Storybooks for Preschoolers, Kindergarten, Year 1 & 2 students (Infants):
ANZAC BISCUITS
Publisher: Scholastic Australia, March 2013
goes beyond the experiences of soldiers. It shows the private moments
of families who are left behind to worry about their fathers, brothers,
uncles and sons. Laid out over alternate pages, Phil Cummings cleverly tells two
stories simultaneously. A young man fights a war on the other side of
the world while his wife and daughter bake Anzac Biscuits for him.
THE TREASURE BOX
Author: Margaret Wild
Illustrator: Freya Blackwood
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia, January 2013
Suitable for ages: 5+
father keep the last surviving book safe in a treasure box. Even though
they had fled their home, and the boy had lost his father and was too
weak to carry his suitcase, he kept his promise to keep the book safe.
THE RED POPPY
trenches and the little messenger dog who saved him. Young soldier Jim
McLeod waits in the trenches of World War I for the order to attack the
enemy. With him are his friends, and Nipper, the messenger dog. When they
charge across no-man’s-land, Jim is shot and finds himself face to face
with an enemy soldier.
LONE PINE
Authors: Susie Brown and Margaret Warner
Illustrator: Sebastian Ciaffaclione
Publisher: Little Hare (Hardie Grant Egmont), April 2012
Suitable for ages: 6+
main focus is to show how a pine tree and its scattered pine cones have
connected families, generations and countries through memorial and
remembrance. Lone Pine is the combination of emotional text and wistful
illustrations. It is the true story of the pine tree that currently
stands in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial.
DO NOT FORGET AUSTRALIA
Author: Sally Murphy
Illustrator: Sonia Kretschmar
Publisher: Walker Books Australia, March 2012
Suitable for ages: 5+
Villers-Bretonneux. Billy lives in Melbourne, Australia. These two
little boys, who live thousands of miles away from each other, share one
story that unites Villers-Bretonneux and Melbourne in history. A moving
and inspiring story of World War One.
SIMPSON AND HIS DONKEY
Author and Illustrator: Mark Greenwood and Frane Lessac
Publisher: Walker Books Australia, March 2008
Suitable for ages: 5+
Set during World War I, ‘Simpson and his Donkey’ is a child friendly story about the difficult topic of war and the heroes that arise from it.
MY GRANDAD MARCHES ON ANZAC DAY
Author: Catriona Hoy and Bejamin Johnson
Publisher: Hachette Australia, February 2008
Suitable for ages: 4+
events with her father and grandfather. Readers walk away from the book
with a strong need to remember and pass on the stories of our national
servicemen and women. My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day includes a detailed foreword about Anzac day and the ode.
ALONG THE ROAD TO GUNDAGAI
Author: Jack O’Hagan
Illustrator: Andrew McLean
Publisher: Omnibus Books (Scholastic Australia), February 2014
Suitable for ages 7+
convey the hopeful and optimistic thoughts of a soldier as he fights in
WW1. This picture book adaptation features beautiful illustrations- some
wordless- that alternate between the soldier’s reality and his dreams.
MIDNIGHT
Author: Mark Greenwood
Illustrator: Frane Lessac
Publisher: Walker Books, February 2014
Suitable for ages: 7+
Lieutenant Guy Haydon, who were part of the Australian Light Horse’s
Charge on Beersheba in October, 1917. Frane’s rich and remarkable
illustrations compliment this very touching story.
Storybooks for Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 students (Primary):
GALLIPOLI
Author: Kerry Greenwood
Illustrator: Annie White
Publisher: Scholastic Press, March 2014
Suitable for ages: 8+
tale of two mates who are initially excited about their post, but soon
realise that their friendship is paramount in helping them get through
the terror of fighting at Gallipoli. The story is quite detailed and
lengthy, but is supported by a range of stunning water-coloured
illustrations and sketches of personal sepia-coloured photographs.
I WAS ONLY NINETEEN
Author: John Schumann
Illustrator: Craig Smith
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, February 2014
Suitable for ages: 10+
life with illustrations rich in meaning and emotion. The text and
illustrations will undoubtedly give parents and teachers much to discuss
with children, in particular the human cost of war.
ARCHIE’S LETTER: AN ANZAC DAY STORY
Author: Martin Flanagan
Illustrator: Ainsley C. Walters
Publisher: One Day Hill, December 2011
Suitable for ages: 9+
sources to provide children with a comprehensive and heart-wrenching
account of one soldier’s war experience.
letters and poems during World War II. He wrote poignantly about working
under Japanese rule on the Burma Railway, disease, abuse, death and
working alongside ‘Weary’ Dunlop.
men. Quiet and withdrawn he would deal with his grief without inflicting
hate on the ones around him. In 2002, Archie met with an elderly
Japanese woman who wanted to know the truth about World War II. She
helped him to forgive the Japanese for their wrong doings towards him
and his friends.
THE HORSES DIDN’T COME HOME
The Horses Didn’t Come Home
Author: Pamela Rushby
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
Suitable for ages: 10+
Australian soldiers in the Battle of Beersheba. It is a part of
Australia’s military history which is not widely known.
Australia, and her horse was sent to the Middle East to be used during World
War I battles. The second character is Harry, a soldier fighting
in the Battle of Beersheba with his sister’s horse, Bunty. Harry sends
many letters to Laura, and never shields her from the truth. It is in a
poem written by Trooper Bluegum that she learns the fate of her horse.
steeds. Ultimately the horses would not be given the respect they
deserved though. Deemed too expensive and difficult to return home to
Australia many were killed and others were sold to English and Indian
armies. Many devastated soldiers, including Harry, illegally destroyed
their horses to ensure abuse and torture would not come their way.
provides a glossary for readers and a background to the story at the
back of the book.
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