Picture books
BOBBY THE LITTLEST WAR HERO
by Glyn Harper; illustrated by Jenny Cooper (Picture Puffin, $20) War historian Glyn Harper and illustrator Jenny Cooper are the award-winning creators of several best-selling picture books about World War I. Through their work, they’ve unearthed some of the neglected but nevertheless fascinating stories and characters from one of the darkest chapters in history. This book, centred on the tunnellers of WWI, is no exception. The real hero is a canary called Bobby who could alert those underground to potentially fatal gas poisoning. According to British newspapers in 1917, Bobby had been gassed seven times but survived each brush with death. If you’re looking for a moral to the story, it may be that you’re never too small to contribute.
ANZAC ANIMALS
by Maria Gill; illustrated by Marco Ivancic (Scholastic, $30) While we’re on the subject of feathered and furry heroes, Maria Gill and Marco Ivancic’s latest release must be the ultimate guide to those animals who were alongside our soldiers in WWI and WWII. Apart from the “beasts of burden” — horses, mules, donkeys and camels — many battalions had mascots, ranging from kangaroos to tortoises. One of those mascots, Torty the Tortoise, is still alive and living in New Zealand. Author David Hill, reviewing an earlier book about Torty, described it as the kind of story that makes one exclaim with glee; indeed, many of the stories in Anzac Animals are delightful and surprising but it’s also terribly sad to think of innocent animals unsuspectingly drawn into manmade conflicts. Gill and Ivancic won the 2016 Margaret Mahy Book of the Year for Anzac Heroes so may have come across many of these stories during earlier research. Good on them for producing a beautifully-designed and engaging book that pays tribute to animal heroes.
THE ANZAC VIOLIN
by Jennifer Beck; illustrated by Robyn Belton (Scholastic, $28) Alexander Aitken was a brilliant mathematician and gifted violinist who left his Dunedin home in 1915 to fight in WWI. On the troop ship out, Aitken won a violin, which he kept with him throughout service in Gallipoli and the Somme. He often played to entertain his fellow soldiers whether in the trenches or hospital ships, bringing solace and music to them. Aitken returned home, after being badly injured and without the violin, before the war’s 1918 end but that year the violin, fully restored, was posted back to him. It is now displayed at his former high school, Otago Boys’ High School. Beck and Belton are an award-winning duo who have previously teamed up to tell other war stories (Beck also wrote about Torty) and this book continues a successful partnership. Heartwarming and evocatively illustrated, it shows the remarkable stories that can found by looking into the history of an artefact. The book includes an information page about Aitken’s life after WWI and copies of pages from his wartime notebooks.
THE NEW ZEALAND WARS
By Philippa Werry (New Holland, $25) Released earlier this year, Philippa Werry’s book is educational publishing at its best. Explaining a subject as complex as war — and New Zealand’s wars are probably a good deal more complex than some — in a book ostensibly aimed at children is no mean feat; Werry succeeds in breaking information down into well-ordered and illustrated sections — the many photos, paintings, drawings and newspaper clippings are a treat — that go beyond a simple analysis of the battles to consider all sides’ points of view. She considers how we remember and talk about war today, the role of art and culture and the legacy of conflict. It’s straightforward, never judgemental, and there are tips and hints of where to go to learn more about the NZ Wars as well as activities youngsters can involve themselves into promote peace and do some more in-depth thinking about exactly what “to be at war” entails.