Truce, by Jim Murphy

Courtesy of Google

I did not know too much about World War I before I read this book aimed for young readers.  I think we barely scratched the surface of both the world wars in my history classes.  I do not think there is anything wrong, either, with an adult reading a children’s history book if one is looking for a simplified history of a previously unknown or seldom-studied topic.  Books aimed for children often provide a great introduction for the adult to various subject matter, especially that of science or history, which may be presented in a more complex manner in a book geared for adults. 

Jim Murphy elegantly tells the story of what is known as The Great War, focusing most of it on the events leading up to the famous Christmas Truce.  There are many photos and illustrations, and a useful map that helped me place where all the countries and trenches were in relation to each other.  His writing is truthful without going into too many of the gory details: I believe young children do not need to be exposed that soon to the terrible atrocities of war.  I recommend the book to anyone ten and up.

Human Body: A Book with Guts! By Dan Green; illustrated by Basher

I love Basher’s illustrations, and I think it is great that he illustrates children’s introductory science books.  I recently read this to get a brush-up on my knowledge of the human body.  I quite enjoyed it.  Each chapter builds on ideas and concepts introduced in previous chapters, and rather than organizing each chapter by organ system, it starts with the basic building blocks of life (cells and other microscopic organisms) and progresses to grouping systems that work together in subsequent chapters.  It is a fun read for kids because each organism “narrates” its own story of how it functions.  Human Body is actually part of the Basher Science Books series; Basher has also illustrated a number of board books and picture books for toddlers that present early concepts such as Opposites and Shapes.  They’re really cute, and the kids at my bookstore love them.  I highly recommend them for young reluctant readers or budding scientists 8 or 9 and up who want to read a basic science book without being overwhelmed by sophisticated details.