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:
Stories for and about children in World War II

WWII Children's Books Index:

Lesson Plans and Study Guides for WWII Books

WWII Children's Books for ages  4 – 8:

The Little Ships:
The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in WWII
by Louise Borden, Michael Foreman (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8, Fiction
Story of a young girl and her father who sail across the English channel in their small boat to take part in the miracle at Dunkirk, rescuing British soldier from the beach.

War Boy
A childhood look at wartime England

WWII History for Ages 9 through 12:

World War II for Kids: A History with 21 Activities
Paperback, 176 pages
List Price $14.95
Excellent classroom aid, provides a comprehensive survey of the WWII era, beginning with Hitler's rise to power in 1933 to the Japanese surrender in 1945. Includes a timeline, wartime letters, interviews with soldiers and Holocaust survivors. Activities include creating a CARE package for enlisted soldiers and writing and performing a radio adventure. Forewords by Bill Clinton and John McCain.

The Good Fight: How World War II Was Won
by Stephen E. Ambrose
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Edition: Hardcover, 96 pages
List price $19.95
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.

Tales of the RAF This whole series are great books for kids and adults alike! Exciting stories 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.

Navajo Code Talkers
by Nathan Aaseng
Paperback, 96 pages
List price $8.95
America's secret weapon in WWII was a core group of Native American Navajos who created an unbreakable code.

Left for Dead: A Young Man's Search for Justice for the Uss Indianapolis
Reading level: 9-12
Hardcover, 160 pages, Non-fiction
List Price $15.95
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.

Flying Higher: The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II
by Wanda Langley
Hardcover, 132 pages
List price $24.95

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.

Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II by Penny Colman
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.

Going Solo by Roald Dahl
Reading Level: Young Adult
Non-fiction, auto-biography, 210 pages
List price $6.99

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. Read reviews for Going Solo

Non-fiction accounts of African-American soldiers written for ages 9 through 12:

'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

True WWII stories of Children in Concentration Camps and in the Holocaust (Ages 9 through 12):

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."
Available in paperback, hardcover
Also see: Study guide for Number the Stars.

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
Also see: Study guide for The Devil's Arithmetic.

Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps
by Andrea Warren
Paperback, 160 pages, reading level 9-12
List price $6.99
Caught up in Hitler's Final Solution to annihilate Europe's Jews, fifteen-year-old Jack Mandelbaum is torn from his family and thrown into the nightmarish world of the concentration camps. Here, simple existence is a constant struggle, and Jack must learn to live hour to hour, day to day. Despite intolerable conditions, he resolves not to hate his captors and vows to see his family again. But even with his strong will to survive, how long can Jack continue to play this life-and-death game? Award-winning author Andrea Warren has crafted an unforgettable true story of a boy becoming a man in the shadow of the Third Reich.

Hostage to War: A True Story (Autobiography)
by Tatjana Wassiljewa
Reading level: 9-12
Paperback, 192 pages
When Tatjana was ten years old, Nazi Germany declared war on Russia. Enduring terrible conditions and near-starvation in work camps, Tatjana survived through liberation, but had more obstacles to overcome before fulfilling her dream to become a teacher.

WWII Children's Fiction for Ages 9 - 12

Snow Treasure
by Marie McSwigan
156 pages, Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; ISBN: 059042537, Ages 9-12
List price $4.50
A daring adventure based on a true story about a group of Norwegian children who smuggled nine million dollars in gold past Nazi sentries during World War II. I read this adventure when I was a child and still love it today. Great action/adventure sure to fascinate both boys and girls.

Summer of My German Soldier
by Bette Greene
Reading Level: Ages 9 - 12
Paperback: 230 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.63 x 7.14 x 4.42
ISBN: 014130636X; Reissue edition (September 1999)
List price $6.99