Three novels -- all featuring a strong historical element -- were selected this year as 2008 Newbery Honor books.

Although these books are essentially runners-up to the 2008 Newbery Medal winner, "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!," all are definitely worth reading. They're easy to find in the library or bookstore: Just look for the books with the silver-foil Newbery Honor on their covers.

Here's a look at this year's Newbery Honor books:

• Several years ago, Christopher Paul Curtis said in an interview with Scripps Howard News Service that he wanted to write a book about slavery, but he hoped to come at it from a different angle. He does just that in his book "Elijah of Buxton" (Scholastic, $16.99).

In the book, which also won the 2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award, Curtis tells the story of a young boy named Elijah, who is the first free child born in a Canadian community founded by former slaves. Elijah has heard many stories about how terrible slavery is, and he's seen the physical and emotional scars borne by slaves who make their way to freedom in his community of Buxton. But Elijah doesn't truly understand until he sets out to find a thief and ends up coming face-to-face with the horrors of slavery in a way that he will never forget.

As usual, Curtis takes his time with his story, allowing readers to get to know Elijah and his relatively innocent world before plunging into the intensity of the slavery experience that Elijah witnesses. And Curtis manages to weave in humor, at least until the climatic scene when Elijah must make a gut-wrenching choice.

Like Curtis' other award-winning books, "Bud, Not Buddy" and "The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963," his latest book features an immensely likable protagonist. While the book is set in 1859, Elijah's feelings and even many of his experiences with friends and parents will ring true to young readers today. (Ages 10-14.)

• Holling Hoodhood is in a pickle. He's a Presbyterian, which means he's the only kid in his seventh-grade class who doesn't get to leave early on Wednesday afternoons. That's when his Jewish classmates head off to Hebrew classes and his Catholic friends go to catechism.

That leaves Holling to the mercy of his teacher, the stern Mrs. Baker. At first, things are as bad as Holling fears, with Mrs. Baker forcing him to clap erasers and care for the class rats. Eventually, however, Mrs. Baker requires Holling to begin reading Shakespeare. To his surprise, Holling finds himself enjoying the plays -- particularly the fact that he can use some of Shakespeare's more creative curses on his classmates.

In fact, Holling discovers many things about himself during this pivotal year in his life, as author Gary Schmidt shows in his beautifully written novel, "The Wednesday Wars" (Clarion, $16). Setting his tale in 1967-68, Schmidt uses the backdrop of the Vietnam War to highlight how Holling learns to stand up to his authoritarian father and develop a stronger bond with his elder sister, whose anti-war fervor has split the family.

Schmidt has a knack for combining humor and drama, and it's very much in evidence here. Young readers will readily identify with Holling's challenges and will cheer when he figures out how to overcome them. (Ages 10-14.)

• Frannie, a sixth-grader, is captivated by a line of Emily Dickinson's poetry -- "Hope is the thing with feathers." But Frannie isn't quite sure what that means in her life in 1971, a year when it seems all of American society -- culture, politics and faith -- is undergoing a transformation. While Frannie is part of a loving and stable family, there still are challenges: Her brother is deaf and her mother is struggling to maintain a pregnancy after several miscarriages.

Then a new boy enrolls in Frannie's class. He's the only white person in the otherwise all-black class; that fact and his long hair inspire Trevor, the class bully, to call him "Jesus Boy." Frannie's best friend, a fervently religious girl named Samantha, even wonders if perhaps he is the savior come back to Earth.

As author Jacqueline Woodson details in "Feathers" (Putnam, $15.99), "Jesus Boy" isn't the savior. Instead, he's a catalyst for Frannie to see and approach her life differently as she grapples with what it means to hope in the midst of uncertainty. Woodson's lyrical writing allows her to explore heavy issues such as prejudice and faith while still producing a highly readable story. (Ages 10-14.)