World War II for Kids: A History with 21 Activities

For Kids

by Richard Panchyk, John McCain (Foreword)

Now more than ever, kids want to know about our country's great struggles during World War II. This book is packed with information that kids will find fascinating, from Hitler's rise to power in 1933 to the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. Much more than an ordinary history book, it is filled with excerpts from actual wartime letters written to and by American and German troops, personal anecdotes from people who lived through the war in the United States, Germany, Britain, Russia, Hungary, and Japan, and gripping stories from Holocaust survivors-all add a humanizing global perspective to the war. This collection of 21 activities shows kids how it felt to live through this monumental period in history. They will play a rationing game or try the butter extender recipe to understand the everyday sacrifices made by wartime families. They will try their hands at military strategy in coastal defense, break a code, and play a latitude and longitude tracking game. Whether growing a victory garden or staging an adventure radio program, kids will appreciate the hardships and joys experienced on the home front.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, American History, Picture Books, Childrens

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Richard Panchyk is the author or editor of 14 books on a diverse range of topics, including children's nonfiction (science, history, art, politics/government) and adult nonfiction (history and folklore). His works have been translated into four languages.

Among his books are the award-winning and bestselling World War II for Kids, which is available at bookstores and museum gift shops across the nation. This book is considered as one of the top books ever published for teaching kids ages 9 and up about the war, and is used in schools and by homeschoolers from New York to Alaska. It features a foreword from the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, John McCain.

He is also the author of the lavishly illustrated Galileo for Kids, featuring a foreword by the astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

To order autographed copies of any of his books, or for more information, you may contact the author at panchyk@yahoo.com.

Richard Panchyk's latest books are German New York City, published as part of the famous Images of America series by Arcadia and 101 Glimpses of Long Island's North Shore, published by The History Press.

German New York City is the first-ever major book to cover the story German population in one of the world's biggest cities. It features nearly 200 historic photographs.

101 Glimpses is a pocket-sized book offering a snapshot of different beautiful locales along the historic North Shore, and features a foreword by Thomas Suozzi.

Coming in 2009 - The Keys to American History, featuring more than 60 of America's most important documents and speeches.

Reviews

[Reese Richter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book and thought it was only a book about WW2 until I saw all of the activities that you could do. There were things like drawing a poster from the time period and also pack a lunch from WW2. For the lunch activity you had to have under a couple ounces of every main nutrient. This was very hard to do because what was supposed to be a lunch was more like a small granola bar.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this to my son. He loves reading and learning about WW II. He asked questions and was fully engaged. I also learned more about WW II. I liked that because it was made for kids, the author left out the gruesome details. The last paragraph in the book was probably the most enlightening to me... “the war that had cost the world 50 million lives was finally over,but even today. The politics of the world continue to be shaped by the events of the years 1939 to 1945.”
That’s so true!

Another fact I didn’t know... “ the state of Israel was founded as a home for the displaced survivors of the Holocaust.”

This book was a great depiction of the horrors of war. I would encourage all ages to read this if they wanted to learn more about the Second World War. I also liked the human interest stories that the author put within all the facts. There was also crafts and what not, but we didn’t do any of them.

[Jacqueline Caniglia & Shannen Nestor · Rating 4 out of 5]

World War II for Kids is packed with the information children are curious about from the era that was World War II. The book includes powerful topics such the rise of Hitler in 1933 and the surrender of the Japanese. The collection of activities within the book allow children to feel the struggles and sacrifices that were necessary for families during this time.

I thought this book was a great informational text to include in a text set for race and segregation in American history. The book includes colorful photographs, timelines, and activities for children to engage in with peers and teachers.

"Recent history is so fascinating because you can still touch it. You can still meet and talk to people who were there when the events of World War II took place. It is up to us to take advantage of these eyewitnesses to history before it is too late."

[Rebekah Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has great information from around the world during the 1930s and 40s. The German viewpoint is explored a bit as well as different places in Europe.

What struck me the most was the kindertransport before the war began. 10,000 Jewish children were taken to England. They were lucky, according to this book, because after the war began only 1 in 15 Jewish children from ages 2-17 survived. Or, to quote the book, 100,000 of the 1.5 million Jewish children in Europe survived.

A great resource for teachers with extra activities for learning.

[Delaney States · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rate this book 5 stars because there are so many awesome a activities that can be used in the classroom. Reading a book about a sensitive topic such as WWII can be tricky but putting activities with it gives students a new perspective but they will also be learning and getting the information but also enjoying it. I chose this book based on the actives alone. Even if I don’t use this book to teach WWII I can still use the book for the actives.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource for ideas of making WWII more concrete to the students. It has a wealth of information to use in the forms of pictures, timelines, maps, etc. not to mention all the suggestions for simple activities to help make some of the information more accessible to students. I especially like the sections about the home front and think that some students would really enjoy exploring these activities.

[Keri Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic resource for our homeschool lessons. It was FULL of information (way more than I anticipated) and had just enough photos, timelines, charts, etc that didn’t overwhelm or discourage. The activities were creative and encouraged a curiosity that helped educate in a gentle way.

Sometimes talking about history is difficult and hard to share with children. I am grateful we found this resource.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for curious kids. It gives them plenty of information and my 10 year old refers back to it

[S.A.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and interesting.

[Sarah Wilson]

James read it and said it was excellent. He asked me to put it on my list so that if he wanted it again we could look up the name and get it from the library.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

We picked and chose things to read from this. We didn't end up doing any of the activities because they didn't quite fit with what I wanted to do.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks like a great resource for kids to read about WWII and it seems to cover all aspects of the war in a great overview. There are helpful maps and a timeline at the beginning.

What I really love are the "activities with a purpose". Some of the activities include "Make a Ration Kit" (for soldiers), "Know Your Ranks", "Stage a Radio Adventure Program", "Rationing Game" (where you calculate how much food your family would actually need - there's a lot of great math involved!), and "Coastal Defense" - all of these activities look really impressive and so meaningful. As a historian who loves studying this era, this book gets me really excited. I think I'm going to have to buy it. I'm putting 4 stars based on flipping through it alone and I'll come back later for a more complete review.

[Donnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, easy to understand, description of World War II generously sprinkled with helpful graphs, first person stories and thoughtful activities to deepen understanding. Even adults will find it a fun, informative read.

While reading of the Hitler-led, premeditated plot to eliminate all the Jews of Europe, it is impossible to say America should not have entered that war. But what about other wars America has entered? One can't help but wonder. Have any of the other countries we have fought had such an evil that had suddenly emerged? We may have hated the idea of a communist system but was it a systematic killing of a people? We may fret over countries riddled by corruption and hijacked by dictators, but where is the line between evil-we-must-help-eliminate and a government-a-people-have-chosen, even if bloodier than we would choose?

[Austin Arndt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its shows many different perspectives of people. It has some kids from that time point of view which I like about it. It has activities in it for young people. Overall this is for someone who is just getting started learning about world war two. Not for someone that has been reading about world war two for a long time.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great overview of World War II for kids, and a good refresher for adults as well. It's packed with information that still manages to be kid friendly. My nine year old son devoured this book over the course of about a week.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of World War II with excerpts from actual people involved. Part of my son's history curriculum.

[Suzannah]

Fantastic book for teaching WWII. LOVE IT!

[Rohan Suresh · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very good and historical book but I think the activities could have been better.