At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month… Remembrance Day honours the sacrifices of the men and women of the armed forces who fought for our freedom. Commemorate this November 11th with Canadian children’s books. Below is a list of WWI-themed books compiled by our library coordinator, Meghan Howe.

And in the Morning: Fields of Conflict — The Somme, 1916 (Fields of Conflict) Written by John Wilson Wandering Fox Books, 2014 ISBN 978-1-772030-14-3 IL: Ages 13 and up RL: Grades 7-8 Fifteen-year-old Jim believes that war is a glorious adventure and he cannot wait to fight. But what Jim discovers in the trenches dispels any romantic view of the war, and his longing for adventure is replaced by the need to survive. The final tragic outcome is one he never could have imagined. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	Bunny the Brave War Horse: Based on a True Story Written by Elizabeth MacLeod Illustrated by Marie Lafrance Kids Can Press, 2014 ISBN 978-1-77138-024-9 IL: Ages 6-8 RL: Grades 1-3 Elizabeth MacLeod brings a slice of World War I history to life in this poignant picture book. It is based on the true story of a police horse named Bunny and his riders, brothers Bud and Thomas Dundas, sent to the European front as part of the 9th Battery Canadian Field Artillery. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Canada in World War I: Outstanding Victories Create a Nation (World War I: Remembering the Great War) Written by Gordon Clarke Crabtree Publishing, 2014 ISBN 978-0-7787-0392-1 IL: Ages 10-15 RL: Grade 5 Using archival photographs, short biographies, maps and interesting sidebars, this book describes Canada’s coming of age during WWI, on the battlefields and at home. Read about the incredible feats of flying ace Billy Bishop and the victories of Canadian “shock troops” in Ypres, the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Hill 70 and Passchendaele that helped give Canada a presence on the world stage. Amazon | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	Dance of the Banished Written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch Pajama Press, 2014 ISBN 978-1-927485-65-1 IL: Ages 12 and up RL: Grades 7-8 A teenager leaves his fiancée behind in their Anatolian village to make a new life in Canada for both of them. But when WWI breaks out, he is sent to an internment camp while his betrothed struggles to survive and find a way to join him. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
The End of World War I: The Treaty of Versailles and Its Tragic Legacy (World War I: Remembering the Great War) Written by Alan Swayze Crabtree Publishing, 2014 ISBN 978-0-7787-0394-5 IL: Ages 10-15 RL: Grades 5-6 This book describes the events following the armistice of November 11, 1918, which ended World War I. Through maps, archival photographs, fact boxes and thought-provoking quotes, readers will learn about the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the creation of the League of Nations, and the Treaty of Versailles. The consequences of the heavy penalties placed on Germany and the redrawing of the map of Europe are also explored. Amazon | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	Dark Terror Written by John Wilson Doubleday Canada, 2015 ISBN 978-0-385-67832-2 IL: Ages 9-12 RL: Grades 4-5 Alec Shorecross, 14, has already left school to work in the local mine. He’s paid 13 cents an hour to toil in the underground darkness. When war breaks out, Alec ships overseas in search of a different life and a way to contribute. He dreams of doing something heroic but soon Alec finds himself underground again. While soldiers and aircraft engage in battles on the ground and in the sky, down, deep below the surface Alec joins the invisible crew of combatants who risk their lives building tunnels so that they can place mines beneath enemy territory. Published for the second year for the centenary of the war. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Finding Winnie Written by Lindsay Mattick Illustrated by Sophie Blackall HarperCollins Publishers, 2015 ISBN 978-1-44342-918-4 IL: Ages 4-7 RL: Grades 2-3 During World War I, Captain Harry Colebourn, a Canadian veterinarian on this way to serve with cavalry units in Europe, rescued a bear cub in White River, Ontario. He named the bear Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and he took the bear to war. Harry Colebourn’s real-life great-granddaughter Lindsay Mattick recounts their incredible journey, from a northern Canadian town to a convoy across the ocean to an army base in England… and finally to the London Zoo, where Winnie made a new friend: a boy named Christopher Robin. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	From Vimy to Victory: Canada’s Fight to the Finish in World War I Written by Hugh Brewster Scholastic Canada, 2014 ISBN 978-1-4431-2461-4 IL: Ages 9-14 RL: Grades 5-6 This book documents the decisive battles that pushed back the German lines in the final years of the Great War. It cost Canada 60,661 of its finest citizens. Yet today many historians believe it was in this fiery crucible that modern Canada was born. This title is also available in French as De Vimy à victoire: Le combat du Canada durant la Première Guerre mondiale. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae Written by Linda Granfield Illustrated by Janet Wilson Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2014 ISBN 978-1-55455-360-0 IL: Ages 10-14 RL: Grades 5-6 May 2015 will mark 100 years since "In Flanders Fields" was written. This special edition of Linda Granfield’s book on John McCrae’s poem celebrates that emotional anniversary. The lines of the poem are accompanied by the fascinating information about WWI, as well as the circumstances that led to the poem’s creation. Includes a new introduction by noted historian Dr. Tim Cook of the Canadian War Museum. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	Soldier Doll Written by Jennifer Gold Second Story Press, 2014 ISBN 978-1-927583-29-6 IL: Ages 13 and up RL: Grades 6-8 When 15-year-old Elizabeth finds an antique soldier doll at a garage sale, she becomes the newest link in a chain of love and loss that began in England during World War I. The doll has passed from hand to hand, in moments of hope and sadness. Could it be the very soldier doll that inspired a famous poem written during World War I? Elizabeth feels compelled to find its original owner — and discover its story. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Wings of War (Tales of War, Book 1) Written by John Wilson Doubleday Canada, 2014 ISBN 978-0-385-67830-8 IL: Ages 11-15 RL: Grades 6-7 It’s the early 1900s, and Edward Setten is growing up on the prairies, fascinated by his uncle, one of the very first people in Canada to pilot a plane. Despite his mother’s protests, Edward learns to fly and, when war breaks out, joins the Royal Flying Corps. In this fast-paced and gripping novel, Edward’s coming of age takes place in the most extraordinary of circumstances. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	World War I: 1917-1918 — The Turning of the Tide (World War I: Remembering the Great War) Written by Robert Walker Crabtree Publishing, 2014 ISBN 978-0-7787-0391-4 IL: Ages 10-14 RL: Grade 5 This exciting book looks at the decisive last two years of the Great War, detailing the effects of the Russian Revolution and the entry of the United States into the War. With archival photographs, maps and timelines, stories of tank warfare, war at sea and war in the air are featured. Canada’s role in the Hundred Day Offensive is also included. Amazon | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
World War I: The Cause for War (World War I: Remembering the Great War) Written by Natalie Hyde Crabtree Publishing, 2014 ISBN PB 978-0-7787-0393-8 IL: Ages 10-14 RL: Grade 5 This fascinating book sets the world stage in the years prior to 1914. Readers will get a snapshot of the five great European powers: Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. With archival photographs, brief biographies, maps and fact boxes, young readers will discover how an assassination led to the declarations of war and how Germany put their war machine into motion. Amazon | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers

For more WWI books for young readers, click here.