Books about WWII for 8th grader interested in history

[Anonymous]

All the talk about trauma reminds md of Empire of the Sun. im still haunted by the excellent movie. But it was based on a book that I have not read but which is supposed tk be excellent. Not sure how rough it is—anyone read it?

[Anonymous]

I’m reading D Day girls...its good so far but I’m only half way through.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the suggestions! He will be shocked that his stodgy mom has good suggestions for his next book. Parents, sometimes they actually know something

LOL, I had no idea that this would turn into some argument about whether Saving Private Ryan is appropriate for a 13 year old, but maybe should've guessed. My view is that parents need to gauge their own kid's maturity level and sensitivity to that kind of thing and not make blanket statements about all kids.

[Anonymous]

(Wonders how the pearl-clutches would respond to us showing our 10yo the Civil War documentary and Glory because she was fascinated with CW history after studying it in 5th grade...)

[Anonymous]

Check out Guts & Glory Civil War by Ben Thompson. My 6th grader likes those books.

[Anonymous]

Ben Macintyre has a series of books about espionage in WWII that are fascinating -- how D-Day was kept secret, stuff about breaking the Enigma code, some almost unbelievable operations to deceive the Axis powers. Highly recommend. Very engaging, easy reads. Also available as audio books.

[Anonymous]

We Die Alone (amazing true story of survival)
Maus
Robinson Crusoe USN

[Anonymous]

I also have an eighth grader interested in World War II.

I made up the following list and he is working through it--it's a mix of fiction and non-fiction with a variety of reading level/emotional intensity.

I starred the ones he particularly enjoyed. I highly recommend Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin--it's a fantastic read.


-The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Good War by Studs Terkel


-Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt

-Maus by Art Spiegelman
-They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

Stephen Ambrose (-Band of Brothers, D-Day, Pegasus Bridge)
Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban
*Allies by Alan Gratz (or Grenade)
-A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata
The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
-Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
*Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
*The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
White Rose by Kip Wilson
Invasion by Walter Dean Myers
The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
*Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
*Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales)
*I Survived the Nazi Invasion and I Survived the Battle of D-Day by Lauren Tarshis
All the Light We Cannot See
*This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda
The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan

Movies
*JoJo Rabbit
Patton
The Dirty Dozen
Casablanca
Schindler’s List
The Imitation Game


Hope it helps!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also have an eighth grader interested in World War II.

I made up the following list and he is working through it--it's a mix of fiction and non-fiction with a variety of reading level/emotional intensity.

I starred the ones he particularly enjoyed. I highly recommend Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin--it's a fantastic read.


-The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Good War by Studs Terkel


-Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt

-Maus by Art Spiegelman
-They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

Stephen Ambrose (-Band of Brothers, D-Day, Pegasus Bridge)
Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban
*Allies by Alan Gratz (or Grenade)
-A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata
The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
-Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
*Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
*The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
White Rose by Kip Wilson
Invasion by Walter Dean Myers
The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
*Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
*Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales)
*I Survived the Nazi Invasion and I Survived the Battle of D-Day by Lauren Tarshis
All the Light We Cannot See
*This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda
The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan

Movies
*JoJo Rabbit
Patton
The Dirty Dozen
Casablanca
Schindler’s List
The Imitation Game


Hope it helps!

Nice to see a list that isn’t all battles and glory. Band of Brothers by Steven Ambrose (basis for the show) is a good read

[Anonymous]

To be fair, PP, OP said in her original post that her son enjoys reading about battles which explains why so many book recommendations were about that topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, PP, OP said in her original post that her son enjoys reading about battles which explains why so many book recommendations were about that topic.

I understand, but as a guy who enjoys history, but would almost never admit it because the assumption is that you collect axis memorabilia or want to talk about who would win in a fight between a samurai and a knight, I appreciate people stealing an 8th grader towards Night

[Anonymous]

Das Boot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, PP, OP said in her original post that her son enjoys reading about battles which explains why so many book recommendations were about that topic.

I understand, but as a guy who enjoys history, but would almost never admit it because the assumption is that you collect axis memorabilia or want to talk about who would win in a fight between a samurai and a knight, I appreciate people stealing an 8th grader towards Night

Aw, thanks for saying this! (I posted the list.) I worked hard to make it representative of different cultures and experiences where possible. My kid LOVES history so I want him to be able to have as many experiences as possible about topics he's interested in.

[Anonymous]

I have 6th grader who loves military history, thank you all for suggestions!
We read Allies this summer as part of our family COVID book club and both enjoyed it.
DS really liked JoJo Rabbit and made a comment that it would be interesting to read a book written from german soldier's perspective similar to kid from JoJo rabbit story. Is there a book like that?
I am Russian, so I am used to different WWII books centered on USSR's struggle in the war. Last summer we also did Baltic cruise and tried to learn different perspectives of WWII struggles from all the nations (eye opening!), which led us to seek out books on not just western and pacific fronts but on other aspects of the war. We are starting "The Ghost Ships of Archangel: The Arctic Voyage That Defied the Nazis" after current book club book.
I am personally interested in Japanese interment camp book mentioned up thread, definitely will read that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have 6th grader who loves military history, thank you all for suggestions!
We read Allies this summer as part of our family COVID book club and both enjoyed it.
DS really liked JoJo Rabbit and made a comment that it would be interesting to read a book written from german soldier's perspective similar to kid from JoJo rabbit story. Is there a book like that?
I am Russian, so I am used to different WWII books centered on USSR's struggle in the war. Last summer we also did Baltic cruise and tried to learn different perspectives of WWII struggles from all the nations (eye opening!), which led us to seek out books on not just western and pacific fronts but on other aspects of the war. We are starting "The Ghost Ships of Archangel: The Arctic Voyage That Defied the Nazis" after current book club book.
I am personally interested in Japanese interment camp book mentioned up thread, definitely will read that.

Mentioned above Das Boot. It's a movie and a book about a german u-boat crew.