Voices from the Second World War: Stories of War as Told to Children of Today

by Candlewick Press

In an intergenerational keepsake volume, witnesses to World War II share their memories with young interviewers so that their experiences will never be forgotten.

The Second World War was the most devastating war in history. Up to eighty million people died, and the map of the world was redrawn. More than seventy years after peace was declared, children interviewed family and community members to learn about the war from people who were there, to record their memories before they were lost forever. Now, in a unique collection, RAF pilots, evacuees, resistance fighters, Land Girls, U.S. Navy sailors, and survivors of the Holocaust and the Hiroshima bombing all tell their stories, passing on the lessons learned to a new generation. Featuring many vintage photographs, this moving volume also offers an index of contributors and a glossary.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, War, World War II, Middle Grade, Oral History

320 pages, Paperback

Published October 8, 2019

About the author

Candlewick Press arrived on the scene with some of the highest-quality picture books anywhere. And in the years since then, our offerings have grown to encompass all ages, from board books to e-books, high-end novelty to cutting-edge fiction. What hasn't changed is our goal of excellence, our model of independence, and our commitment to the authors and illustrators who create our books and the readers who love them.
Two decades and more than 2,000 awards and accolades later, we are as committed as ever to independent thinking and primed for a future that looks brighter than ever.

Reviews

[Jessica (Odd and Bookish) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for free through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers.

Although this book is aimed at kids, this was an incredibly powerful read. The book features first hand accounts of the war and some of them are absolutely heartbreaking. It was so interesting to note that for many of the people interviewed, they didn’t start talking about the war until recently. They had kept it a secret for so long. I really loved how this book preserved their memories so that future generations can hear their stories.

I also learned quite a bit from this book. This book features a European perspective on the war, and as an American, there were some things I never heard of. For example, I had no idea there was an organization called Land Girls. Speaking of women, I liked how this book explored what women did during the war. Women made a huge contribution to the war effort, and I’m glad it was not forgotten.

Overall, this is an amazing and comprehensive book about World War II. if you are interested in learning hearing real stories from WWII, I highly recommend you pick this book up.

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly unique book. The many voices that were generally first hand reports gave credibility to the topics. Additionally, those interviewed were diverse.

I am a WWII buff and this book satisfied my needs.

I recommend

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voices from the Second World War: Stories of War as Told to Children of Today by multiple authors. NON-FICTION Candlewick Press, 2016. $25.

Content: Language: PG-13 (13 swears); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Different children throughout Europe and the United States interviewed survivors from World War II. This book is a compilation of all the interviews and stories that were shared. A wide range of topics are covered including, but not limited to, the British Home Front, Women at War, Bombing of Germany, the Holocaust and VE Day. Each interview includes a picture and runs from 1-4 pages in length.

What a fantastic resource for those studying World War II. This would work great in a classroom, where the different perspectives could be compared and each student could take a different interview to study. I enjoyed all the stories shared and I appreciated how many experiences were represented. The content includes war deaths, digging own graves, bombings, beatings and shootings.

Reviewer, C. Peterson.
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amazing 300 page long non-fiction book, first published in the UK by Walker Books in 2016 and now available in the US by Candlewick Press, includes 80 first-person accounts of their wartime experiences as Allies during World War II.
Note: A review of the British book mentions some very adult topics were found in that book (specifically a discussion of rape, men being blown up in front of soldiers, torture of resistance fighters, a father killing his daughter because she was about to blow up the soldier eyewitness). As I skimmed it initially, I did not come across any of these or other material that I felt was too graphic for middle grades up. I did note there are a few instances language that might be considered “salty”, but told in context. I will read this book again more closely and make note of any objectionable material, editing it here.
This book opens with a foreword by British broadcaster/journalist Jeremy Vine. Vine discusses the importance of gathering these first person accounts of WWII now and explains their relevance to today’s children – over 70 years later. An uncredited introduction to the book (“True Stories from the Most Devastating War in History” also written by Vine?) leads into a section with photos and quotes from many of the middle grade students who conducted interviews of WWII survivors that are included in this book. Interviews were conducted for publication in the UK newspaper for children, First News; their interviews are mentioned in the large orange introductory banner for each interviewee. The rest of the interviews are taken from other recent sources such as websites, books or other publications written by/about the subject; a statement of why the interviewee is important in this topic is indicated in the large orange introductory banner.
Divided into sixteen sections told in chronological order, each begins with a one-page (uncredited) overview of the importance of that subtopic (ex. Fleeing the Nazis, Evacuees, The Resistance, Women at War, The Holocaust, The Fall of Japan) and moves into the interviews. While largely focusing on actions in Europe, readers will find tales from the African theater, the Pacific theater, and the Asian theater. The interviews and autobiographical tales are grouped under the appropriate subtopic and vary in length. A few are a few paragraphs long, several are a half dozen pages long, but most are two to three pages in length. Each entry is delivered from a first person point of view (with one exception: Joyce Ferrari’s WWII experience is told by her son), making the individual telling their story speak directly to the reader. This delivery is very powerful. The book is illustrated with black and white photos of either the subject at the time of the war and/or today and a few other primary source documents (small captioned photos of family, home, the environment they endured, documentation or full page photos that depict a key point about the subtopic). These help to break up the text and create interest.
A few memorable interviews for those who love children’s literature include author/illustrator Shirley Hughes (about life in the British home front), illustrator Jan Pienkowski (his family’s involvement in the Polish resistance movement), and author/illustrator Judith Kerr (her family’s flight from Germany). Also of interest is businessman Sir Richard Branson’s mother’s experience in the WREN (Women’s Royal Navy Service). I especially appreciated the perspective of Takashi Tanemori, who was an eight years old playing outside when the first atomic bomb was dropped on his hometown of Hiroshima. We should all hear not only Tanemori’s story of reconciliation since, but also what transpired when he had the opportunity in 2000 to meet General Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay.
Appended to the back of the book are a glossary of terms, a subject index and index of interviewees.
You need not read the book cover to cover to appreciate the perspectives included about World War II.
Highly Recommended for grades 7-up.

[Jennifer W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I have read many books on World War II, but none have been quite like this one. The first-person accounts from mostly ordinary people are filled with small details that really make their stories come alive. Contributors include people who experienced the war from a variety of perspectives such as those who were young children when Hitler came to power and war broke out, as well as men and women who served their countries during the conflict. There are reports from people of many different nations, including women who worked as Land Girls, children who survived the Holocaust, youth who fought with the Resistance in Italy and France, men who were captured by the Japanese army, and a boy who was living in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped there. Some of the narratives are only a couple of paragraphs, while a few are several pages. Most of them are just a couple of pages long.

The book is well organized with chapters on the British Homefront, the Resistance, Women at War, The Holocaust, The Fall of Japan and many other topics. The text is enhanced by many black and white photographs. A subject index, an index of contributors and a glossary are included at the end of the book.

One could use this book as a reference to learn about just one aspect of the war, but each story is worth reading. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about this important event in history.

Although most of the accounts are told in such a way that they are accessible to all ages, there is some content that may not be appropriate for young children. There are a few religious profanities and since this is book about war, there are some disturbing descriptions of violence.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

With more and more people who survived World War II dying, it's become all the more important to record their experiences. These are the people who lived through a war that the rest of us can't even begin to imagine. This book combines the accounts of several dozen people who lived through some aspect of the war, whether concentration camps, military service, bombings, or life as a refugee. So many historical accounts focus on the experiences of the famous or well-known, because in many cases they are the ones whose experiences are documented. This book looks at the experiences of the ordinary men, women, and children. The book covers everything from the London Blitz, D-Day Invasion, Holocaust, kindertransport, bombing/fighting, and resistance activities. This book is a very valuable resource for teaching about World War II and why everything should be done to prevent such a war from ever occurring again. Some of these accounts were sickening in the horrible things they describe, but unfortunately that's war. Thus, I would only use the book with older students (junior and senior high). But the accounts included here show what war is really like in all it's ugliness. The book also highlights the courage and determination of ordinary individuals in facing the difficulties and heartbreak that war brings.

[Jill Rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like people, the stories in this book are diverse. Written as a collection of real people, telling real stories about their experiences during WWII. The reader is introduced to so many monumental events over the span of WWII, from the Kindertransport, to D-Day, VE Day, the atomic bomb, Pearl Harbor, women code breakers, land farmers, Jewish and so, SO much more; every story is unique and powerful in its own way.

This book struck me so profoundly. More than 75 years later, some people were only just telling their experiences for the first time and each story is told in such a way, with personal pictures of each speaker, it is easy to get lost in the experience. In fact, throughout this entire collection, I would begin reading only to look up and see hours had past. It is SO important for these stories to be told, and even more important for us, children and adults alike, to hear and understand what is being told.

It is unbelievable what has been condensed within 300 pages. I can’t imagine such a book surrounding WWII has ever been done quite like this. Absolutely pick up a copy!

For the full review, please visit: https://fortheloveofthepageblog.wordp...

*Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided to me by Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura N · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Voices From The Second World War is a collection of first hand accounts as they were told to children by the men and women who lived through World War Two. The book is divided into chapters that focus on different parts of the War, such as "The British Homefront " and "The Holocaust". Each of these chapters begin with introductory material that gives readers background information about the topic. Every account is begun with an introduction to the speaker and the child (or children) they shared their story with; each account also includes pictures of the speaker in the present and the past.
Because these stories were told to children, their content is age appropriate and easy to understand. A glossary at the end defines words that young readers might not be familiar with but will encounter in the book. I love the idea behind Voices from the Second World War; as the WW2 generation begins in shrink in number, their stories begin to disappear as well. The Second World War will never be forgotten. It will always be taught in schools. But being consigned to history won't preserve the details. By sharing their stories with a new generation, the tellers are ensuring that their story survives.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child of a WW2 vet , I found this book to be one of the best about WW2. This is such a wonderful book not an not for children of today but for any age. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting true stories from World War II as told to young people. My only complaints were that each story deserved to be longer, and that there was no bibliography.

[Lisa Matheny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for kids of all ages.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was in college, I discovered a book by Studs Terkel called The Good War: An Oral History of World War Two. Terkel had collected the memories of a wide variety of people, providing a good overview of how each interviewee was impacted by the war. If you haven't read The Good War yet, I highly recommend it.

Oral histories have always fascinated me, so when I heard about Voices from the Second World War, I was pretty excited to see what it was all about. It turned out to be a unique collection of short, first person recollections (most are only 1-2 pages, some longer) told to some of today's young people, and though the book is basically Britain-centered, there is still plenty included for all children to appreciate.

The book is organized into 16 sections that follow the course of the war from outbreak to the fall of Japan. Interviewees relate their experiences in the RAF, the U.S. Navy, working as a Land Girl or a code breaker, being evacuated to London in 1938 with the Kindertransport from countries being threatened by Hitler, leaving family behind and often never seeing them again, being evacuated from London to the countryside when war was declared in 1939, fighting in the Resistance, surviving the Holocaust and POW camps. Readers will also read what the navigator of the Enola Gay has to say about the bombing Hiroshima, as well as hearing from a survivor of that bombing. It is affecting and compelling to read about how different people reacted, endured, and survived the circumstances this terrible war threw at them.

All of the stories are equally important, though some readers will surely recognize at least a few of the people interviewed. There is, for example, Sir Nicholas Winton, the humanitarian who saved 669 children in 1938 when he organized the Czechoslovakian Kindertransport to bring them to Britain and place them in homes where they would be safe from the Nazis (Sir Nicolas passed away shortly after being interviewed by Amélie Mitchell and Daniel McKeever.

Readers may also be surprised to learn that two favorite children's authors, Shirley Hughes and Judith Kerr, both had wartime experienced. Shirley was 12 when the war started, and living near Liverpool with her mother. She told her interviewer that at times the war was very frightening, at other times, it was very boring, but she had involved herself in doing things like collecting salvage for the war effort. When the Nazis started bombing the docks in Liverpool, Shirley stayed where she was rather than be evacuated to safety. Shirley Hughes has written a few books about WWII, including Whistling in the Dark, an novel based on her own wartime experiences.

Judith Kerr's experience began in Berlin almost as soon as Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. Because her family was Jewish and her father was an outspoken critic of Hitler, it soon became apparent that the family needed to leave Germany. Packing only what they could carry so that they wouldn't arouse suspicion, Judith decided to leave her beloved pink bunny behind. The family made it to Switzerland, then to London in 1936. Fans of Kerr can see where the inspiration for When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit came from.

Each memory provides the reader with a personal window into the past told by those who actually lived it. What is particularly nice is that all the memories were collected by school children, some of whom you will meet at the beginning of the book.

In addition, each memory includes black and white photos, most are personal, but there are lots of photographs from the war in general. There is also an Index of Subjects, and an Index of Interviewees, as well as a useful Glossary.

As more and more of the witnesses to World War II die and take their stories with them, it is important to record their memories. Fortunately, what Terkel did for adults with The Good War, these young people have done for other children with Voices from the Second World War.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was provided to me by the publisher, Candlewick Press

[JoLee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featured on World War II Wednesday on Intellectual Recreation.

This book was first published in England in association with First News, a children's newspaper. The book's foundation is a collection of interviews children conducted with their friends and family who lived through World War II.

This is an absolute gem of a book, and I'm so glad that it was published. This collection of the stories of ordinary people who lived through the war is a great way to preserve history. The book groups the interviews into categories, such as evacuated children, D-Day, and The Holocaust. The breadth of the stories gives readers a greater understanding of the various facets of the war, from the tragedies, to the heroics, to the mundanities.

Because the interviews were organized in Britain, there is, understandably, greater representation of British war stories, but I was impressed with the variety of experiences and nationalities represented.

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ideas expressed/message/plot: Children who were “junior journalists” for a U.K. newspaper interview people who have memories of living through WWII, so their stories will not be forgotten.

(Opening line)-“I often wonder why the Second World War seems to get closer as time passes.”

Wow, what an eye-opening book! I’ve read many books about WWII, visited lots of museums, and I still learned things I hadn’t known before. For instance, that on D-Day there were 13 landing craft that came one after another, not just in one swoop onto the beach. Or, that wartime restrictions in Britain lasted until 1954!
I found it very touching that many of the children doing the interviewing got the chance from their own grandparents and great-grandparents. For most, it was a first time of hearing about their relative’s involvement in the war.

Memorable quote:
( from the Forward)-“Then it struck me: this was not a pensioner talking to a child; it was two nine-year-olds speaking to each other across the decades.”-Jeremy Vine

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 5 out of 5]

True personal experiences of children and teens during the 1930's and 1940's provide a gold mine of primary source material for students of World War II. Some of the testimonies show what it was like as a civilian child; others reveal early enlistment to fight with the Allies. Both men and women are represented, and are mostly from Great Britain, with others from Austria, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, the U.S. and Japan. Organized into chapters through the major events of the war, the recollections are thrillingly immediate. They are interesting, devastating, thrilling recollections from folks who may not be alive to tell these tales in a few years. With archival photographs and substantial back matter, including a helpful subject index, list of interviewees, and a glossary.

[Anne Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book recounting many, many stories of people who lived through some aspect of WWII: Occupation in France; bombings in London; Kindertransport; concentration camps; evacuation of children from London to the countryside or to Canada; the fall of Japan and life in after the atomic bomb; bombers over Germany; fighting on D-Day. All of the stories were collected by children who interviewed their relatives or friends of the family for this collection. I wish i had time to read and reflect on the whole book but i am working on a judging project and must move on. This book is definitely one that should be widely read.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing. My son pulled this book off the library shelf randomly and we renewed it innumerable times (more than 6) in order to finish it. Told in the stories from participants and survivors, WWII becomes knowable and explainable to the younger crowd. I will fully admit to skipping over the section on the Holocaust for my young crowd, but other parents might discern differently. A great living book for learning about WWII. Organized into different sections that allow for a narrow study of the subject or overall read for the full story.

[Trinity Conde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nonfiction book published in 2018 that was mentioned as an outstanding international book. It gives insight and information about the lives of people from all over the world who lived through world war two. I would love to use this book in my classroom as additional material when teaching my students about WW2 so that they can have a lens into what it was really like during the war for people all over.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up on a whim from a library display and am very glad I did. The book is organized chronologically as the war progressed, with stories from people all over Europe who were children during World War 2. Each story is brief but powerful and included details remembered from a child’s perspective.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voices from the Second World War by candlewick press is full of powerful first person accounts of the Second World War. Many of the interviews in this book were conducted by children. This book is really a window into history. Packed with valuable information as well a a glossary. This book would make a wonderful gift and would be a good resource for any teacher to have on the classroom shelf.

[Celeste · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book full of interviews of multiple people who survived World War II as told to elementary and middle School kids. I enjoyed reading all of the perspectives and wish I was teaching school-I would totally use these.

[Jaina Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review and many more like it are available on Read Till Dawn .

I both really loved this book and also didn't really like it.

I really love what it's doing. It takes the stories of people alive during WWII and records them in a format that is accessible for children (though perhaps sometimes a bit too heavy for them, for obvious reasons), saving them for posterity. There are stories from all different angles, from people who were soldiers during the war and people who were children, Jews and Germans and Poles and Brits and Americans and more telling their individual slivers of the grand narrative of the war.

On the other hand, I didn't really like it in parts because some of the stories–especially toward the beginning–were kind of boring: basically, "I was evacuated and lived on a farm for a while." Plus there was clearly some strong editing done, because most of the narratives were told in the same way, even though they came from vastly different people and were recorded in the first-person narrative.

I flipped forward after a while, and once we get into the later parts of the war and its end, then the really impactful stories begin. There are stories from several Jewish children who survived death camps, or whose parents went into them. There are pictures of the people back then, too, which made the stories so much more real. The one that is absolutely most shattering is a two-page spread of Hungarian Jews fresh off the cattle trucks at Auschwitz-Birkenau, waiting to be sorted. The caption informs us that only the strong were spared from being immediately sent to the gas chambers, and it's a thousand times more horrifying than just reading the fact because you can look into the faces of all these people about to be murdered.

It's - it's pretty hard, to be honest. Some of the material in this book is extremely horrifying and depressing. Add in a little bit of bad language (mainly a couple of "hell"s) and this is definitely not a book you should be handing off to your young children any time soon. But it is a pretty good collection of stories from across the war, tied together with explanations of the historical context, and I think it is important that we carry these stories with us into the future generations.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Teenreadsdotcom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of stories, told by survivors of World War Two, is a poignant look at what life was like during that time period. Each of the people who tell their story experienced the war, first-hand, in some manner. Some of them were small children at the time, too young for school. Some of them were older children. Some of them were young adults who were pilots or soldiers in the war.

A group of school children interviewed many of these survivors, preserving their memories for future generations. The stories were originally published in England. Each person provides their own memories and perspectives on the war and how they lived/dealt with it.

The book is broken down into 16 sections, each highlighting a different area and time frame during the war's progress, starting with The Outbreak of the War and ending with The Fall of Japan. An abundance of black-and-white photographs are used to highlight the individual stories. A Subject Index, an Index of Interviewees, a Glossary and a page of Photography Credits are all available at the end of the book.

It was interesting to read so many different personal accounts from this horrendous war. It was especially interesting to read how different people reacted to the same circumstances. In one section, one person tells how being able to buy things on the black market made life a bit more bearable when everyday things --- like sugar and nylon stockings --- became hard or impossible to find. Another person, whose story is told in the same section, was very critical of those who bought things on the black market, saying no respectable person would use the black market. Obviously, not everyone felt the same way about the same things.

Stories range from just two paragraphs to more than 10 pages in length. All of the stories offer a glimpse into the personal life of the individual storyteller. Some of the stories are very well told, while others are a bit disjointed or rambling. One man's story of being a soldier during the war is not only very detailed, it is rather graphic and bloody. All together, they present a picture of what living through a war is really like.

Reviewed by Christine M. Irvin

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

My review is a dissent from the others for this Early Reviewer title. It is a book targeting children, middle-grade/juvenile level. It is broken up into sections with different people involved in WWII talking about their experiences, both on the home front and around the world, and from a variety of ages. Many of them are specifically narrated to children (relations or random school children).

However, the selection of voices is homogeneous. The focus is British, yet there are almost no (I think literally no, but I don't have the energy to check through every page again) people from the Commonwealth represented. Yet there are numerous Americans quoted. There are also precious few pages devoted to the Holocaust, representing a very narrow range of experience. Some of them are taken up with a member of a host family speaking for one of the Kindertransport (or similar) children, though this person was only born in 1940 and many of those children are still alive to tell their own stories. There is also an implication that Alan Turing killed himself simply because he was gay, with no mention of the persecution of the government and his chemical castration (and that bit written by someone who has generally opposed gay rights).

It is possible that the publisher was just lazy in putting this together. I don't know. There is some merit in the book, but it could have been so much better. Just because a book is intended for children doesn't mean it needs to be narrow or that the standard is lower. Indeed, the standard should be higher, especially because children tune out of enjoying history at this age. Not recommended.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Voices from the Second World War: Stories of War as Told to Children of Today" eBook was published in 2018.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains a few scenes of Violence. The book is a collection of very short (mostly 2-3 pages each) stories about World War II experiences shared with today's children. Views are recorded from military and civilian, Allied and Axis. The accounts give a very different look at Wold War II and the lives of those who lived through it.

I thought that this was an interesting 7 hour read of this 320 page non-fiction book. I learned a few things while reading. I had never heard of the Land Girls. I did find that the stories began to get a little repetitive. I think that Young Adults would be interested in these accounts, but would have a difficult time reading the book cover-to-cover. I can see where teachers would want to share selections with their classes when the World War II era was being covered in history. I liked the cover art. I give this novel a 3.8 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

[Boiveau Juliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

« Voices from the second world war» is a concentration of many testimonies, told by children of old soldiers or witnesses from the second world war. This book is addressd to teenagers or adults. It is a historical book with lots of cateronies like woren at war or the bombing of Germany. It's a non fiction book written for general audience. This book is really interesting to read because it shows many points of view, like women, the enemies or soldiers far from the front. It is such an amazing book !
The testimony of Molly Rose was told by her grandaugter, Mina Rose. It talks about a woman in 1942 who had the luck of being a pilot during the war. What an impressive thing! Her job was to collest aircrafts. She said that war affected complitely her life. She discered how hard were the fights but she thinks it was amazing to see people fighting for their country.
Our favorite part was women at war because we see how hard was their job and it's the beginning of feminism. We enjoy the book, it was really interesting and it shows us, information about people, we couldn't learn in fiction book or at school.

[Anzac · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is "Voices from the second World War: Stories of War as Told to Children of Today (Hardcover)"
It was written by Candlewick Press and published in 20 March 2018

This book is a collection of testimonials. There are more than three hundred pages. There are sixteen themes about the second World War. There are lots of different short stories in each themes. There are a lot of pictures and illustrations of the war.


We think that this book is for children of today to learn about the second World War. It's not a classic history book because through the stories we can really see how it was during the War. We learn a lot about the life conditions of the soldiers and the difficulty of the family's life who waited without news from their family members. We've been very touched by some stories. It was really moving, sometimes sad, interesting and so captivating. You have to read it soon. It reminds us of past experiences. What an upsetting book!

[Robin]

"Voices from the second World War", the real voice of the soldiers ?
The book was published by Candlewick Press. There's not really one author, this is a compilation of testimonies. The book is organised in different parts, each with a lot of testimonies, so, there isn't just one story.
Most of people who testify were children during the second World War. We have a lot of perspectives, for example, a Japanese testimony, or an Australian one... from a soldier, or a soldier's wife... about their feelings about war, or their lives in the time of war.
I think the book is good because the testimonies are interesting, detailed, organized and they teach us a lot of things. The pictures in black and wihte make the reading easier.
For children and teenagers who want to learn more about the second world war, this book is really good.

[Destiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of this book doesn’t portray what a gem it is! As the author says, watching children interview those who lived through WWII is different than traditional interviews.

“And then it struck me: this was not a pensioner talking to a child; it was two nine-year-olds speaking to each other across the decades.”

I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of accounts shared and the photos of the children and those they interviewed! Thank you for this compilation. I want this book as a permanent part of my library for my future children! :)

(That said, I recommend that this book be for young teens and older. Many accounts are perfectly fine for young children, but a few discuss very difficult war-time realities.)

[Thomas Guillemin]

If you want to read testimonies and if you're passionate about history and war, this book is made for you.
The book was published in 2017 by Candlewick Press. It collects different testimonies of war so there are many authors.
This book is about people of different ages who lived during the Second World War. They explain their daily lives as civilians. They decribe their feelings and sensations. There are many parts which deal with differents topics like: "The resistance," "The fall of Germany and Japan," etc.
This book is interesting, but we were quickly bored because we are not fans of history.
So, I recommed this book for those who love war history.