The First World War
by Henry Brook, Rob Lloyd Jones and Conrad Mason
(Usborne History of Britain series)
Written in association with the Imperial War Museum, this book is a good starting point for anyone who wants to know about the First World War. Its chronological approach covers all the main events – from the arms race before the outbreak of war to the Versailles Treaty after peace was declared. It looks at life at home in Britain as well as the fighting on the Western Front and in the Middle East, and it provides pointers to how the legacies of the war affected the years afterwards. Photographs help to bring the information to life while sub-headings divide the clearly written text into manageable chunks that encourage readers to dip into its pages.
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Road to War: A First World War Girl’s Diary 1916-1917
by Valerie Wilding
(Scholastic – My Story series)
Daffy Rowntree lives a privileged life with servants, but that doesn’t stop her family being torn apart by the First World War. After her father is killed and her brother is declared missing in action, she refuses to sit around any more doing nothing and joins the FANY (the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry). Soon she’s out in France, driving an ambulance to transport wounded soldiers back from the trenches. Well-researched and well-written, this fictional diary provides a clear picture of the horrors of war and the way women’s lives were changed by the social upheaval that it produced.
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War Horse
by Michael Morpurgo
(Egmont)
Told through the eyes of Joey, a horse sold to the army, this beautifully written story captures the horror and futility of the First World War as well as the humanity of the people involved on both sides. The reader is swept along with Joey, feeling his fear and confusion as he is caught up in the mayhem of battle and learning that there good people on both sides. War Horse is a fantastic book that deserves to become a classic.
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