Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Good books on WWI and WWII

These are so fantastic, thank you!!

One thing I might still be missing - a basic, non-fiction overview of the war, with a timeline and maybe some explanation of key facts and players. Is one of the kids ones better than another? Something he can use to get his facts straight, then move on to the deeper issues.

I'm not particularly worried about him being too old for anything - he's a kid who loves to read anything and everything, from his little sister's books to our New Yorkers. I just want to make sure he gets the basics as well as the interesting deeper knowledge. I only pointed out that he could handle advanced texts in case the best books were for MS/HS age kids.

And Expat Mama - thanks so much for the recommendation on "Bomb" -- my son is a science nut too, and will love that one!!

There is "World War II For Dummies" and even "The Complete Idiot's Guide to World War II" . Part of an Oxford University Press series with a title that does not insult the reader is "World War II: A Very Short Introduction".

There is a National WWII Museum in New Orleans, and its web site has some educational materials.

Not a book, but possibly a good source for the quick overview you're looking for... if you can get the History Channel, whenever they're not running garbage (ancient aliens), they're usually running something on WWII. It's quite a popular subject, and draws viewers.

They recently ran a series called The World Wars that followed a number of key individuals through both conflicts: Hitler, Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill, Mussolini, Tojo, Patton, and MacArthur. I had an issue with a few of their facts, but I also learned some new things. It was recommended to me by adults already familiar with the historical basics, and I'd recommend it to a child just beginning to get a sense of the time.

It's available for purchase if it's not available to you in other ways, and their website has a number of other resources you might be interested in as well.