Exceptional World War II Books for Kids Ages 10-12
by Miranda Rosbach
My first introduction to World War II happened in sixth grade when our teacher read aloud from Corrie ten Boom’s autobiographical book The Hiding Place. The story riveted me. My adolescent brain fixated on one fact: one family (actually thousands) sacrificed and fought injustice through humanity towards their Jewish neighbors, risking their lives in the process. This awakening of kindness rendered through extreme horror is, I suppose, one hallmark of any war.
Though the specific details of WWII remain incomprehensible, children are generally exposed to some facts about this historical event around the age of 10-12. These books serve as a carefully curated list to begin early discussions about the Second World War and how its ramifications and lessons persist today. May these stories hold seeds of hope for all generations.
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The War That Saved My Life
Available from:Because Ada was born with a club foot, her mother isolated her from the outside world and treated her cruelly. When war threatens London, Ada and her brother Jamie are sent to the countryside for safety. Susan, a single woman who owns a pony, becomes the siblings’ temporary caregiver. She teaches the children new words and ideas and exposes them to wonders they had never experienced while living in poverty. With Susan’s care and Ada’s determination to learn to ride the straw-colored pony, readers feel a palpable relaxation as Ada heals. Don’t miss the poignant follow-up to this novel, The War I Finally Won.
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The War I Finally Won
Available from:Back in London, Ada and Jamie learn their mother died during the wartime bombings. Grief and healing continue as Ada gets surgery to fix her club foot. Back in the country, Susan and the two children move into a cottage with two other people: the wealthy woman who financed Ada’s surgery and a Jewish German teen studying for university and awaiting the war’s end. Tensions surge between the household members and become even more dire when Susan becomes seriously ill. With compassion and care, Ada’s internal war reaches a satisfying and heartfelt conclusion. Both books would work well as classroom read-alouds.
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Agent Most Wanted
Available from:A hunting accident in her youth left Virginia Hall with a lifelong disability, but that didn’t stop her from becoming a spy for the Allies during World War II. She used code names, picked locks, and hid film in various bodily cavities, all for the sake of her work. Her goal was to build a resistance network in France. She led a double life, helped facilitate numerous escapes, and always avoided capture herself. After the war, she received the Distinguished Service Cross and worked for the CIA.
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Soul Lanterns
Available from:On the night of the lantern festival, a stranger asks Nozomi an unusual question. She hardly knows what to make of it except to think that the woman was looking for someone lost during the bombing of Hiroshima 25 years earlier. As Nozomi learns the stories of friends and neighbors who lost loved ones during the bombing, she and her classmates work on an art project that will honor and remember the victims. Thousands of innocent people vanished from Hiroshima on that fateful day but remain in the hearts and minds of those left behind. As the book’s ending notes, “The lanterns have come to be both a memorial and a peace message.”
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The Complete Maus
Available from:Spiegelman’s depiction of Jewish prisoners as mice and their German captors as cats expertly represents the demonic cat-and-mouse game invented by the Third Reich. As Spiegelman interviews his Holocaust-surviving father for the book, the details of transport and concentration camp life haunt him. Being multilingual and using his ingenuity (reaching through the train window and melting snow in his mouth for water) helped his father survive. But that didn’t stop him from harboring prejudices after the war, especially towards Black people. Award-winning and frequently banned, this gut-wrenching graphic novel will stay with you long after you turn the last page.
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They Called Us Enemy: Expanded Edition
Available from:Bang! Bang! Bang! Soldiers awaken George Takei and his younger brother. In 1942, thousands of Japanese-American citizens were forcibly removed from their homes and businesses and relocated to camps along the West Coast (and Arkansas). This graphic novel follows young George through his childhood in the camps. We see his mother’s courage in smuggling in a sewing machine and his father’s patriotism and desire to organize, even under extreme duress. Near the war’s end, those held in detention camps were strongly advised or forced to renounce their American citizenship and return to Japan. This powerful read offers yet another perspective of the devastation WWII caused across the globe.
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What the Night Sings
Available from:After being liberated from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Gerta is nursed in the sick ward, where she meets a kind boy named Lev. Before the war, Gerta was a musician, training to debut as a vocalist and playing her father’s viola. Now, Gerta arrives at a camp for displaced persons. All around her, young people (still mostly in their teens) are marrying — trying to find hope and a brighter future together. Lev is also in the camp and writes Gerta beautiful letters. Meanwhile, Michah, another survivor, rallies people to exit the camp and begin anew in Palestine. Rich in emotional detail, themes of rebirth through music and human connection make this story worth savoring.
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White Bird: A Wonder Story (A Graphic Novel)
Available from:For a school assignment, Julian asks his Grandmère Sara about her life as a young girl in France during World War II. What starts as a fairy tale upbringing quickly turns life-threatening when Nazi soldiers raid her school and force the Jewish children into an army truck. Watching from the bell tower, Sara cowers. Julian, a classmate who limps from his bout with Polio, discovers her and keeps her hidden. For over a year, Julian’s family risks their lives by hiding Sara, bringing her food, and providing company through the endless turmoil of war. Although fiction, this graphic novel features a helpful glossary referencing the historical events and people upon which it is based.
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Max in the House of Spies
Available from:Max, like other war children, is evacuated to the outskirts of London. During his train journey, two spirits only he can see accompany him, one on each shoulder. A pro at anything involving radios, Max gets pulled into the daring world of espionage, hoping to reunite with his family and contribute to the war effort. Readers will be pleasantly surprised by the humor that abounds in this book, which makes it an excellent read-aloud option.
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The Night War
Available from:Miriam and her neighbor’s toddler, Nora, escape the roundup of her Jewish neighborhood in 1942 France. They travel south but get separated before nuns hide Miriam (now Miri) in a Catholic boarding school near the Chateau de Chenonceau. Plagued with worry about her parents’ survival and concealing her identity, Miri helps evacuees across the Vishy border and befriends a strange woman who roams the castle grounds. When the opportunity arises, will Miri reunite with Nora and escape to Switzerland for freedom? This gripping historical fiction is a page-turner from start to finish.
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