Five recommended children’s books for the VE Day 80th Anniversary
It’s a significant year as we reach the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, or VE Day. On May 8th, 1945, the fighting stopped in Europe. This day, called VE Day, was when World War Two officially ended in Europe. It’s a moment etched in history, and this year’s anniversary provides a timely reminder to commemorate the end of World War 2 with reflection about the events and consequences of the war.
This milestone 80th anniversary of VE Day will be marked on May 8th 2025, and it offers a valuable opportunity for schools to engage children with a pivotal moment in our shared past. Marking VE Day in the classroom helps children to understand the profound impact of the war and the hard-won peace that followed. It’s a chance to explore themes of resilience, courage, and the importance of unity – as well as developing an appreciation for history and its relevance today. Schools may also take the opportunity to help children to think about the value of community celebrations.
To aid in these important conversations, we’ve curated a selection of engaging children’s books that offer age-appropriate perspectives on the Second World War and the significance of the peace that followed. You can also find some of these books and more featured on our full list of recommended children’s books about World War 2. The five we have picked out for this blog either focus specifically on VE Day itself or they offer important insights into the experiences of wartime, providing context for the significance of the peace that followed.
5 Children’s Books for VE Day
1. After the War by Tom Palmer
A chapter book from master of historical fiction Tom Palmer, which features scenes set on VE Day in May 1945.
If you are already a Tom Palmer fan, you will know to expect from After the War – a touching, concisely told yet never dumbed-down, story of childhood during wartime. If you are new to his books, then prepare to be astounded. Tom Palmer has a rare talent for making the truth of the past accessible to children without watering down the horrific facts or emotional impact, a skill already demonstrated in his previous books, Armistice Runner, D-Day Dog and Over the Line, but in its best evidence yet here.
After the War opens with a foreword explaining the factual basis of this story of the ‘Windermere boys’, 300 refugee children who were temporarily relocated to Cumbria at the end of WWII after being rescued from concentration camps. This is hugely helpful in settling the reader into what to expect of the story ahead and flagging up the timely theme of the treatment of refugees.
The story begins in the summer of 1945, as a plane descends into the Yorkshire hills, carrying Jewish child survivors of the Holocaust. Yossi, 15, is traumatised, anxious, untrusting, and always alert to danger. Through flashbacks, we gradually learn Yossi’s story, from the day war suddenly arrived in his sleepy Polish village in the form of a German bomber, through being interned in a Jewish ghetto and being forced to work in a clothing factory to his eventual destination, the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Theresienstadt. Balancing between the flashbacks to the horrors of the past and the hope of the future is the present, where the boys gradually settle into Yorkshire life, a place where they learn food is not scarce, uniformed men can have kind eyes, and boys can ride bicycles again.
With Tom’s trademark very short and super-readable chapters, the direct text lets the story shine through straight and true, without ever being overly simplistic in either intent or vocabulary. The WWII theme for children’s fiction is a crowded market, but After the War elbows its way to the front as a stunning reflection on the impact of war, perfectly pitched for a UKS2 audience.
This is one of the very few children’s books with scenes specifically covering VE Day. Author Tom Palmer has also provided some VE Day resources for schools to accompany the book on his website, including quizzes and a black-out poetry activity.
Purchase After the War from Amazon or BookShop.
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2. Shrapnel Boys by Jenny Pearson (publishing 8th May 2025)
A brand new WW2-themed chapter book being published to coincide with this year’s VE Day anniversary.
Jenny Pearson – known for funny middle-grade adventures with humour and heart – takes a step into the historical fiction genre with a new story publishing to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2. Shrapnel Boys is a gripping story about the lives of a group of young boys living in London during the Second World War.
Ronnie is naively excited by the prospect of war, fighter planes and everything else that he associates with war, and he can’t wait for the action to start. When the war finally comes to London, although the reality is scarier than they thought, Ronnie and his friends are excited to race each other to collect the best bits of shrapnel each morning after a night of bombing.
But, the war also brings an unwelcome visitor into Ronnie’s life – straight away, Ronnie can tell that Johnny is up to no good and when Ronnie’s brother starts to get caught up in whatever it is that Johnny is up to, Ronnie decides to take matters into his own hands to protect his brother.
This is a truly outstanding book that manages to weave so many themes into its pages. It deals with issues around family, friendship, bravery and loss, coupled with providing insight and historical facts about an important time in British history.
The publisher has also provided a KS2 classroom resource pack to accompany the book, including ideas for VE Day classroom activities.
The book has also earned a spot on our Summer 2025 Ones to Watch list and is a Book of the Month for May.
Purchase Shrapnel Boys from Amazon or BookShop. d
3. Blitz: One Family’s War by Martin Impey
An illustrated book telling the moving story of a family living in the East End of London during WW2.
Blitz: One Family’s War is one of the newest additions to our WW2 children’s booklist. 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. Extra meaning is given to the story through letters received from their father, who has enlisted in the army and describes the events of Dunkirk.
The atmospheric watercolour illustrations complement the story superbly and bring each aspect of the war one step closer to the reader. The illustrations add detail and depth, putting 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.
The story ends as the children are evacuated. The final two pages give more details on what was happening across Great Britain in the Blitz during World War Two, including the types of bombs used, areas targeted and some of the devastation caused.
This beautiful and moving book is well researched and rich with detail, making it an excellent addition to any classroom studying World War Two. Teachers could use this highly visual and moving book to introduce the context behind the VE Day celebrations, particularly showing how the war affected everyday life for children and families. Perhaps children could draw a new spread showing VE celebrations for the family when the war was over.
For more information, read our guest blog post from Blitz author-illustrator Martin Impey.
Purchase Blitz: One Family’s War from Amazon or BookShop. d
4. Tales from World War 2 by Hattie Hearnd & Margarida Esteves
A dip-in-and-out non-fiction book collating amazing true stories from WW2 – perfect for classroom and assembly use.
This book is a gem of a read. Our reviewer said, “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!”
Covering key events of the war, in chronological order, a glimpse down the contents page will generate immediate interest. The clues in the page titles lead to natural discussions and predictions about what the tale could be about – and are sometimes a red herring (surely you’d think ‘The Guinea Pig Club’ will be about guinea pigs, however, it contains a twist most readers will not be expecting!).
Teachers will find great value in this dip-in-and-out book, with stories that could be shared in spare moments of the day, as a single lesson focus or assembly stimulus around the VE Day anniversary.
Children might enjoy voting for a tale to share, with likely favourites being ‘A Bear Called Wojtek’ and ‘Rip the Rescue Dog’ – stories of animals in the war are of particular interest to children and some may be surprised 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, from scattered 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 war will find out something new in this book. A must-have for anyone with an interest in World War 2 or for any class learning about World War.
Purchase Tales from World War 2 from Amazon or Bookshop.
5. Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner
A powerful verse novel exploring the theme of victory and how individuals were able to contribute to it during WW2.
Verse novels for children have seen a rise in popularity in recent years, partly owing to the phenomenal success of Matt Goodfellow’s The Final Year (and recently published sequel, The First Year). We recommend capitalising on the newfound interest in this powerful format by introducing the World War 2 themed verse novel Digging For Victory to your collections, which we promise will be all the more enriched for it.
The setting is Devon in 1941. Like her brother Ralph, Bonnie wants to help in the war effort rather than tend the home vegetable patch. She is frustrated that she can’t have the same chance to become a victorious war hero. So when the mysterious Mr Fisher is billeted at their family home, Bonnie’s mission to uncover his secrets begins. Why is he here? Is he a shirker? Or worse … a German spy?
In this engaging and emotional verse novel, the words dance on the page to tell the story through poetry. Digging for Victory is captivating, powerful and entertaining. The words form interesting shapes to mirror certain themes in the story, which creates the interest needed for a reluctant reader and creates a playful vibe. The story can be accessed on different levels, easy to read but with much depth available to readers looking for it too.
While the story is about a girl in the Second World War, some will see it as a detective story, and others will latch onto the important themes running through the book. Cathy Faulkner weaves themes through the story so that your young reader will emerge with more insight into life – it tackles self-esteem, intrinsic versus extrinsic influences on identity, fitting in, bullying, rejecting stereotypes, grief and family. While being a positive and hopeful book, it is also very moving.
The book also brings into sharp focus the theme of victory. What, and whose, is victory in the context of war? While VE Day celebrations make us think first of the political or military war victory, individuals in wartime England were encouraged to ‘dig for victory’ by playing their part in the war effort by growing vegetables. The author takes this notion and uses the play on words to show how individual – and often unheard – stories from the war are where the many personal victories and acts of heroism are allowed to surface. Bonnie worried that she, like many others, was never going to be recognised for war victories, and yet she comes to reevaluate what being a hero means as part of her journey of growth through the story. Readers will hopefully recognise that the combined efforts and sacrifices of millions of unrecognised individuals nonetheless contributed to the ultimate victory of VE Day.
The verse format of Digging for Victory tells the story through poetry and makes the book stand out from the crowd of WW2 stories. The publisher has also provided a comprehensive resource pack for teachers to use with the book.
Purchase Digging for Victory from Amazon or BookShop.
You can see our full Second World War booklist here or buy the school book pack of our WW2 selection via Peters.
More booklists you might like:
- World War 2 Books for Children
- Children’s books about community
- WW1 Booklist
- Primary history booklists
- Festivals and Celebrations Children’s Books
Browse our curriculum topic booklists for more.
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Where next?
- Visit our Reading for Pleasure Hub
- Browse our Topic Booklists
- View our Year Group Recommended Read Booklists.
- See our Books of the Month.