A gentle yet astute introduction to the realities of the First World War for children. This book includes four short stories depicting different aspects of the war, from the initial aspects of joining the troops in France to life on the home front.
The first story, 'The War Game', shows the challenges the soldiers face before any fighting even starts, such as the food and using the bayonet in training. Interesting because using the bayonet would be useless against guns so war is more like a game of chess. The Christmas Truce is included as well. A summary of what soldiers might expect when leaving home and some of the ways they tried to raise morale ties up the end of the story. The second story looks at life for civilians from the perspective of a young girl. The particular focus are the Zeppelin airships that looked like balloons and DORA. At the end of the chapter is the historical details about the invention and use of the Zeppelins and the DORA laws surrounding the use of lights. In 'The Last Flight', the third story, is framed by a series of letters from a war photographer to his sister. The perspective is from the air, the planes and pilots and what they see in different locations and war zones. This story also includes prisoners of war. This story is based on war photographer Alfred Adams who was shot down by the famous Red Baron. The final story is about an American boy, only sixteen, who went to fight in the war. The feature is the use of messenger pigeons and in the historical notes, a very brief mention of the war poets. The stories are rather serious - there is nothing funny about war after all - but they have a warmth and a broad scope. There are activities for children to carry out related to each story. Informative in an accessible way and a perfect way for children to learn about the important aspects of war without being too disturbing. Beautifully illustrated with line drawings throughout. Recommended.
Published by Bloomsbury Education on 9 October 2025.
Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.
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