World War I: an Interactive History Adventure by Gwenyth Swain. (You Choose Books), Capstone, 2012. 112 pages including timeline, index, etc.
Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10
Maturity Level: 4 (ages 11-12)
As in all the “You Choose” history series books, readers have three main paths to travel: as a nursing student in Belgium, a Welsh farm boy, or an American college student. Each has its own time frame and milieu with about an equal number of chances to live or die. Chapter 1 gives the run-up to war, and Chapter 5 summarizes the conflict. In between you can be gassed, shot, drowned, captured, shell-shocked, or infected with the flu. Or you can survive and go home. Readers will get no sense of chronology from this skipping around, but the personal perspective draws the reader in automatically and communicates an idea of the war’s chaotic nature and peril in an engaging way. Not written for literary appeal, though; an overabundance of choppy sentences begins to wear on this reader.
Cautions:Dark/Depressing (the second-person narrative may bring some destructive endings a little too close)
Overall Value: 3.5
- Worldview/moral value: n/a
- Artistic value: 3
Categories: History, Nonfiction, Middle Grade
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Do you have any World War I books that you DO recommend? I have a Kindergartener and a 5th grader (who reads on 7th grade+ level). I have a couple of good picture books about World War I (Finding Winnie and Christmas in the Trenches), but have yet to find any good World War I books for my 5th grader. I would appreciate any recommendations!
Thanks for all your work at Redeemed Reader! It is a big blessing to me. I look up all books on here before reading!
-Heidi, homeschool mom of 3, Texas
Yes, as a matter of fact. Treaties,Trenches, Mud and Blood by Nathan Hale does an excellent job of presenting the war in all its bloody futility. It’s graphic nonfiction, which allows the author/artist to represent the nations symbolically but also see the consequences of their actions. The first few pages try a bit too hard for laughs, but the conclusion is strong.
Thank you, Janie! I’ll check it out and see if it’s not too visually intense for my 5th grade daughter.