring boat. What is going on?

Meanwhile, Anne has somehow been transported back in time, and is being held captive as a thieving gypsy in the year 1849! Now, together, all three girls must join forces across time and history to save each other from a terrible fate. Can they all escape to freedom before it’s too late?

Young Patsy Black lives in her family’s tavern in Philadelphia in 1776. She’s heard, over and over again, talk about the Continental Congress and whether they will declare independence for the Colonies from the King. Patsy’s father refuses to take sides. But Patsy and her friend Barbara have decided to do everything they can for the cause of liberty. Like rescuing Patsy’s puppy from the neighbor who stole him, because even a dog deserves his freedom!

At first it’s just a game. But before long, the two “Daughters of Liberty” make some amazing discoveries, and find themselves actually working for American independence!

Patsy Black is suspicious of the stranger who has come to stay at Black’s Tavern for a few days. He is quiet and secretive, writing in his room at all hours without coming out to visit with the other guests. Then, the blacksmith shop on the tavern grounds is mysteriously burned down. Is the stranger a British spy, keeping track of the rebels and burning property? Patsy and her friend, Barbara, decide that as the “Daughters of Liberty” they should investigate and find the truth.

Convinced that the soldiers staying at Black's Tavern in Philadelphia are spies for the British, Patsy Black and her best friend Barbara Layman plan to catch them in the act, but the spies catch Barbara first. She must use her wits to escape and let her family know what is going on!

Nat and Richard are two orphaned teens, living on the gritty streets of London, until they are invited to go along on the first voyage to the New World to help establish a settlement and to find gold. Nat believes his new life will give him everything he ever wanted, if he can bide his time and act the way he is expected to act.

Life in Virginia, however, is quite difficult. Squabbles between the men, inadequate supplies, hot and dry summers, bitter cold winters, fear of the Natives, and an inability to raise enough food bring, decimates the colony and leaves the settlers weakened and desperate. Through it all, Nat must draw on the skills he learned on London’s streets to survive, even if he can’t trust another soul in Jamestown.

On a Quaker farm in Maryland, teenaged Caleb Jacobson hears rumors that the Colonials of Boston are staging an armed rebellion against the tyranny of King George III of England.

A free black living in a slave state, Caleb knows firsthand the horrors and hardships of slavery. He wonders what good an American victory would be if his fellow blacks remain in bondage? Then comes a promise from British Governor Lord Dunmore of Virginia…freedom to all blacks who join his army to fight the Americans. Caleb and his enslaved friend, Gaddi, run off for Virginia, hoping the promise is true. But is it? What will Caleb learn of war, of freedom, of hope, and possibilities while bearing a musket in battle?

By April 1863 the Civil War has been raging for two years. On their sleepy farm outside Gettysburg, sixteen-year-old twins Susanne and Stephen are alarmed by news that Confederate forces are threatening to invade the north for a strike at Washington, DC! Rebel forces in the Union capital? Is it possible?

Bored with farm life and itching for action, Stephen runs away to join the Army of the Potomac to fight Johnny Reb. Left behind, Susanne must deal with his loss. She folds bandages to send to the troops, tends her ailing aunt and brattish cousin, and wonders what has happened to her brother. But her brother is not far away. His company has been redirected to Gettysburg, to meet the advancing Rebs. Little does he, or Susanne, know what an important, and deadly battle will ensue.

Patrick O’Neill and his family move from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts to take jobs in one of the great textile mills. His mother sees the move as the only way to survive, but Patrick, who dreams of being a writer, finds the work dreadful, dangerous, and inescapable. He meets gang member James, who invites Patrick to try another way of life…that of the thief, for what harm can their be in stealing from the rich when you have nothing yourself? Patrick must decide if he should stay at the mill with his family and stand up against those who oppress them, or to run off and become an independent thief like James.

She lost her family in the Civil War and fled from Georgia to Chicago disguised as a boy. Here 18-year-old Katina Monroe finds work as "William," acting in a small theater, as she dreams of writing a brilliant drama and gaining wealth and fame as a woman in her own name. But life takes an unexpected twist when she meets Russell Cosgrove on a street corner and he persuades "William" to help him create a shelter for the destitute.

Katina can't tell Russell the truth, even as they work side-by-side, until the day love and jealousy drive her to reveal her true self at last. Together they build a dream of new lives and a new city, until a sudden fire rages through the streets. Now they are racing for their lives as Chicago burns in their wake.

San Francisco in the 1880s was an exciting place full of adventure and opportunity. It was also full of prejudice, particularly against the Chinese. An Irish-American boy and a Chinese boy could never become friends, could they? Connor Murphy and Yee Seng share many adventures as they try to find the answer to this question. (This book only available from Rigby as part of a classroom set.)

Young Ben Wilkins' family moves from bustling St. Louis to the wilds of Montana. Work is hard and days are lonely with no neighbors nearby. One day, Ben rides his pony out to gather reeds for the cabin's roof, and loses his mount in the fog. He is rescued by a loud and boisterous woman who calls herself "Stagecoach Mary." She lets him ride along with her to deliver goods to a mission, and on the way Ben learns what it means to be a real pioneer. (This book only available through Steck-Vaughn as part of a classroom set.)

At an early age, Claudette Colvin of Montgomery, Alabama, joins many others to make a difference in the American Civil Rights Movement. (This book only available through Steck-Vaughn as part of a classroom set.)