Books That Add Richness to World War II Studies

The girls and I recently read about World War II. Our history spine, Story of the World, volume four, gave us a solid and broad understanding of events leading up to the war's outbreak, the war itself, and the aftermath. I always look for good books to add depth to our learning, a richness if you will, to provide more meaning for the girls -- and me.

Here's a list of books one or both my girls have recently read:

• Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green
• The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss
• Snow Treasure, by Marie McSwigan
• Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
• Don't You Know There's a War On?, by Avi
• 10 Days: Anne Frank, by David Colbert
• Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures, by Menno Metselaar and Ruud van der Rol (You can read my review of this excellent book here.)

For my part, I read The Devil's Arithmetic and Briar Rose, both by Jane Yolen, and Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay. The latter is an adult book, but would be perfectly suitable for high school-aged students. Both of Yolen's books are very well written, powerful, and gritty. However, I decided to wait until my girls are older to assign these titles.

Of course, when one thinks of holocaust stories, The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank, and The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom, tend to top the list. Again, I decided to wait on these until my children are more mature. We do own a CD audio theatre production of The Hiding Place, which we will listen to very soon.

I recently found a great blog called The Children's War. Written by Alex, this blog is an annotated bibliography of children's and teen's books about World War II. Nip over for some fabulous reviews and book ideas. But be warned: you could end up spending some serious time!

Have you found any great World War II titles you'd like to share? I'd love to hear about them!


Caveat: Some of the books my daughters have read contain objectionable language. To my mind, the language used fit the situation and character. Use your own discretion for your family.