A day to remember: the story of Anzac Day by Jackie French, illustrated by Mark Wilson

A day to remember: the story of Anzac Day by Jackie French, illustrated by Mark Wilson (Angus & Robertson, 2012)

32 pages with Mark Wilson’s colour and black and white illustrations

Subjects: World War One, Gallipoli, World War Two, Korean War, Vietnam War, protest movement, Anzac Day, picture books, non fiction (Year 5-8)

Synopsis

This book tells the story of Anzac Day by tying the date of 25 April to specific events in particular years, starting with the first landings at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. The first Anzac Day parades and services are held in 1916; in 1918, the war still continues, but it is over by 25 April 1919. In the late 1920s, the tradition of the dawn service begins; in the 1930s, many returned soldiers are suffering through the Depression. Anzac Day continues to be marked through World War Two, the Korean War and the protest years of the Vietnam War.

The book continues up to the present day through Australian involvement (again often controversial) in other wars, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan, and traces the increased interest in visiting Gallipoli for the dawn service at Anzac Cove.

Teacher’s notes include Jackie French talking about her inspiration for the book, and Mark Wilson talking about his technique and how he interpreted his task. The figures on the cover are his son and granddaughter – how lovely is that?

Reviews:
Kids Book Review recommends it highly, saying that "You know a book by Jackie French is going to be researched to the nth degree, and presented with clarity, emotion and fascination - and A Day to Remember is no exception."

The never-ending bookshelf says is it is a picture book that adults would enjoy and learn from as well; "What I found particularly interesting with this book was the way that Jackie French focused on the concept and meaning of Anzac day through various generations and the way that it was developed, shaped and then lessened in meaning before reaching height again today." This reviewer suggests it is not for young children under 8, "as it is very heavy on the history and less narrative based". 

Author’s website

Jackie French is an amazing writer with a brilliant website which features a page on this book. Her other war-related books include The beach they Called Gallipoli, Pennies for Hitler and A rose for the Anzac boys.

Illustrator’s website

Also by Mark Wilson on this blog is My Mother's Eyes: The Story of an Australian Boy Soldier.

NZ connections:

Are we mentioned? Yes, often (thanks, Jackie French!) Sometimes the New Zealanders are left out of (Australian) books on Anzac, so it’s good to see their contribution recognised.

I also appreciated seeing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander soldiers acknowledged, men who “fought long ago in the service of a land where many were not even allowed to vote”.

Have you read it?

Have you read this book? Let me know what you think!

Soldier in the yellow socks by Janice Marriott

Soldier in the yellow socks: Charles Upham, our finest fighting soldier by Janice Marriott, illustrated by Bruce Potter (HarperCollins, 2006)

8 chapters; 48 pages with black and white illustrations

Subjects: World War Two, Greece, Crete, North Africa, prisoners of war, non fiction (Year 5-8)

Synopsis

I didn’t know anything about Charles Upham before reading Janice Marriott’s book. In 1939 when war broke out, Upham was a Canterbury high country farmer. By the end of the war he had fought in Greece, Crete and North Africa, been awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) twice - a very rare achievement, been taken prisoner, escaped (sometimes from moving trains) and taken prisoner again several times, and finally ended up imprisoned in the top-security Colditz Castle.

Charles Upham’s reaction to winning the VC was similar to that of Cyril Bassett in World War One. Both insisted that the award was as much for the men as for themselves and were almost embarrassed to be singled out. (I don’t know if that is a peculiarly New Zealand reaction.)  Cyril Bassett famously said, “All my mates ever got were wooden crosses”.

I thought the yellow socks in the title might have more importance, but they were only mentioned once; however, they did seem to symbolise his non-soldierly qualities (we are told several times how bad he was at marching) as opposed to his amazing bravery, courage and calmness under fire.

The book was shortlisted for the NZ Post Children's Book Awards in 2007.

Questions:

Was Charles Upham our "finest fighting soldier"? What makes a fine soldier? What do you think?

About the author

On Janice Marriott's website, she has this lovely description of herself and her current work: 

"After years spent writing fiction, plays, memoir, gardening books and newspaper columns, I became a grandmother, a very involved grandmother. Now life is a discontinuous narrative. Time for writing is unpredictable and starts with clearing clutter off the dining room table. Increasingly I spend my non-family time teaching others what I have learnt about writing and the publishing industry. And in my own writing life I have turned to poetry to express my new self. I think of the poems as small wild animals I have captured for a few moments in my hands and then released."

About the illustrator
You can read more about Bruce Potter and his impressive output of work here on his website. 

Things I didn’t know

After the war, Charles Upham bought a farm in North Canterbury, married and had three children. He lived on the farm until the year he died, in 1994. Crowds of more than 50,000 people lined the streets of Christchurch for his funeral.

His obituary in the Telegraph has a comprehensive overview of his life and the actions which won him his VCs, and includes his statement that "the military honours bestowed on me are the property of the men of my unit". 

There is more info about him on the nzhistory and te ara sites. 

Links

Here is a list of the 22 New Zealand VC winners (Willie Apiata is the only post-WW2 VC winner. I didn't know that Charles Heaphy won one in the New Zealand Wars!)

Where poppies grow by Linda Granfield

Where poppies grow: a World War I companion by Linda Granfield (Stoddart, 2001)

48 pages with numerous illustrations

Subjects: World War One, Canada, Flanders, animals, non fiction (Years 5-8)

Synopsis

This is a non-fiction book giving an overview of World War One. There are other similar books, but this one tells the story from a Canadian perspective. Many of the images, letters and photos were new to me because they are sourced from Canadian records and archives. Some of them, such as the postcards, seem to come from the author’s own collection (according to the picture credits).

In many ways, the Canadian experience was similar (with the exception of the Gallipoli campaign) to that of the Anzacs:  training camps at home, sailing across to Europe, more training in England, then across the Channel to Flanders and the trenches.

Some of the images that particularly caught my attention show “Canadian recruits undergoing training at Salisbury” (stabbing with bayonets at hanging bales of straw; hardly the same as the real thing), fresh bread being baked at the field bakery, cinema tickets for a West End Cinema Theatre offering free entry to wounded soldiers and sailors, ships being painted in “dazzle” camouflage and the Poppies poem “In Flanders fields”, written by Canadian medical officer John McCrae.   

Other topics include nurses, propaganda, a child’s war and letters and postcards. The section on animals features the black bear cub Winnie, a mascot later donated to the London Zoo where a young Christopher Milne saw him, went home and christened his own teddy bear “Winnie the Pooh”.

You can read more about Winnie here and here.

Author’s website

Linda Granfield’s website includes a section on books on war and remembrance. She has written about John McCrae whose poem “In Flanders fields” is 100 years old in May 2015, and about The unknown soldier all around the  world. 

"When I write non-fiction books, and you read them, we become time-travellers," she says.  
"History is all around us, inviting us to share our own family and community stories."

Find out more about her here.

Other books you might like:

Archie’s war by Marcia Williams is fiction, but told in a similar scrapbook style.

Things I didn’t know

I didn't know about the church of Notre Dame de Brebières (Our Lady of the Ewes) in the town of Albert, France, although I came across another reference to it just after reading this book. The statue of Mary and Jesus on top of the church was knocked sideways in 1915 by a shell bombardment. A legend developed that when it fell completely, the war would be over. 

In spring 1918, the Germans captured the town and the statue fell (but has since been restored); later that year, the war ended.

The other reference I came across mentioned that passing Australian soldiers would joke that it reminded them of the famous Australian swimmer, Fanny Durack.

Truce: the day the soldiers stopped fighting by Jim Murphy

Truce : the day the soldiers stopped fighting by Jim Murphy (Scholastic Press, 2009)

ISBN 978 0 545 13049 3

6 chapters; 116 pages with maps, photographs, posters, paintings and a timeline

Subjects: World War One, France, Christmas, truce, football, non fiction (Year 4-8)

Synopsis

The story of the Christmas truce of December 1914 is well known, but here it is presented in a large format, easy-to-read non-fiction book with plenty of illustrations.

Jim Murphy describes the events leading up to the declaration of war in August 1914, the terrible battles in the latter part of 1914 and the beginning of trench warfare all along the Western Front before he introduces the Truce itself. Seen in context like this, the Christmas Truce underlines the futility of men being sent to war to kill other men with whom they had no personal quarrel, and whom, in fact, they could easily get on with. 

There are some amazing photographs of German and British officers and soldiers mingling in No Man’s Land. “No army photographers were present during the Christmas Truce, so most of the photos of the event were taken by amateurs and are dark and a little out of focus.” (pg 74).  

Reviews:

There are excerpts from several reviews on Jim Murphy's website here, and a fuller review on The Children’s War blog: “Truce is a wonderful book that not only tells the story of the unofficial Christmas Truce of 1914 during World War I, but also gives a coherent, thorough history of the events leading up to the hostilities and just what those terrible first months of war was like in the trenches. “

Author’s website

Jim Murphy is the author of more than 30 books about American history. You can read more About the Author on his website

There are also some Questions and answers (What were you like as a kid? Did you know you wanted to be a writer when you were growing up? Where do your book ideas come from?)

Other books you might like:

War game by Michael Foreman and When the guns fall silent by James Riordan both cover the story of the Christmas truce and football games. 

NZ links

There have been many re-enactments of the Christmas truce football games planned for the centenary in December 2014. In Wellington, young players from schools across the city gathered for a tournament in the presence of the NZ Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, the British High Commissioner and representatives from the German and French embassies. 

The British High Commissioner said that such events were taking place all over the world, "like a giant Mexican wave". He also made the interesting comment that it was rare for representatives from the British, German and French governments to gather together to commemorate the war.

Of course another re-enactment occurs in the Sainbury's Christmas ad - which also raises interesting questions about whether it's appropriate to merge marketing and commemoration like this - or whether it's to be commended as a way of helping people to remember (with profits going to charity.) 

Remember the peace makers

Or do we? Read a thought-provoking article here about Why no one remembers the peace makers. 

Sainsburys Christmas ad