The Great War (1914-1918) was called great because it encompassed so much of the world. It was hoped to be the War to End All Wars. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The Great War is now known as World War I.
In honor of the 100th anniversary of WWI, I’m compiling a running list of children’s books about the WWI-era that I have read, or that you have recommended to me.
The books I’ve just added to the list are in bold type and annotated.
Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon, illustrated by Henri Sorensen
And the Soldiers Sang by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Gary Kelley (2011, The Creative Co.)–fiction–A young Welsh soldier experiences the Christmas Truce on the Western Front during the first Christmas of WWI.
Knit Your Bit: A World War I Story by Deborah Hopkinson, and illustrated by Steven Guarnaccia (2013, G.P. Putnam’s Sons)–fiction–A young American boy learns how to knit and participates in a three-day knitting competition so he can contribute to the war effort.
Doing Her Bit: A Story About the Woman’s Land Army of America by Erin Hagar, and illustrated by Jen Hill (Coming Fall 2016, Charlesbridge)–fiction
Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the Pooh by Sally M. Walker, and illustrated by Jonathan D. Voss (2015, Henry Holt and Co.)–non-fiction.
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool–fiction
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo–fiction
The Usborne Introduction to the First World War by Ruth Brocklehurst & Henry Brook–non-fiction
Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales) written and illustrated by Nathan Hale (2014, Amulet Books)–graphic novel, gives an overview of the causes, countries involved, battles, and results of WWI.
Stubby the War Dog: the True Story of World War I’s Bravest Dog by Ann Bausum (2014, National Geographic)–non-fiction–Stubby, a stray dog, adopts some U.S. soldiers, accompanies them to the trenches in France, saves their lives, and comes home a hero.
Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders (2014, Faber and Faber)–A continuation of E. Nesbit’s Five Children and It books when the Psammead–a sand fairy–turns up in the British Pemberton children’s gravel pit again right before the oldest boy is sent to the war in France. As the war continues, the other older Pemberton children grow up, one becomes a volunteer nurse, and another becomes a soldier. Meanwhile, the Psammead deals with his past sins.
The Silver Pony by Sonya Hartnett, illustrated by Don Powers (first published in 2014, by Penguin, Australia)–Two French girls, Marcelle and Coco find an English soldier hiding in the woods. As they help him survive and return home to his sick brother, he tells them stories connected to the silver pony figurine his brother gave him to help him “do his best.”
Remember the Lusitania! by Diana Preston (2003, Walker Publishing)–non-fiction–Eyewitness accounts of the last voyage of the Lusitania, the British passenger ocean liner torpedoed by a German u-boat in 1915.
Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics (Women of Action) by Kathryn J. Atwood (2014, Chicago Review Press)–non-fiction–This book features women from both the Allied and the Central Powers.
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson–fiction
Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery–fiction
Crossing Stones by Helen Frost–verse novel
The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman (2010, Clarion Books)–non-fiction–A thorough look at the causes, the nations, the battles, the technology, the people, and the effects of WWI.
What children’s books about, or set during, the WWI era would you recommend for my list? Why?