The First War

We've been studying World War I lately.  Seems like we spent forever on the Civil War and then just breezed right through the Industrial Revolution and immigration before going back to war again.  We are a bloodthirsty people... Lord have mercy.

In the literature world, World War I is often eclipsed in the horrors of World War II... but I still believe that picture books offer one of the best way to explore the issue with children.  They offer the perfect level of understanding whilst maintaining the dignity and compassion necessary to view war from a child's perspective. World War II is a much bigger issue, with more literature options so we are saving it for next fall. Our entire study of this period of time is comprised of picture books:

Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion (an overview)
War Game: Village Green to No-Man's-Land
The Language of Doves
The Letter Home
One Boy's War
The Donkey of Gallipoli: A True Story of Courage in World War I (my favorite)

One book in particular Wings for Per — spans the timeframe of both the world wars in a unique way that offers a bit of continuity from a young Norwegian boy's life.  It is very overpriced now, out of print, but I promised I'd post some pictures of the inside from my own, tattered copy: