Yates has written several carefully researched biographical novels of individuals who faced extreme difficulties with unusual courage and concern for the welfare of others. Three such biographies are Amos Fortune: Free Man, David Livingstone, and Prudence Crandall, Woman of Courage. These qualities are also seen in the portrait of her husband, William McGreal in The Lighted Heart.

A number of Yates's fictional characters display similar courage. Carolina Putnam of Carolina's Courage makes friends with a Native American girl, giving her favorite doll to this girl and so helping to secure the safety of her own family and their entire wagon train. Patterns on the Wall, Mountain Born, and A Place for Peter also feature sensitive characters who demonstrate closeness to nature and a sense of responsibility toward others.