Living books for WWII sugestions

[apond]

I am trying to pull together a list of books for my son's book club for this next year. We are trying to stick to the WWII time frame to coincide with the girls who will be reading the American Girls seris Molly. The boys are between 8-12. What were your favorite books for this time period or shortly before or after. We are looking for books that give some taste for what life was like in America as well as over in Europe. They can be biographies, historical nonfiction or fiction. Any suggestions would be great. I am trying to get as many read as possible so I can narrow it down in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks

Annmarie

[Hoggirl]

There is a WWII for Kids book. There are several of these - Civil War for Kids, Revolutionary War for Kids, Leonardo D'Vinci for Kids. The author of the WWII title is Richard Panchyk. We haven't used this particular one, but we did use the one for the Civil War. What I really like about these is that the chapters alternate history with "day-in-the-life" type stuff. And, the text itself is quite good, too. The activities from the WWII book include:

Break the Code
Camoflage Activity
Make a Bandage
Make a Care Package
Grow a Victory Garden
Rationing Game
Butter Extender Activity
Making Every Scrap Count
Stage a Radio Adventure Program
Know Your Ranks
Mortar Game
Latitude Longitude Tracking Game
Speaking the Language
Jewish Star
In Hiding
The Physics of Dropping Bombs
Interview a Veteran
Military Lingo
Military Time

I just think these books are terrific resources for really getting into the times.

Learning Through History magazine also has an issue that covers WWII. They tend to have some great literature suggestion as well as activities and some more lesser-known topics.
EDIT: Well, I realize this doesn't exactly match the criteria you asked for! However, I think that some of the activities in WW II for Kids would be terrific fun for a group of boys to do together. Sorry. I should have paid closer attention to your request.
HTH.

[8FillTheHeart]

Here is a link with great titles as well as descriptions of each book:
http://www.love2learn.net/history/wwii/wwiius.htm

One title that I love that is not on that list is Year of Impossible Goodbyes (Japanese occupation of North Korea....it is also a great springboard into moving forward to the Korean War)
http://wowlit.org/catalog/9780440407591-2/
http://www.goldsea.com/Bookview/Kids/Impossible/impossible.html

[HollyDay]

We have not gotten to WW 2 in history yet, but for various reasons, we have needed to read some books on the subject. My dds liked the Molly series in American Girl. We also watched The Walton's various war episodes. Sounds silly but it was interesting.

[Lori D.]

Of the ones they listed I would say the following would be the most accessible for 8-12yo:

- Number the Stars
(Europe; hiding Jews; short; reader level: age 8-11)

- Twenty and Ten
(Europe; hiding Jews; short; reader level: age 8-11)

- Snow Treasure
(Norway; children hide gold from Germans; reader level: age 9-12)

- The House of Sixty Fathers
(China; lost Chinese boy protected from advancing Japanese by US airmen; reader level: age 9-12)

- Escape From Warsaw
(Europe; Jews escaping Poland; reader level: age 9-12)

- Great Escapes of World War 2 (Sullivan)
(non-fiction; 7 short stories: British from German POW camp; Jew from Auschwitz; German from US POW camp; US from Italian POW camp; US from Japanese POW camp; Japanese from Australian POW camp, short; reader level: age 9-12)

- Growing Up in World War II: 1941 To 1945 (Our America)
(non-fiction; life in the US during WW2; short; reader level: age 9-12)

- Year of Impossible Goodbyes (Korea; oppressive occupation of Korea by Japanese, to escape from Chinese communist take-over; reader level: 10-15)



And here are a few more titles to consider:

- The Little Riders
(Denmark; life in German occupied Europe; short; reader level: 8-11)

- The Story of The USS Arizona (Cornerstones of Freedom) (Stein)
(non-fiction; how the US entered WW2; short; reader level: 8-11)

- The Story of The Battle for Iwo Jima (Cornerstones of Freedom) (Stein)
(non-fiction; decisive battle in the Pacific theater of WW2; short; reader level: 8-11)

- The Story of D-Day (Cornerstones of Freedom) (Stein)
(non-fiction; US invasion of Europe in WW2; short; reader level: 8-11)

- After the War (Matas)
(Europe/Israel; homeless, family-less European Jewsish children struggle to enter Palestine and create the nation of Israel; short; reader level: 10-15)

[apond]

What great suggestions. I really apprecite the advice.

Thank You

Annmarie

[harmonyartmom]

Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury (http://www.amazon.com/Under-Blood-Red-Sun-Graham-Salisbury/dp/0440411394)


My boys really enjoyed reading this after we visited Pearl Harbor.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

[Carol in Cal.]

"Hitler Youth" is also good and has lots of original photographs.

"Hitler" and "Victory in the Pacific" by Marrin are well-written and engaging.
They might be better for the older end of your age spectrum, though, and I think that the girls should read them, too.

Anything by Howard Pease would be great if you could find it--those books are quite rare, though. If your library has them, I would recommend them.

[Baseballmom]

We loved Twenty and Ten here.
Dorothy

[karensk]

I am trying to pull together a list of books for my son's book club for this next year. We are trying to stick to the WWII time frame to coincide with the girls who will be reading the American Girls seris Molly. The boys are between 8-12. What were your favorite books for this time period or shortly before or after. We are looking for books that give some taste for what life was like in America as well as over in Europe. They can be biographies, historical nonfiction or fiction. Any suggestions would be great. I am trying to get as many read as possible so I can narrow it down in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks

Annmarie

We too liked Twenty and Ten (set in France) and The Little Riders (set in Holland).

Two others we've really liked are by Hilda Van Stockum, one of my favorite children's authors:
- The Winged Watchman (http://www.bethlehembooks.com/product_detail.cfm?ID=691&category=Living%20History%20Library), set Nazi-occupied Holland; recommended for ages 10 & up, and
- The Borrowed House (http://www.bethlehembooks.com/product_detail.cfm?ID=692&category=Young%20Adult%20Historical%20Bookshelf), also set in Nazi-occupied Holland; this is recommended for ages 14 & up, not so much for the reading level but for the content. Hilda Van Stockum did a lot of research for this book, asking her Dutch relatives and others who lived through this period, to make it as realistic as possible.