On this page: General Resources | US in World War I | Historical Fiction
general resources
📖 Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion by Chris Barton. This cleverly written and lavishly illustrated picture book focuses on an interesting practice during World War I: British and American ships were painted with bold, bright patterns in an effort to confuse German submarines. Woven into the narrative is some basic information on the war and a discussion of the threat posed by the German U-boats. Endnotes provide more information and a timeline. – Elementary
📖 War Game by Michael Foreman. World War I has just begun and Will and his friends are eager to leave their small English village and see some action in Europe. Life on the front is much more grim than the boys had anticipated, although a Christmas Day "truce" with the Germans provides a brief respite from the fighting. – Elementary
📖 Frightful First World War by Terry Deary. This Horrible Histories title gives readers an unvarnished glimpse into the unpleasantness of World War I. Find out “what the "Fat King" did with food scraps and dead horses; how sniffing your own pee could save your life in a gas attack; why a pair of old socks gave away top German secrets.” – Elementary • Middle
▶️ Horrible Histories TV show. Episodes of the popular “Horrible Histories” sketch show are available to stream on Amazon Prime, Hulu, and YouTube. Search our Horrible Histories Sketch List to find every “Frightful First World War” sketch from Seasons 1–5. – Elementary • Middle
📖 In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae by Linda Granfield. This excellent book intersperses the text of In Flanders Fields with informative pages that provide historical context for the poem—learn about the author, the war, and the cultural impact of the poem. – Middle
📖 Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion by Linda Granfield. Written from a Canadian perspective, Where Poppies Grow focuses on how the soldiers and their families coped with the hardships of the war. The pages are decorated with wartime memorabilia, photographs, and the soldiers' letters home to their families. – Middle
📖 The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman. In this 100-page book, Freedman offers an in-depth analysis of World War I at a level appropriate for older students. Black-and-white photographs and a few maps accompany the text. An excellent general resource for World War I. Note: Several photos do show the corpses of fallen soldiers, but they are not overly graphic. – Middle • High
📖 More Deadly Than War: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War by Kenneth C. Davis. Closely linked with the First World War, the deadly 1918 flu epidemic is estimated to have killed as many as 100 million people worldwide. Here, Davis takes an in-depth look at this often-neglected episode in 20th century history. Best for older students. – Middle • High
▶️ Leonard Cohen recites "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae from Legion Magazine. Cohen does an excellent reading of the famous poem; the accompanying slide show depicts images of the war. – All
▶️ World War I in 6 Minutes by John D. Ruddy. Whirlwind synopsis of WWI. – All
▶️ World War I from Crash Course. “John Green teaches you about the war that was supposed to end all wars. Instead, it solved nothing and set the stage for the world to be back at war just a couple of decades later. As an added bonus, World War I changed the way people look at the world, and normalized cynicism and irony.” – Middle • High
united states in wwI
📖 Come On In, America: The United States in World War I by Linda Barrett Osborne. In this 9-chapter book, Barrett Osborne explores the complicated history of the United States’ involvement in World War I, focusing on domestic issues and disagreements over the role of the US on the global stage. The narrative draws heavily on contemporaneous accounts provided by soldiers, politicians, and civilians. – Middle • High
▶️ America in World War 1 from Crash Course. “In which John Green teaches you about American involvement in World War I . . . the United States stayed out of World War I at first, because Americans were in an isolationist mood in the early 20th century. That didn't last though, as the affronts piled up and drew the US into the war. . . . You'll learn the war's effects on the home front, some of Woodrow Wilson's XIV Points, and just how the war ended up expanding the power of the government in Americans' lives.” – Middle • High
historical fiction
📖 War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.
"In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France." Narrated by Joey, War Horse reveals the horrors of life on the front lines without being too graphic. There is plenty of loss in this book; best for upper elementary or middle. – Elementary • Middle
📖 The Eleventh Hour by Jacques Goldstyn. “Jim and Jules are childhood friends, born on the same day in the same village. All their lives, Jim has been first―born two minutes before Jules, always faster, always stronger. When the First World War breaks out in Europe, the two young men enlist in the fight with 30,000 other Canadians. On the Front, conditions aren’t epic and glorious but muddy and barbaric. Here, too, Jim is the first to attack. Jules is always two minutes behind: lagging in drills, missing the boat, handed chores instead of honors. On November 11, 1918, Jim and Jules are sent out to fight one last time. Jim, always first over the top of the trench, is shot and dies at 10:58am, two minutes before the Armistice takes effect at 11:00am.” The text is short and simple, but the subject matter is heavy, some of the illustrations are a little gory, and the ending is sad; good for upper elementary or middle school. – Elementary • Middle
