Reading
recommendations by Combat! fans for Combat! fans
| Reading
recommendations by Combat! fans for Combat! fans |
|
 Cut and Make GI Paper Soldiers by A.G. Smith Hours of action await young commanders with this full-color collection of over 100 free-standing, easy-to-assemble, two-sided paper soldiers. These World War II–era fighters are depicted in a variety of action poses—wielding bazookas, firing mortars and machine guns, clearing mines, digging trenches—and they come with numerous accessories, such as a tank, field gun, flag, pup tents, and more. Step-by-step instructions make assembling these GIs and their accoutrements easy. Paperback: 16 pages; Size:12.25" x 9.24" Publisher: Dover Pubns; ISBN: 0486405818; List price $5.95
|
WWII Books for Children and Young People:
|
|||||||||||||||||
World War II for Kids: A History with 21 Activities (For Kids series)
176 pages
The
Good Fight : How World War II Was Won
by Stephen E. Ambrose
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Stephen E. Ambrose, one of the finest historians of our time, has written an extraordinary
chronicle of World War II for young readers. From Japanese warplanes soaring over Pearl
Harbor, dropping devastation from the sky, to the against-all-odds Allied victory at
Midway, to the Battle of the Bulge during one of the coldest winters in Europe's modern
history, to the tormenting decision to bomb Nagasaki and Hiroshima with atomic weapons, The
Good Fight brings the most horrific -- and most heroic -- war in history to a new
generation in a way that's never been done before. Highlighting Ambrose's narrative are
spectacular color and black-and-white photos, and key campaign and battlefield maps.
Stephen E. Ambrose's singular ability to take complex and multifaceted information and get
right to its essence makes The Good Fight the book on World War II for kids.
This whole series are great books
for kids and adults alike! Exciting novels based on WWII events gives the reader a real
sense of history, as well as a life-lesson. That the stories are fast-paced and exciting
is a bonus. Kids (and adults!) will read and re-read these books for years.
The stories follow young Harry Winslow and his friendships with the pilots
of the Royal Air Force in World War II England. Written for boys but
appealing to all, the tales are based on history and depict values such as
courage, heroism, and responsibility.
 
|
 
|
 
|
|
 
|
 
|
 |
Navajo Code Talkers
Reading level: 9-12
Hardcover, 160 pages, Non-fiction
Hunter Scott, an 11-year-old boy in
Pensacola, Florida, was watching the movie Jaws, listening to Captain Quint tell the story
of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at the end of World War II. “Eleven hundred
men went into the water. Very first light, the sharks come cruising. . . .” Hunter
had a simple question: Was this a true story?
The story of the USS Indianapolis, the worst naval disaster in American history, is indeed
true. So is the story of the shameful court-martial of the ship’s captain, shameful
because the loss of the ship was not his fault, and the Navy knew it. Hunter Scott became
the catalyst for the survivors’ efforts to clear their captain’s name and set
the record straight. This is the story of the ship, her brave sailors, their wronged
captain, and a young man’s crusade to right an old injustice.
In 1942 in the U.S., all military pilots were needed for combat
duty, which left critical piloting jobs vacant across the land. Who would deliver the
newly manufactured planes to their domestic bases? Who would train new flight crews and
tow targets for anti-aircraft practice, test new planes and retest old ones? The answer
was: women.
These elite pilots were the WASPs. Civilians all, they earned their
wings so that they could undertake hazardous, and sometimes deadly, flight assignments.
These young women leapt at the chance to fly an array of fighter planes, and even the big
B-29 bombers that scared off many men. Adventurous in play as well as work, the WASPs got
into, and out of, some hair-raising episodes. Wanda Langley has conducted extensive
interviews with former WASPs, and has the insider's details of their escapades, as well as
their training and service. Much of the story is seen in the life of Marie Michell, a
nineteen-year-old WASP and fine pilot whose death in a crash underscores the dangers these
women faced on a daily basis while doing what they did best to serve their country in war.
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Written from a child's perspective, this award-winning book details how 18 million women,
many of whom had never before held a job, entered the work force in 1942-45 to help the
United States fight World War II and changed the course of history for women, and America,
forever. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults. An ALA Notable Book. A "School Library
Journal" Best Book of the Year.
Non-fiction, auto-biography, 210 pages
The story of Roald Dahl's life continues in "Going Solo," a marvelous evocation of the author's wartime exploits. As an RAF pilot in WWII, Dahl had some wonderfully exciting -- and frighteningly near-death -- experiences, including encounters with the enemy, battles with deadly snakes, and incredible dogfights.
Non-fiction accounts of African-American soldiers written for ages 9 through 12:
African Americans in WWII (A First Book) 
'Vive
LA France':
The French Resistance During World War II (First Books)
by Robert Green (School & Library Binding - January 1997)
Reading Level 9-12 years old - nonfiction covers the story of the French struggle to rid
their country of the Nazis. Richly illustrated with pictures on every page.
World War II 50th Anniversary Series by Wallace B. Black and Jean F.
Blashfield. Out-of-print. These are histories written for young people. 48-pages each,
library bound, all include black-and-white documentary photographs and maps, and most
stress tactics and strategies. These are out-of-print, but you can find used copies on
line and at local book sellers. Twenty books in the series. List price was originally
$19.00, but used copies can be found for as low as $4.00 each. Well worth it!
50th Anniversary of WWII Series - A History for Young Readers
Anzio Annie recommends:
Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Fiction, based on real events
It was read by the 4th/5th/6th grade Book Club at my kids' school and both boys and girls
did read it. A Newberry award winner. Synopsis: It's 1943. In Copenhagen the Germans
begin their campaign to "relocate" the Jews of Denmark. So Annemarie Johansen's
parents take in her best friend Ellen Rosen and pretend that she is a part of their
family."
The Devil's Arithmatic
Foxhole Filly says: "Number the
Stars" is an excellent choice, Anzio Annie, now follow it up with The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane
Yolen. It goes into a concentration camp with Polish Jews and is a much *harder*
story for that reason...still for young adults. It gets a little grimmer, where
"Number the Stars" is a pretty clean war.
Reading level: Ages 9-12, Fiction
Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps
Education Posters on Holocaust Subjects |
|
  Heroes of the 20th Century - Anne Frank 17x22 Wall Poster |
 History Through a Lens - Survivors at Ebensee 24x18 Wall Poster |
 Badges of Hate 18x25 Wall Poster |
|
by Marie McSwigan
Summer of My German Soldier (Puffin Modern Classics)
by Bette Greene
Reading Level: Ages 9 - 12
Paperback: 230 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.63 x 7.14 x 4.42
When her small hometown in Arkansas becomes the site of a camp
housing German prisoners during World War II, 12-year-old Patty Bergen learns what it
means to open her heart. Although she's Jewish, she begins to see a prison escapee, Anton,
not as a Nazi--but as a lonely, frightened young man with feelings not unlike her own, who
understands and appreciates her in a way her parents never will. And Patty is willing to
risk losing family, friends--even her freedom--for what has quickly become the most
important part of her life. Thoughtful, moving, and hard-hitting, Summer of My German
Soldier has become a modern classic.
The Boys from St. Petri
by Bjarne Reuter, Anthea Bell (Translator)
Young adult (grades 7 through 10)
Translated from the Danish
Fiction, Action/Adventure
Synopsis In 1942, a group of young men begin a series of increasingly dangerous
protests against the German invaders of their Danish homeland. Lars joins his brother's
secret society, whose pranks to ridicule the Nazis occupying Denmark in 1940 escalate to
full-scale sabotage after a young laborer shows them the real meaning of war.
Lily's Crossing
Paperback: 180 pages ;
Ages 9-12
Every summer Lily and her father go to her family's house in Rockaway, near the Atlantic
Ocean. But the summer of 1944 is different. WWII has called Lily's father overseas, Lily's
best friend Margaret had to move with her family to a wartime factory town, and Lily is
forced to live with her grandmother. But then a boy named Albert, a refugee from Hungary,
comes to live in Rockaway. He has lost most of his family to the war. Soon he and Lily
form a special friendship, and they have secrets to share. But they have both told lies,
and Lily's lie may cost Albert his life.
Sky : A True Story of Courage During
World War II
SYNOPSIS: From the moment she agreed to work for the underground Dutch resistance forces
against the Nazis, Hanneke Eikema had only two goals--to protect the persecuted and not to
get caught. After two years the teenaged Hanneke was discovered by the Germans and
sentenced to life in prison. Now, Henneke tells her story in a powerful narrative.
Paperback. Photos and maps. 128 p. Non-fiction.
Flags of Our Fathers
by James Bradley
Hardcover, 192 Pages
In the winter of 1945, on the tiny island of Iwo Jima, a ferocious, battle was fought, resulting in the loss of more than 48,000 lives and producing what was to become one of the most recognizable symbols of WWII: a photograph of six soldiers raising an American flag on the peak of Mount Suribachi. One of the six, Navy corpsman John Bradley, came away from this historical moment with a deep and mysterious silence about his role in the flag raising. Even his wife heard him speak of it only once in their 47-year marriage. After Bradley's death, his son James began to piece together the facts of his father's heroism, as well as that of the other five men, all of whom became reluctant heroes because of their presence during that fateful instant when the shutter clicked and created a wartime icon.
Based on James Bradley's
Flags of Our Fathers for adults, this abridged version for younger readers retains the somewhat terse drama, intense heartbreak, and bittersweet triumph of the original narrative. Through his research on the event and the soldiers (three of the men were killed in combat within days of the flag raising), Bradley explores the dubious nature of heroism and the devastating effects of war. (Ages 14 and older)
German Boy : A
Child in War
by Wolfgang S.E. Samuel
(For Adult / High School Age)
As the Third Reich crumbled in 1945, scores of Germans scrambled to flee the advancing
Russian troops. Among them was a little boy named Wolfgang Samuel, who left his home with
his mother and sister. German Boy is the vivid, true story of their fight for
survival as the tables of power turned and, for reasons Wolfgang was too young to
understand, his broken family suffered arbitrary arrest, rape, hunger, and constant fear.
Young Wolfgang was forced to become the head of his household, scavenging for provisions
and scraps with which to feed his family. Despite his best efforts, his mother still found
herself forced to do the unthinkable to survive, and her sacrifices became Wolfgang’s
worst nightmares. Somehow, with the resilience only children can muster, he maintained his
youth and innocence in little ways – making friends with other young refugees,
playing games with shrapnel, delighting in the planes flown by the Americans and the
candies the GIs brought. In the end, the Samuels begin life anew in America, and Wolfgang
eventually goes on to a thirty-year career in the U.S. Air Force.
Bringing fresh insight to the dark history of Nazi Germany and the horror left in its
wake, German Boy records the valuable recollections of an innocent’s
incredible journey.
Reading Level: Young Adult
Fiction
An unforgettable novel about the complexities of war as seen through the eyes of an older
man looking back on his life. He was just under 18 and filled with patriotic fervor, he
couldn't wait to come of age to go overseas to fight in WWII. Warning: contains graphic
descriptions of battles and a melancholy ending, though still written at a level for
teens. Very powerful book against the horrors of war.
More WWII Books:
Up
Books about Doctors, Nurses & Medicine in WWII
Best Military Books of 20th Century
WWII Books for Children and Young readers
Audie Murphy Books and Films
Battlefield Chaplains - Catholic Priests in World War II by Donald F. Crosby
Before Their Time - WWII Book Review
The Brass Ring by Bill Mauldin
Breakout at Normandy
The Bridge at Dong Ha
Canada in WWII
Carnage and Culture : Landmark battles in the rise of Western Culture
The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo
Deadly Brotherhood : The American Combat Soldier in World War II
Dearest Ones a WWII Love Story by Rosemary Norwalk
Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel
Ernie Pyle
Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley - WWII book review
German POWs in America
The Holocaust
Nazi Prisoners of War in America
No Gun Ri - A Military History of the Korean War Incident
Once Upon a Town - the miracle of the North Platte Canteen
Panzer Commander - The Memoirs of Colonel Hans Von Luck
Patton : A Genius for War
Books about the French Resistance
Redball Express
Remembered Prisoners of a Forgotten War : An Oral History of Korean War POWs
Roll Me Over - An Infantryman's World War II - Book Review
Seven Roads to Hell : A Screaming Eagle at Bastogne
US Army Photo Album - Shooting the War in Color
Sniper
Black Sheep Squadron and Pappy Boyington Books
Vietnam Books
|
|
||||||||
 |
|
The Little Ships:
