35 More World War II Books For Children

While searching for books to read for our World War I unit I stumbled across so many more great books about World War II that I'm actually considering covering that time period again!

When we last studied World War II we found some really amazing picture books to read that we just loved (you can see the list here).  We've since talked about them and that time period a lot.



I'm not sure if the boys would be willing to read all about World War II again but I am sure hoping so; just look at all these great books!

1.  Lily's Victory Garden-- An inspiring story about life on the home front during the war.

Lily's Victory Garden (Tales of Young Americans) by [Wilbur, Helen L.]

2.  Rebekkah's Journey:A World War II Refugee Story-- A story about refugees who flooded into America towards the end of the war and were put on an abandoned army base.

Rebekkah's Journey: A World War II Refugee Story (Tales of Young Americans) by [Burg, Ann E.]

3.  Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot-- The True story of the Berlin airlift.  Getting supplies behind the Berlin wall pilots used to drop care packages.

Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot: A True Story of the Berlin Airlift and the Candy That Dropped from the Sky by [Raven, Margot Theis]

4.  Candy Bomber-- A chapter book about the story of the Berlin candy bombers, as they became known.

Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift's "Chocolate Pilot" (Junior Library Guild Selection) by [Tunnell, Michael O.]

5.  Twenty & Ten-- When twenty French children were taken to the countryside for refuge during the German occupation of France, 10 other Jewish children were also taken in and hidden.


6.  The Little Riders-- The story of one little girl who is living with her parents in Holland when the German's invade and take her bedroom for the living quarters of one of the officers.


7.  The Butterfly-- When one little girl, living in German occupied France awakens to find a refugee in her room the two become fast friends.


8.  Wind Flyers-- Story of the Tuskegee airmen; African American pilots who fought in World War II.

Wind Flyers by [Johnson, Angela]

9.  Tuskegee Airmen Story-- In this story one grandfather reminisces about his days serving in World War II.

Tuskegee Airmen Story, The by [Homan, Lynn, Reilly, Thomas]

10.  Boxes for Katje--  Living in Holland after the end of World War II, Katje and her family must make do without many everyday supplies.  One day a box arrives from America with much needed supplies.


11. Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust-- A story about animals.  All the furry animals are scared when all the feathered animals are captured by the terrible things.



12.  Gifts From the Enemy-- One boy's story about his imprisonment during World War II.

Gifts from the Enemy (The humanKIND Project) by [Ludwig, Trudy]

13.  The Endless Step-- When Ester's family is arrested by the Russians they are taken from their home in Poland and sent to Siberia for five years.  This is their story.


14.  The Upstairs Room-- The true story of one girl's survival during German occupied Holland.  At 10 years old she was forced to leave her family and went to live in a room above a farmhouse hoping to keep out of sight and hearing of the German soldiers and other neighbors.

The Upstairs Room (Winner of the Newbery Honor) (The Upstairs Room Series Book 1) by [Reiss, Johanna]

15.  Number the Stars-- A book about how Denmark managed to smuggle most of the Jewish population out of the country during World War II.

Number the Stars by [Lowry, Lois]

16.  Anne Frank --A picture book about the story of Anne Frank.


17.  Who was Anne Frank?  -- A look at Anne's life before and during the war. 


18.  One Candle-- During Hanukkah, grandma and Aunt Rose tell the story of their times during the Holocaust.


19.  Greenhorn-- When one young Holocaust survivor lands in New York, his only possession is a small box.  This is the story about how he and the narrator became friends.

Greenhorn by [Olswanger, Anna]

20.  Fish for Jimmy-- The story of one family's experience in a Japanese Internment Camp.


21.  The End of the Line-- When ordinary citizens ban together to save a young Jewish girl in wartime Holland.


22.  Fireflies in the Dark: The Story of Driedl Dicker- Brandeis and the Children of Terezin-- Driedl, an art therapist, taught the children of the concentration camp art.


23.  A Bag of Marbles-- A graphic novel set in France when they are invaded by Germans.  The two brothers must flea their family and try to make it to the free zone; hiding the fact that they are Jewish.


24.  Let the Celebrations Begin!-- As World War II nears an end the women inside the concentration camps begin planning a celebrations for the children.


25.  The Magician of Auschwitz- The true story of a young boy living in Auschwitz and the magician that performs for the guards.


26.  Flowers on the Wall-- Living as a Jewish family in Warsaw in 1938 is not fun but Rachel and her family are cheered by the flowers she manages to paint on their walls.


27.  I Never Saw Another Butterfly-- Children's drawings and poems from the Terezin Concentration Camp.


28.  Franklin and Winston: A Christmas that Changed the World-- The story of the month long visit that helped shaped the world during and after World War II.


29.  The Unbreakable Code-- The story of how Navajo code breakers helped win World War II.


30.  The Whispering Town-- The story about a Danish family that helps a Jewish family escape in Nazi occupied Denmark.


31. Benno and the Night of the Broken Glass-- Told from the perspective of the cat, this story explains the changes taking place in one town right before the Holocaust. 


32.  I Will Come Back for You-- A grandmother telling the story of what her life was like growing up Jewish in Italy during World War II. 


33.  The Cats in Krasinski Square-- A true story about life in the Warsaw Ghetto.




35.  Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust -- a graphic novel that I just know my boys would love. 





Since World War II is one of my favorite time periods to read about I am constantly searching out new and wonderful books both for myself and to read with my boys.  I am continually amazed at how well children's stories and picture books handle this difficult time in history!  

Do you have any favorite children's books about World War II?  I'd love to hear about them!



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Comments

  1. Replies
    1. Me too! I think I have read three book on this in just the past month myself.

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  2. What a phenomenal list! The former social studies teacher in me is all about books revolved around the most historical periods in our nations history especially World War II. Just love this list and made me want to go reread some of these and some I've never read before.

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    1. I love history story books that make the time period come alive! I am finding history so much more interesting now than I did as a child and I am hoping to at least make it somewhat interesting for my boys.

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  3. What awesome books! My 11 year old is obsessed with the World Wars-can't wait to show him this list:)

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  4. WOW! These are wonderful recommendations to share with my 10 year old. It's about that time she can start reading about Anne Frank and these other great stories listed. I watched something about the candy bombers and thought it was so neat. If it's the same story, one of the original pilots still does a candy drop on XMAS but here in the States. Thank you for sharing! #HappyNowLinkUp

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    1. That sounds like something I'd enjoy watching for sure! I'm glad you liked my post and found some great ideas.

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  5. What a wonderful list! I want to read them all, but will definitely pin this list for my grandchildren. Thanks for sharing. Blessings!

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  6. I had no idea there were so many books for children about World War II. Both WWI and WWII were atrocious. It's such a tough balance. We need to learn about what happened (and how it happened), so we can avoid letting it happen again. But the topics can be very frightful for children. Many of these look like the perfect way to bridge that gap. Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!

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    1. Yeah it can certainly be a touchy subject; my boys were fascinated by all the people willing to risk their lives to help.

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  7. So many great books. Thanks for sharing on the #LMMLinkup this week.

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  8. I love reading about this time period. I'm covering it with my younger girls next year, so I'm pinning this to save! (Stopping by from Homeschool Blog and Tell)

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    1. Oh good; glad I could help! There are so many wonderful books out there about this time period.

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  9. I LOVE historical fiction! This is an awesome list of books! Thanks for linking up at Finishing Strong. I will be featuring your post this week!

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  10. WOW! What a list! There were a bunch I wasn't aware of. Thanks for sharing :) (becky@franticmommy.com)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I was surprised at how many wonderful books there were out there on such a sensitive subject.

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  11. What an incredible selection of moving stories. It takes special skill to make dark and terrible events accessible and understandable for children - thankfully so many great writers and illustrators have taken up the challenge!

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    1. I feel the same way! So thankful to have found so many wonderful books and authors.

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  12. Great resource with so many wonderful books! (Number the Stars is one of my forever favorites.) Thanks for sharing these with #diversekidlit. We hope you'll keep sharing great diverse book posts with us.

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  13. An amazing nyumber of books - and this is your second list! I hope your children found something to capture their interest - I certainly did!

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  14. Yes, I know of another... It's the story of two brothers who skate to their family member's home a long way away (twenty miles?). My teacher had a copy of it and it was a favorite of mine to read with the students in our classroom. https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Skating-Race-World-Netherlands/dp/0689845022

    I pinned many of the stories you have shared in this post... Thank you so much for this list! I have a Tomes {Books} and Short Stories board on Pinterest and I love sharing good stories for anyone who wishes to read. The other is my The Greatest Generation board and I pinned a couple there, too.

    Blessings to you,
    Barb :)

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    1. That sounds like a wonderful book; thanks so much for the suggestion... and the pins!

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