Our family loves reading history and learning it. The famous quote, usually attributed to writer and philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”, I believe is very significant. We need not just to learn history BUT to learn from history.
Over the last several years, our family has loved reading books about World War 2 and about Russia during the Cold War. Most of these books have centred on Jewish children surviving the world. I have listed all the books that we have read on World War 2.
I especially encourage you and your children to read the books listed at the beginning marked with ***. These were our favourite books, along with the first two books listed under ‘Russia – the Cold War’.
World War 2
- “The Silver Sword” by Ian Serraillier ***
- “A Night Divided” by Jennifer A. Nielsen ***
- “The Diary of Anne Frank” by Anne Frank ***
- “Hidden like Anne Frank – 14 true stories of survival” by Marcel Prins & Peter Henk Steenhuis ***
- “Survivors – True Stories of Children in the Holocaust” by Allan Zullo & Mara Bovsun ***
- “Young Survivors of the Holocaust” by Allan Zullo***
- “Life Behind the Wall” by Robert Elmer (3 books in 1) ***
- “The Hiding Place” by Corrie ten Boom ***
- “Within These Walls” by Robyn Bavati ***
- “Number the Stars” by Lois Lowry ***
- “True Stories of the Second World War” by Paul Douswell ***
- Biggles Series by Captain W.E. Johns ***
- “Gimlet goes to War” by Captain W.E. Johns ***
- Worrals Series by Captain W.E. Johns ***
- “The Bicycle Spy” by Yona Zeldis McDonough ***
- “Dog Tags – Prisoners of War” by C. Alexander London ***
- “Hans Brinkler” or “The Silver Skates” by Mary Mapes Dodge ***
- “Behind Enemy lines” by Marthe Cohn ***
- “The Little Riders” by Margaretha Shemin ***
- “Snow Treasure” by Marie McSwigan ***
- ‘The Silver Donkey” by Sonya Hartnett ***
- “Henderson’s Boys” series by Robert Muchamore (some offensive language) ***
- “Carrie’s War” by Nina Bawden
- “Twenty and Ten” by Claire Huchet Bishop
- “Hana’s Suitcase: A True Story” by Karen Levine
- “Underground Soldier” by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
- “The Long Walk – The True Story of a Trek to Freedom” by Slavomir Rawicz
- “Great Escapes of World War 2” by George Sullivan
- “War Stories for Boys” by Jim Eldridge
- “My Story – Blitz” by Vince Cross
- “Lost in the Pacific 1942” by Todd Olson
- “Flying Ace” by Jim Eldridge
- “Desert Danger” by Jim Eldridge
- “My Story Battle of Britain” by Chris Priestly
- “Soldier Boy” by Anthony Hill
- “Natasha’s Will” by Joan Lingard
- “The Endless Steppe” by Esther Hautzig
- “Escape from Germany” by Aidan Crawley
- “I am David” by Anne Holm
- “Shadows on the Sea” by Joan Hiatt Harlow”
- “Nicky Barr, an Australian Air Ace” by Peter Dornan
- “Yoko’s Diary – the life of a young girl in Hiroshima during WW2” edited by Paul Han
- “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” by John Boyne
- “Hitler’s Daughter” by Jackie French
- “The Machine Gunners” by Robert Westall
- “Goodnight Mr Tom” by Michelle Magorian
- “My Last Train from Kummersdorf” by Leslie Wilson
- “When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit” by Judith Kerr
- “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” by Eleanor Coerr
Sarajevo War
- “Paper Planes” by Allayne L. Webster
Russia – the Cold War
- “The Mystery of the Smudged Postmark” by Elizabeth Rice Handford *** (Christian)
- “Ivan” series by Myrna Grant *** (Christian)
- “Vanya: A True Story” by Myrna Grant (Christian)
- “Natasha’s Will” by Joan Lingard
- “Breaking Stalin’s Nose” by Eugene Yelchin
Afghanistan War
- “Parvana’s Journey” by Deborah Ellis