Veteran's Week/Remembrance Day
Veteran's Week/Remembrance Day
Every November, Canadians pay tribute to the bravery and sacrifices of veterans during Veterans’ Week (November 5th –11th ) and Remembrance Day (November 11th). These observances invite us to reflect on themes of peace and gratitude. We have gathered a collection of books, featuring historical narratives and children's picture books, to help remember and share these significant stories. On November 8th we acknowledge and honour Indigenous Veteran's Day and on November 20th, we remember and honour our Transgender Veterans for Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Adult Non - Fiction
"Too Young To Die: Canada's Boy Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen in the Second World War" by John Boileau and Dan Black
"The Reckoning: Canadian Prisoners of War in the Great War" by Nathan M. Greenfield
"Passchendaele: Canada's Triumph and Tragedy on the Fields of Flanders"
"In Flanders Fields: 100 Years" edited by Amanda Betts
"Breaking the Silence: Veterans' Untold Stories" by Ted Barries
Adult Fiction
"Cilka's Journey" by Heather Morris
Cilka, a sixteen-year-old girl, is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942. Noticed by the Commandant for her beauty, she learns that power is crucial for survival. Despite the daily horrors, Cilka finds inner strength and still has room for love.
"The Huntress" by Kate Quinn
In the aftermath of war, Nina Markova joins the Night Witches, a female bomber squad, and becomes a target of a Nazi assassin called the Huntress. Partnering with British war correspondent Ian Graham, a Nazi hunter, Nina aims to track down the Huntress while facing a shared secret that endangers their mission. Meanwhile, in post-war Boston, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride, who dreams of being a photographer, becomes suspicious of her father's new German fiancée and uncovers family secrets that threaten her safety.
"Lessons" by Ian McEwan
This book follows Roland Baines through personal and historical upheavals. After being sent to a boarding school away from his mother, he is shaped by the affection of his piano teacher, Miss Miriam Cornell. Years later, with his wife missing and facing Chernobyl's fallout, Roland seeks answers about his family's past. His journey reflects significant historical events, from the Suez Crisis to climate change, while he grapples with love, loss, and missed opportunities. The narrative raises profound questions about control, global influence, and the lessons of past traumas, offering a deep reflection on humanity through one man's life.
"The Tattooist of Auschwitz" by Heather Morris
In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he becomes a tattooist due to his language skills. Over two and a half years, he witnesses both horrific acts and moments of bravery. Using his position, he trades valuables from murdered Jews for food to help fellow prisoners. In July 1942, he meets Gita, a young woman awaiting her tattoo, and vows to survive and marry her.
"The Secret Keeper" by Kate Morton
During a summer party at her family farm, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson witnesses a shocking crime that alters her perception of her mother, Dorothy. Fifty years later, as the family gathers for Dorothy's ninetieth birthday, Laurel seeks answers about that day, exploring Dorothy's past from pre-World War II England through wartime London. Author Kate Morton weaves a rich narrative of love, deception, and the intertwining lives of three strangers, set against significant historical events.
Young Adult
"Wings of War" by John Wilson
A Canadian boy learns to fly from his uncle, and then decides to join the English Royal Flying Corps as a fighter pilot in World War I.
"Devil Darling Spy" by Matt Killeen
Sarah Goldstein, under the alias "Ursula Haller," gathers intelligence for Captain Floyd at Nazi high society events to locate a rogue German doctor in West Africa who has developed a germ warfare tool called "the Bleeding." What starts as an adventure becomes a nightmare as they witness its devastating impact on communities. Alongside a biracial German/Senegalese girl, a foul-mouthed black French priest, and the doctor's glamorous daughter, Sarah confronts humanity's darkest aspects and seeks motivation to continue her fight.
"World War Two: Against the Rising Sun" by Jason Quinn
"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbours.
"My Mother's Secret" by J. L. Witterick
Franciszka and her daughter are unlikely heroines. They are simple people who don't stand out; that is, until there is a crisis. In 1939, the Nazis come to Poland and start to persecute the Jews. These are unreasonable times when providing shelter to a Jew has become a death sentence. Despite this, both Franciszka and her daughter hide Jewish families and a German soldier in their small home. For all of them to survive, she will have to outsmart the German commander and her neighbors.
"The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Sixteen-year-old Catholic Stefania Podgórska has worked in the Diamant family's grocery store for four years, even falling in love with one of their sons, Izio; but when the Nazis came to Przemyśl, Poland, the Jewish Diamants are forced into the ghetto (and worse) but Izio's brother Max manages to escape, and Stefania embarks on a dangerous course--protecting thirteen Jews in her attic, caring for her younger sister, Helena, and keeping everything secret from the two Nazi officers who are living in her house.
Junior Non-Fiction
"We Will Remember Them: The Story of Remembrance Day" by S. Williams and Oliver Averill
"Bitter Ashes: The Story of WWII" by John Wilson
"Behind the Bookcase" by Barbara Lowell
"Dieppe: Canada's Darkest Day of World War II" by Hugh Brewster
"Big Battles of World War II" by Peter Benoit
Junior Fiction
"Enemies in the Orchard" by Dana Vanderlugt
Based on a true story and told in alternating voices, follows the growing friendship between thirteen-year-old American Claire and Karl, a young German POW hired to work on her family's Michigan apple farm in October 1944.
"Resist: A Story of D-Day" by Alan Gratz
When French-Algerian Samira's mother is arrested by the Nazis, Samira must go on a journey through Nazi-occupied France to save her before it is too late...on the same day as D-Day.
"Desert Danger" by Jim Eldridge
Tim is living in England during the time of the Blitz when he is called into the military. Because he's worked as a mechanic at his uncle's garage, he does well at mechanical tasks during military training, and is chosen to go to North Africa as a sapper.
"Camp 30" by Eric Walters
Having barely recovered from their ordeal at Camp X, Jack and George are informed that they may still be in danger and are relocated to Bowmanville, where their mother has been offered a job in a prisoner of war camp holding the highest-ranking German officers. The boys begin to know - and even to like - the prisoners they meet, but when they are offered the after-school job of delivering the camp's mail, their involvement deepens and soon Canadian agents ask them to keep their eyes and ears open for possible escape plans.
"I Survived: The Nazi Invasion, 1944"
A young Jewish boy escapes the ghetto and finds a group of resistance fighters in the forests of Poland, and he must determine if he has what it takes to survive the Nazis and fight back.
Junior Easy
"Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear" by Linsay Mattick
During World War I, Captain Harry Colebourn, a Canadian veterinarian, rescued a bear cub named Winnie after Winnipeg. His great-granddaughter, Lindsay Mattick, recounts their journey from Canada to England and the London Zoo, where Winnie befriended Christopher Robin. The story includes gentle illustrations by Sophie Blackall, along with family photographs and memorabilia.
"Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion" by Jame Barclay
A gentle and caring grandpa answers his grandson's questions about what it was like to serve in the war. As the two make a game of preparing for a memorial service, the child comes to understand the importance of the solemn occasion and the act of remembering.
"Bear on the Homefront" by Stephanie Innes and Harry Endrulat
During World War II, 10,000 British children were evacuated to live with host families in various countries. "Bear on the Homefront" tells the story of Grace and William Chambers, who arrive in Halifax and meet nurse Aileen Rogers and her stuffed bear, Teddy, which had a historical journey during World War I, as described in "A Bear in War."
"Bunny the Brave War Horse" by Elizabeth MacLeod
Bunny, a long-eared horse, unexpectedly becomes invaluable during World War I despite his name. He endures gas attacks, harsh weather, and crossfire, showcasing bravery akin to that of soldiers. The story is heartwarming, with accurate historical context provided by expert reviewers.
"Fania's Heart" by Anne Renaud
"Fania's Heart" tells the true story of ten-year-old Sorale, who discovers a heart-shaped book among her mother's belongings while in Auschwitz. The book's flower-shaped pages contain unfamiliar words, prompting questions about its origin and her mother’s silence. It reveals the resilience and courage of women who risked their lives for Sorale's mother, showcasing their loyalty amid dire circumstances.
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