Taffy of Torpedo Junction (Historical Fiction Chapter Book)

"Taffy of Torpedo Junction" is a great piece of historical fiction written by Nell Wise Wechter and illustrated by Mary Walker Sparks. It is an adventure story about a girl named Taffy living in the Outer Banks of North Carolina during World War II. With the company of her pony and puppy, Taffy stumbles upon a mystery as she wanders through the area. Taffy soon realizes that what she has found are enemy spies, and she lends her hand to the Coast Guard. Taffy nearly gets in trouble, but the authorities arrive in time to help her and capture the spies. This is a great piece of historical fiction because the author uses authentic dialect in the dialogue throughout the book. The book also gives readers a sense of what life was like for some Americans during World War II. The sotry is largely told from the perspective of someone their age, so students would most likely be able to make self-to-text connections. This book would also be great for supplementing social studies instruction for fourth grade since it is based in North Carolina.