History books I rate: World War two

It is no secret I love reading. If you follow me on twitter @History_AHS you will see me tweeting about books I have loved. I am going to do a few posts over the next coming months about books I have read and loved which are historical and link in nicely with work we do in lessons





I love the following books and think they are all awesome reads linked to World War Two

YA titles

First up is the Paradise Barn series by Victor Watson. They are a series of four books set on the home front in East Anglia and I love love love them! They are brilliant stories with a mystery to solve in each one and aren't too violent or gory for those of you who are a bit squeamish. As well as being entertaining the history in them is good.

Annexed by Sharon Dogar is also fab. It is the story we all know from Anne Frank's diary told from Peter's point of view. I must admit I was worried when I start this book. I thought I would hate it but actually I loved it and felt it gave a nice way in for students who loved Anne Frank's diary want something to follow on from that.

Run Rabbit Run by Barbara Mitchelhill is a fab book. The story is exciting and engaging throughout and I love how it focuses on conscientious objectors during World War Two and fits in with the work we do in class on conscientious objectors nicely. Everything you read (or so it seems) focuses on Blitz Spirit and how everyone was fighting as one and I like how this tells the story from that different view point.

This book, I must admit wasn't my personal favourite as reader. I'm not a keen military historian but I know a lot of boys (and some girls) who do love military history and this book fits the bill perfectly for them. Be warned it is a bit gruesome in places.

I only read Rose under Fire recently. I was not a fan of Code Name Verity written by the same but this for me was brilliant. It focuses on women who served in World War Two, it looks at the concentration camps and it utterly heartbreaking. I'd probably recommend this for older students as it is quite upsetting in places.

Another book I've recently read. It looks at a young teenager who is part of the resistance in Belgium. Another book which is heartbreaking and will stick with you for a long time to come.



If you love fiction set in World War Two you'll also love

 It isn't World War Two but set during the Spanish Civil War but if you are anything like me and love your Modern European History this will work for you. It also sets up the scene to what Europe was like in the build up to World War Two so I think it fits. I loved it completely as it was nice to read something a bit different. If you have an iPad the interactive ebook is amazing with extra films / pictures / songs to add to the story.


Adult books
The books below are books written for adults and therefore ones I'd recommend for GCSE students who want something with a bit more detail and depth as they are generally weighty and much longer reads than the YA titles so certainly not light reading.

It was been an age since I read Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy and I fully intend to reread it again soon. This book is epic. It is huge. It is told from over eight different points of view split over several countries and is utterly engrossing. I love that over the course of the book you start to see the separate narrative merge and I want to have a pen and paper with me next time I read it to plot all the connections. It is heartbreaking and spectacular and I loved every page,

I love this book too. If you've had the misfortune of seeing the Film of Charlotte Gray this is nothing like it. It is the story of a girl who goes to France as a spy to find her lost airman boyfriend and it is just brilliant. I was hooked.

This isn't a book about World War Two as it touches on several events including World War Two but I only read it recently and it was spectacular so I wanted to recommend.

10 reason why you need to follow @history_ahs on twitter (even if you don't do history)

There are many many reasons why you need to follow @history_ahs on twitter even if you aren't currently studying History at Aylsham High. Here are but a few of them

1) Youtube videos: First and foremost if you follow @history_ahs you will be the first people to know about all the exclusive #teamhistoryAHS revision videos as and when they get uploaded onto YouTube. Quite frankly they are brilliant for revising for your GCSE in history and very entertaining too (according to a Mr C Randall MJZ - not just me blowing my own trumpet here!). Also, I will add links to videos which compliment things we do in lessons to give you a wider and better understanding of the topics covered.

2) Historical Events: Whether you are studying history or not many many people like a good visit to a historical site or a special event at a historical site. As and when I hear about them happening in Norfolk (and beyond) I will tweet / retweet about them!

3) Revision help: If you are studying GCSE history I will tweet no end of useful things for revision especially in the build up to the GCSE exams in January and June. This will not only include previously mentioned YouTube videos but also links to past papers, my own resources and other useful websites that I come across.

4) Homework resources: @history_ahs will be a handy place to go for help with your homework projects if you are in year 7 and 8. I will also put up links to copies of the resources for you to access anytime anywhere.

5) Reading updates: As many of you know I like to read a lot and not all of that is Historical stuff. If you like to read keep an eye out for updates on what I'm reading (most of which is brand new or soon to be published stuff) and for recommendations of the best teen reads that are coming out. Also I regularly have books to giveaway to good homes and wil alert you all on there when I bring them in for adoption.

6) To get insight into the wonderful world that is Mrs Connor's brain: Quite honestly you can't put a price on that!

7) Widen your historical knowledge: I regularly put up links and retweet of manner of interesting historical stuff that will widen your historical knowledge and fascinate you

8) Friendly Face updates: If you are a Friendly Face (or a Friendly Face fan) follow @history_ahs for updates on what the team are up to.

9) Friday quiz: Each Friday morning a question will be put up. The first person to tweet back the correct answer will win a prize from the box of wonder.

10) To beat the Scientists: Finally a huge reason for following @history_ahs is to show your support for #teamhistoryahs in the epic Historians vs Scientists battle to get the most followers on twitter!

Review: VIII by HM Castor

On 30th March we are going to be visited by Harriet Castor to talk about her book VIII. I am very very excited about it because she is really interesting and loves history as much as I do.

I thought I'd put my review of it up on here for you so you have an idea what it is about before she comes to visit us. If you would like to read it yourself Mrs Walker is getting copies for the library and you'll be able buy them at the event.

This book is fantastic read from teenagers (and almost teenagers) who want to learn more about Henry VIII and why he became the man he did. I enjoyed every page and thought it was a good example of how historical fiction should be written.


I do get quite a bee in my bonnet when it comes to historical fiction aimed at 11 - 16 year olds. I get sent a lot of it for to read because I am a history teacher and I have found of late that some of the stuff out there is just too weighty and too boring What I loved about VIII is that it the author seems uses story telling in an  to put across historical events in an entertaining way.
The first thing I liked about the book is that it gave the reader a real sense of historical period and what it would have been like for the main characters to live through the time period without overburdening the reader with lots and lots of tiny and somewhat irrelevant details which can get dull quickly.
If you ask any child to tell you something about Henry VIII they will say one of two things - he was very fat or he had lots of wives which really only scratches the surface. I loved how this book looks more broadly at Henry's life as a whole and considers in more detail his earlier life when he was this gorgeous all powerful ruler. I also liked the sections where it looked in detail at Henry's younger life before he became first in line to the throne and showed how he was treated by his family because of this. Yes this book does go through Henry's wives and yes he does become fat but that isn't the sole focus of this book which is what I liked.
Another reason why I liked this book and why I think it would be interesting for 11 - 16 year olds is that it really did capture the drama of the period with all the political intrigue that would have surrounded Henry as he threw his weight around trying to get his own way in areas such as his marriages and religion, when trying to wage wars with France and at home in the way he ruled his country in the ruthless manner he did.
Definitely a book I would highly recommend both as reader and a history teacher. A brilliant example of how Historical Fiction can be used to engage people with historical events and personalities.