War and Peace
In Books for Middle Schoolers
History, memoir, and fiction reveal the courageous and often harrowing experiences people face when nations are in crisis.
Non-Fiction |
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| Call Number | Author | Title |
| 327 M496a | Meltzer, Milton | Ain't Gonna Study War No More: The Story of America's Peace Seekers |
| From Quakers to protest in the streets, the passionate history of war resistance in the U.S. reveals the high price people pay who dissent. | ||
| 973.711 M954b | Murphy, Jim | The Boys' War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War |
| Adventure and glory motivate boys twelve to sixteen to face the cruel realities of war. | ||
| 920 V325z | Zeinert, Karen | Elizabeth Van Lew: Southern Belle, Union Spy |
| Always under suspicion for her Union sympathies, could a Confederate lady truly become a spy? She could! | ||
| 973.82 V811i | Viola, Herman J | It is a Good Day to Die: Indian Eyewitnesses Tell the Story of the Battle of the Little Big Horn |
| Native American survivors tell of the events of June 25, 1876. | ||
| 959.7 H986L | Huynh Quang Nhuong | The Land I Lost |
| Water buffalo, wild hogs, and horse snakes are all part of the exciting childhood memories in a land later destroyed by war. | ||
| 946 K159L | Katz, William Loren and Marc Crawford | The Lincoln Brigade: A Picture History |
| The first fully integrated U.S. army was a group of idealist volunteers fighting against fascism at the dawn of World War II in the Spanish civil war. Their bravery is the stuff of legend. | ||
| 943.086 Ay24p | Ayer, Leanor H. with Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck | Parallel Journeys |
| Can a former Hitler Youth and an Auschwitz survivor find peace with each other forty years after World War II? This is their remarkable story. | ||
| 920 Su35m | Mochizuki, Ken | Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story |
| The Japanese diplomat is able to save Jewish lives in World War II through stunning and stealthy moves. | ||
| 920 Ar64f | Fritz, Jean | Traitor, the Case of Benedict Arnold |
| From Revolutionary War hero to disgrace, Benedict Arnold's life is tragic and fascinating. | ||
| 327.1 C245 | Carter, Jimmy | Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation |
| What are human rights? The former President reveals what he learned about conflict resolution and addresses the global challenges we face. | ||
Fiction |
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| Author | Title |
| Wolff, Virginia Euwer | Bat 6 |
| In 1949 the annual 6th grade girl's softball game brings anti-Japanese sentiment to the field. | |
| Boyd, Candy Dawson | Charlie Pippin |
| Charlie is determined to find out what happened in the Vietnam War to change her father into such an angry man. | |
| Orgel, Doris | The Devil in Vienna |
| Two girls, one Jewish and one a member of the Hitler Youth, are determined their friendship can survive world upheaval. | |
| Richter, Hans Peter | Friedrich |
| A boy enthusiastically joins the Hitler Youth while unaware of how this will change his friendship with his Jewish pal. First published in Germany. | |
| Orlev, Uri | The Island on Bird Street |
| As the Germans remove Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, Alex escapes to survive all alone in an empty urban landscape. | |
| Lowry, Lois | Number the Stars |
| In the face of Nazi threats, a Jewish girl is hidden and evacuated by the brave Danish people. | |
| Polacco, Patricia | Pink and Say |
| Based on a true family story, a young free slave soldier aids a young white soldier only to tragically die because of his color. | |
| Greene, Bette | Summer of My German Soldier |
| A Jewish girl falls in love with a German prisoner of war imprisoned in Arkansas and the results are heartbreaking. | |
| Marsden, John | Tomorrow When the War Began |
| Seven Australian teenagers return from a camping trip and find their country has been invaded. They must hide to survive. | |
| Booth, Martin | War Dog: A Novel |
| If you want to know what it is like to be in battle during World War II, this series of events involving Jet, a black Labrador, will put you there. | |
Want to get your hands on one of these books? Check the Berkeley Public Library catalog to see where you can get a copy!