Lost Heroes of History
The young heroes of these books are invented. The events around them are real. Each book is built on one primary history for its facts, and takes its middle-grade storytelling cue from a well-loved book on the same event.
Book 1: The Gold Rush (1848–1855)
Working title: The Color of the Creek
- Primary source: The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience by J. S. Holliday
- Narrative model: By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman
Book 2: The Pony Express (1860–1861)
Working title: Ten Days West
- Primary source: Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express by Christopher Corbett
- Narrative model: Riders of the Pony Express by Ralph Moody
Book 3: The Panama Canal (1904–1914)
Working title: The Line Through the Mountain
- Primary source: The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914 by David McCullough
- Narrative model: The Panama Canal by Elizabeth Mann (Wonders of the World series)
Book 4: The Berlin Airlift (1948–1949)
Working title: The Sound of the Planes
- Primary source: Daring Young Men: The Heroism and Triumph of the Berlin Airlift, June 1948–May 1949 by Richard Reeves
- Narrative model: Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift's “Chocolate Pilot” by Michael O. Tunnell
Across the Series
Research also drew on period diaries, journals and letters; government reports and official histories; military, ship and unit logs; engineering and construction records; museum and historical society archives; and historical photographs.