Books and videos on the world wars for 13yo?

[MerylSqueak]

My DD has developed an interest in both world wars. I think she will take History GCSE next year. She keeps looking for documentaries on them but is never very satisfied because they all seem to take an angle on something previously unknown about them. She just wants an introduction.

She's not at all bookish, so I don't think she'd read anything weighty but it also might be a good way to get her to read.

Documentaries would be great because DS 11 is interested too and we could watch them together.

There are some real classics that might be good for this, if class these as aimed at the Y6/7 age group but they are the kind of well written stories that you'd be happy to read at any age, including adults;

The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier follows two children trying to escape from Poland

Carrie's War by Nina Baden about an evacuee sent to live in Wales

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr semi autobiographical story about a Jewish family fleeing Berlin after the 1933 elections and their progress across Europe during the war

There are recent movie versions of both Carrie's War and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit if that would work better for her.

There was a fantastic series the BBC did for schools many years ago called How We Used to Live that followed a family throughout the war years. If you can find it on You Tube it's well worth watching. I still remember it now.

Thank you. She did read the first two at primary. It might be where her interest started. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a good call.

That series sounds perfect. I'll have a hunt.

Testament of Youth is worth a read - really brings to life the experience of women during the war. There was a TV adaptation too.

Ah! I've got that on my Kindle. Thanks.

There's tons of stuff on YouTube - whole channels too (in case the BBC are playing hard to get on iPlayer). "The World at War" if excellent if thorough.

You can't really understand WW2 without knowing why WW1 kicked off. And given that 100 years on we haven't quite decided that yet, it could be a long - if not unfascinating - study.

This thread has really resonated with me as my own DD, now 18 has similarly also been interested in this period in history since primary school.

A few more books & movies I know my DD (and I) enjoyed were:

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
The Enigma Game by the same author
The Book Thief (movie also really good)
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer (fab recent movie too)

We also enjoyed the movies:
Valkyrie about the plot to assassinate Hitler
Shining Through about spies behind enemy lines in Berlin

Might be a bit too old for her right now , but I have recently rewatched Tenko with my DD. It stands up well even though it was made a long time ago, although obviously harrowing to watch at times.

Might be the wrong angle but there are also lots of fiction books set during the wars that give a good feel for what it was like for people at home; rationing, women working in factories, munitions girls, sending kids away to live in the country, getting telegrams home telling them loved ones had died or been injured, nursing on the frontline, censorship in letters home, sending 18 yr old boys off to fight a war......

I really loved the Mary Jane Staples series which started late 1800s then followed an east end family through generations to 1960s so included several books that went through the build up to and living through the first and second World Wars and how that impacted the family and their community.

Thank you very much for your ideas. I'll have a look at YouTube. I don't spend much time there. The world at war seems perfect.

I'll have a look at the fiction - although I seem to spend half my life fruitlessly getting her to read fiction

Once I'd learned the history (and having parents that lived through it helped) the fiction suddenly became far more powerful.

@UnaOfStormhold

Testament of Youth is worth a read - really brings to life the experience of women during the war. There was a TV adaptation too.

Much as I love Testament of Youth (wrote a dissertation on it) it wouldn’t be my first choice for an unbookish teenager. The TV series or film would be a better way in - the book has very solid prose at times.

First World War poetry is very powerful. Some good basic anthologies of it are available. Or war poetry in general.

"Blackadder goes forth" is probably the most succinct coverage of WW1. The history is spot on.

Be warned, some of the World at War episodes are very tough to watch.

What about online archives and museums
www.iwm.org.uk/learning/resources
www.nam.ac.uk/collections

And you can visit a lot of the American WW2 museum collections virtually

How we Used to Live 1936 - 1953

Can't believe I found it! Still remember the theme music and getting caught up in the story of the family so clearly! That's my afternoon sorted..

@GoWalkabout

What about online archives and museums www.iwm.org.uk/learning/resources www.nam.ac.uk/collections

And you can visit a lot of the American WW2 museum collections virtually

Or indeed real-life museums ?

Ours (Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery) ran a fascinating exhibition a while back on the Indian soldiers that fought in WW1 and WW2 (and some of whose descendants settled in Brum).

Which is needed to remind us that despite what the papers say, WW2 was not just won by Boris biking it around Bavaria with his famous "Boris Banger" ....

There's a trilogy of books by Linda Newbery starting with 'Some Other War' set in World War 1 that are aimed at a young adult audience that I enjoyed about that age. Also Ruth Elwyn Harris the Quantocks Quartet are good.and set during WW1 and beyond.

Tom Palmer’s war books for Barrington Stoke are absolutely brilliant. If she’s not usually a keen reader, she might prefer the format as they are shorter books printed on a dyslexia friendly font on cream paper. Armistice Runner and D Day Dog are both particularly good at relating war history to children today by having a parallel story about a child now learning about the past.
Marcia Williams My Secret War Diary (WW2) and Archie’s Wartime Scrapbook (WW1) would also be a good shout. They’re fully illustrated scrapbooks that follow the timeline of the wars with real news extracts etc, from a fictional perspective but very much grounded in real events.

These are all great ideas. Thank you. I will look at them all

Is there such a thing as a straightforward history book for a young teen that's not a textbook. Maybe even a well-presented textbook.

Private Peaceful is not a very long book, and (IMO) gets across some of the cruelty of war and it draws you in emotionally.

TBH, even some of the classic B&W war films would give a visual picture. From Colditz to Bridge Over the River Kwai all give a watchable, visual picture of something they know nothing about. You could then talk about reporting bias and films glorifying stories, even when they are based on true stories. There are films from Dunkirk through to 'Saving Private Ryan' which youngsters could learn bits of history from as long as it were tempered with them understanding reporting bias / film making bias.

How about a copy of the Chronicle of the 20th Century? Massive book showing the major news stories every day - loads of photos, and lots of coverage of both World Wars.

www.amazon.co.uk/Chronicle-20th-Century-Clifton-Daniel/dp/0131337033?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Carve Her Name With Pride is another one - good book and film although older so obviously in black and white.

And also A Town Like Alice by Neville Shute.

Both books I remember from secondary school and have never forgotten.

@Doubleraspberry

How about a copy of the Chronicle of the 20th Century? Massive book showing the major news stories every day - loads of photos, and lots of coverage of both World Wars.

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That is a great suggestion. Such a good book - and no pressure to read cover to cover. It’s very good for dipping in to to find out what else was happening around key events.

The History Channel is excellent for WWII documentaries as well.

Fiction set during the war is good, but if she wants to know more about the actual history, there is a series of books called 'A Short History Of..." which focuses on various wars. There is a WW2 one, which is very popular in the library where I work, and is good for giving an overview of how the war started, what happened, when and where it happened, etc. I always recommend it to people who want to start learning a bit about the war.

mupurgo's 'war horse' and 'elephant in the garden'