Remembrance: Children’s Booklist

Nominated for a number of prestigious awards, this poetic new book brings the memories associated with World War I to a level suitable for younger children. Perfect for use around Remembrance Day, Where the Poppies Now Grow tells the story of best friends Ben and Ray, who swap their simple lives on countryside farms for the raging battlefields of France. This book is rare in its ability to make both the narrative and illustrations poignant and evocative without being too frightening or graphic for young children. You may also like Flo of the Somme and The Christmas Truce by the same authors.

This picture book tells the remarkable story of a group of soldiers in the trenches who play a football match with others from the opposing trenches, during a rare pause in the fighting at Christmas time. Illustrated with water colour pictures, this is a highly recommended picture book that is popular in KS2 classrooms. You may also like War Boy by the same author.

This classroom classic by award-winning Michael Morpurgo is an animal story set in World War 1. We love this new abridged edition of Morpurgo’s classic text, with colour illustrations by Tom Clohosy Cole.

This moving story explores the themes of military animals, conflict, peace and friendship. Some readers may be surprised to discover how horses were used in the war, and the mirrored experiences of the human and the animal reflect the consequences of conflict for both humanity and the wider natural world.

Older readers might like to use this as a companion to the original, longer text, or to explore it as a standalone. The combination of words and pictures is brilliantly brought together, with the use of light and dark in the illustrations bringing the story to life in an almost cinematic way.

This wonderful illustrated story by Martin Impey details the moving story of one family living in London during World War Two.

The story is told from the perspective of the two children in the family and explains what life was like before the war and then what happens once the war starts. There are specific details included in the book, for example, the exact time the war was announced, what rationing was and what happened during an air raid.

The atmospheric watercolour illustrations complement the story superbly, and put visual storytelling at the centre of the reading experience. The wartime mood set by the nostalgic colour palette combined with the snippets of archived material like letters and broadcasts begin to bring alive a historian’s sense of recreating details of the war from an ageing generation’s living memory and recorded material – an important aspect of historical understanding to grasp for today’s younger readers who are more familiar with the ease of video footage and livestream accounts of news events.

This beautiful and moving book is well researched and rich with detail, making it an excellent addition to any classroom.

The Skylarks’ War by Hilary McKay is a lovely story set in the midst of the First World War. We know how harrowing this war was and how tough it was on the men sent to the front lines, but also for those at home. Clarry is a wonderful main character who has boundless hope. She shows true determination throughout the story of her, her brother Peter and her cousin Rupert.

Most suitable for ages 10-13, this is such a beautiful story of love and hope in the face of adversity. I was laughing in places with the stories from Rupert and had tears streaming down my face in others. The author captures some intense moments of battle, fear and agony in such a way as to make it understandable for children reading the book. I was captivated throughout the whole book. I loved the characters, the storyline and the ending!

This moving World War 2 novel begins with Anna, the grandmother, explaining how she was sent away by her parents, following the events during the night of the ninth of November 1938 in Germany on Kristallnacht.

Knowing that, as a Jew, she would no longer be safe, young Anna manages to get a space on the Kindertransport, bringing children like Anna to the relative safety of Britain. Following an arduous journey, Anna is taken in by a family in Kent, who live and work on a country estate. During 1940, when the threat of invasion pervades the country, Anna and her foster siblings Molly and Frank find themselves drawn into a dangerous web of deceit and betrayal. This is Anna’s opportunity to prove whose side she is on.

Told in the first person, Anna’s story has an immediacy that grips the reader, drawing them in as she adapts to her new life. There is poignancy as well as excitement, through short chapters that keep up the momentum of the adventure, as well as exploring Anna’s feelings.

Owen and his mum are struggling. It’s just the two of them at home now and they’re finding it difficult to ask for the help they need. When Owen discovers a crumbling stone soldier in the local park, it feels like he finally has someone he can talk to about his worries. But the town council cant’ see how important the soldier is and they want to remove him. Owen’s scared that he’ll be left on his own again, but can he find the courage he needs to save the soldier before it’s too late? This book has been edited to a reading age of 8.

Best-selling author Tom Palmer has a track record of bringing together his passions for sport and history in popular stories with a high appeal in primary schools. His gripping story, Armistice Runner, brings into the spotlight messenger runners on the front line of World War I. As with all of Tom’s books published by Barrington Stoke, these books are ‘super-readable’ due to their accessible layout including a dyslexia-friendly font and tinted paper. This is a wonderful story to use in KS2 classrooms to explore the history of the World War 1 Armistice.

Mohinder’s War follows the journey of a young girl called Joelle, in the midst of Nazi-occupied France, who becomes unlikely friends with an Indian British RAF pilot. Joelle is a likeable character and shows great strength in the face of adversity, dealing with loss and the confusion of being exposed to war at a young age.

The narrative also gives children an insight into the role of soldiers from across the Commonwealth. This aspect would provide a great opportunity for teachers and children to research the sacrifices made by these individuals and the impact this had on the war. The book also gives space to questions children may have when encountering the Sikh religion and presents these in a respectful way that will allow children the opportunity to learn more about the religion. This could also prompt discussions in class and further research.

 Short chapters allow children to pace themselves easily and also allow teachers to fit in a chapter or two at the end of a very busy day as a whole-class story. An important and diverse option amid the sea of Second World War children’s books.

The female pilots of the Second World War are honoured in this exciting, empowering book that shows young girls can achieve anything. The year is 1927, and in America, England and Russia, three girls share a dream: to fly.

Against the odds, Hazel, Marlene and Lilya follow their hearts, enrolling in pilot courses and eventually flying for their countries in World War II. Join the adventures of these women as they display feats of incredible bravery in this beautiful book of sensitive and moving illustrations.

This book was a gem of a read. It has become my favourite book about World War 2 and was very popular with my Year 6 class. It is a large hardback and was bigger than expected (154 pages of tales), which was a wonderful surprise!

The contents page is full of what the true tales will be about, in addition to telling us about the key events of the war, in chronological order. The clues in the titles led to natural discussions and predictions about what the tale could be about, and were sometimes a red herring as they thought ‘The Guinea Pig Club’ would be about guinea pigs; however, it was a twist they were not expecting.

As a class, pupils enjoyed voting for a tale to share, with favourites being ‘A Bear Called Wojtek’ and ‘Rip the Rescue Dog’ – as stories of animals in the war are of particular interest to children and they were shocked to learn that a bear was enlisted into the Polish army as a private and fought alongside the soldiers! Each page is a visual delight, with some smaller illustrations, to whole page illustrations – it is a book that could be shared under a visualiser to get a full impact or for small groups to share.

Even those who know a lot about the Second World War will find something new in this book. A must-have for any class learning about World War 2.