BOOKS TO READ:

The literature surrounding World War II can be a simple, exciting way to explore the lessons of the war with your family. This list of books for children as young as 4 covers a variety of topics and areas, allowing your family to travel alongside a Polish family in search of safety or contribute to the war effort on the Home Front.

Ages 4-8

Shana Corey. Players in Pigtails, New York: Scholastic Press, 2003.

Ages 9-12

Non-Fiction

Stephen E. Ambrose. The Good Fight, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.

Richard Panchyk. WWII for Kids, Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2002.

Charnan Simon. Hollywood at War: The Motion Picture Industry and World War II, New York: Franklin Watts, 1995.

Brian Williams. Life as a Combat Soldier, Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2006.

Fiction

Avi. Don't You Know There's a War On?, New York: Harper Collins, 2001.

Lois Lowry. Number the Stars, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989.

Harry Mazer. A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.

Marcia Savin. The Moon Bridge, New York: Scholastic, 1992.

Casey Willems. On the Run: A Dutch Boy Rescues an American Pilot in Occupied Holland, New Orleans: Walka Books, 2009.

Ages 13 and Up

Non-Fiction

Nathan Aaseng. Navajo Code Talkers, London: Walker Childrens Books, 1994.

Anne Frank. The Diary of a Young Girl, New York: Doubleday, 2001.

Yoshiko Uchida. The Invisible Thread: An Autobiography, New York: Beech Tree Books, 1995.

Elie Wiesel. Night, New York: Hill and Wang, 2006.

Fiction

John Knowles. A Separate Peace, New York: Bantam Books, 1975.

Jane Yolen. The Devil's Arithmetic, New York: Puffin Books, 1990.