A World Wars Book List for Kids Ages 8 and Up
The Children’s Book Review
What to Expect: World War I, World War II, Military History, Concentration Camps, Pearl Harbor
The events of the First and Second World Wars collectively represent one of the most significant events in global history, with repercussions continuing to be felt around the globe today. For that reason, if none other, it is critically important for young readers to be introduced to the many stories, events, and characters that comprise these complex and significant histories. Here are three books that do a phenomenal job of showing these wars from a diversity of perspectives.
Here are four books about the World Wars:
Heroes
Written by Alan Gratz
Ages: 12+ | 272 Pages
Publisher: Scholastic (2024) | ISBN-13: 978-1-338-73607-6
Heroes, written by Alan Gratz, is a young adult novel that tells the story of the attacks on Pearl Harbor during WWII from the perspective of two best friends, Frank and Stanley. Not only an historical recounting of the events that unfolded when Japan made the unexpected decision to attack the US, this is also a story about the voids in understanding that can grow between even the closest individuals when racism comes into play – because while Frank is White, Stanley is Japanese-American. A story about hope and racism, it is packed with historical detail and heart-wrenching insights.
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For younger readers, Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood provides a snapshot of the US involvement in WWI. Presented in comic-book form, with a beautifully embellished hard-cover and end-page maps, the volume presents each country as an anthropomorphic animal and features the eighteenth-century hero Nathan Hale as the narrator. Fun, quirky, and fast-paced, this book would make a fantastic gift for any young history enthusiast.
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The Life of Anne Frank
Written by Kay Woodward
Ages: 8+ | 48 Pages
Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd. (2020) | ISBN-13: 978-0-2281-0301-1
No World Wars book list would be completed without Anne Frank. The Life of Anne Frank presents the life of the famous thirteen-year-old diarist in documentary form, accompanying the timeline of her life with photographic depictions of the world she would have lived in and the people who came to shape her short life. Accompanying the book is a folder of fascinating documents drawn from Anne’s life, from a copy of a map used by the Nazis to plot the distribution of jews in Amsterdam, a photocopy of a Jewish identification card, copies of Anne’s own drawings and doodles, and a copy of the front cover of one of Anne’s favorite magazines. Also included are activities readers can try out for themselves, such as keeping their own Book of Beautiful Sentences.
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When We Flew Away
Written by Alice Hoffman
Ages: 12+ | 304 Pages
Publisher: Scholastic (2024) | ISBN-13: 978-1-338-85694-1
When We Flew Away, in contrast, presents a fictional imagining of Anne’s life before she went into hiding. Based on genuine historical research and produced in cooperation with the Anne Frank House, the story is heartbreaking, moving, and full of hope. Overall, both volumes are a lovely adjunct to the Diary itself, offering a wealth of precious context.
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Header image from Heroes written Alan Gratz, published by Scholastic (2024).
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