The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is the first book written by Khaled Hosseini. It explores the story of two young boys at the invasion of the communist Soviet Union. The reader takes an emotional ride with these two boys who experience a cultural/ societal change in Afghanistan.

This book is great for the boys in your classroom through an easily relatable male point of view novel. There are so many options for English/ Social collaborative projects!

Code Talker

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac, is an easy read for multiple grade levels.Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the US effort, sending messages back & forth in an unbreakable code in the Navajo native language. Perfect for US history in discussing US involvement in WWII.

We are All Born Free

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assemble on December 10, 1948. It was developed as a result of the horrors of World War II. Its purpose was to state and protect the rights of all people around the world.

We are all Born Free: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures celebrates each declaration with amazing illustrations by a number of artists. This book has many educational opportunities for a variety of levels. Just some topic ideas include, World War II, Holocaust, human rights violations, Cold War, etc. The possibilities are truly endless.

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a gripping novel that follows the life of young men in Germany during World War I. Paul, the main character, and his other college friends are urged to join the fight for their fatherland from their college professor. The boys decide to join and quickly realize war isn't as fun as they imagined it would be. The novel shows the boys as they lose members of their platoon and also their innocence. It follows both their physical and emotional stresses during the war and how they cope with civilian life after they have experienced the war.

Interestingly, Remarque was a veteran of WWI. All of his books were banned in the 1930s in Germany because of their anti-war message. All Quiet on the Western Front was publicly burned by the Nazi's as well.

Any teaching ideas with this? I used the movie in my global 10 class during student teaching but the book is beautifully written, with great detail.

Brothers in Hope: the Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan

Brothers in Hope: the Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan is a picture book dedicated to telling the true story of young Garang, who was about 8 years old when his Sudanese village was brutally attacked and his family torn apart. Author, Mary Williams, and illustrator R. Gregory Christie take you on Garang's story both in powerful words and beautiful illustrations.
This picture book is a great book to bridge the gap of your struggling readers with your more advanced readers.

A Diary of an Iraqi Girl

Diary of an Iraqi Girl offers great insight into the personal life of a young girl during the invasion of the United States. It provides a personal account of life in Iraq and how the US's invasion affected daily life for those living in Iraq during the time.
Perfect for many different interdisciplinary activities. Because her blog is public, students have the opportunity to interact with Hadia, providing an authentic audience for writing assignments! English dream right?? Social Studies could use bits and pieces of her diary in a unit on terrorism to provide insight to how life was affected by the US in Iraq.

Why?

Nikolai Popov's, wordless, thought provoking tale about a frog who sits peacefully on a rock smelling a flower and a mouse who aggressively snatches the flower away. The absurdity of aggression and the inevitable consequences of the violence that occurs, teaches ys the ugliness of war and that there are no winners.

Perfect to discuss any historical moment of war. Some that come to mind, World War II, Cold War, War on Terrorism, etc. Perfect for younger grade levels as well as high schoolers. Great writing assignments come to mind especially since this book is wordless.

The Things They Carried

The novel, The Things They Carried By Tim O'Brien is a great Vietnam novel. The book is told from Tim's perspective but the book is actually fictional. O'Brien combines memories and stories to create this novel.

The novel tells of a platoon sent to fight in the Vietnam war. Set up in different stories for each chapter, O'Brien re-tells the tangible things the soldiers carried (rations, radios, ammunition, etc.) but also the things they carried inside them (guilt, anger, sorrow, and more) The young men who were drafted into the war quickly lost their innocence and found it hard to adjust to life after the war.

This novel has an ELP level of 9.0, suitable for 9th grade and up. The Vietnam war is something that is important for student's to read about. I feel that O'Brien's novel would be a great way to integrate the harsh realities of war into a classroom.

O'Brien has wrote numerous other books, although this is the only one I have read.

Has anyone else read any others?