Customer Reviews

Remember World War II: Kids Who Survived Tell Their Stories

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I am especially fond of this book because my mother-in-law tells her story as a 6 year old child living in Pearl Harbor and recounts her memories of the bombing. The inclusion of these "personal" accounts of war makes you consider things that you may not have considered before... like a mother trying to maintain her composure while her husband leaves for duty all the while keeping small children quiet, safe, and in complete darkness at night... As children, they have memories that they did not totally understand until they were adults and pieced the pieces together of what had happened. There are many other personal accounts of the tragedies of WWII and the book includes many personal photos, maps, and a war timeline that describes the events that took place. The timeline would be an especially useful source for youth preparing a school presentation or project about WWII.

It is not a long, excessively detailed book (only 61 pages) but is perfect for youth and provides an understanding that they can relate to since the stories told are told by adults who experienced the events as children. As an adult, I, too have enjoyed this book very much, as well as my kids (elementary and middle school ages).

The book is divided into three chapters which discuss the war in Europe, the war in the Pacific, and life in the United States. It alternates between short autobiographical sections written by those who survived World War II and historical information. It also includes a number of photographs which set the tone for the passages.

I found myself a bit bored reading this book. The historical passages were a bit dry. I would have liked more sections written by survivors in order to more fully explore their lives and history. If you are interesting in reading WWII survivor stories, there are a number of books out there that are more interesting to read and provide a more in-depth look at the survivors lives.