Veteran’s Day: What it Means for Children Today

Veteran’s Day has become a very tangible holiday. Not so long ago, most children did not have a close, personal connection to a veteran. Veterans of war were people who were older, grandparents or distant relatives who had served in wars that children could not remember or identify with. It was a fuzzy concept; a day off from school and an assembly that that you had to sit through that did not really have any meaning that you could personally grasp.  Sadly, this has changed.  Our children are growing up in a world where they do not remember a time of peace.  Everyone is touched by the war and the realities of its effects on the lives of veterans, soldiers, their families and friends, both in the United States and abroad.  Veteran’s Day is a time to reflect and appreciate the people who serve in the military and strive to protect our country, but it can also be a time to empathize with the children who are missing their parents, brothers and sisters, who have been called away from their families to fight in a war that is difficult to comprehend.

Here are a few books to share:

100 Days and 99 Nights by Alan Madison
Esme’s father is away on military duty and she is counting down the days until his return.   She does her best to take care of her little brother and keep their spirits up while logging of all of the changes that are happening while her dad is away.

Crow Call by Lois Lowry
Stunning illustrations embellish this autobiographical story of a nine-year-old girl who spends a day with the stranger who is her father, just returned from war.

 My Red Balloon by Eve Bunting

A boy eagerly awaits the return of his father, watching his ship sail into the harbor while holding a bright red “Welcome Home” balloon.  As he waits, he worries whether his father will recognize him, or whether he will have changed.

 Off to War: Voices of Soldiers’ Children by Deborah Ellis

In their own words, children from military families in the United States and Canada candidly share how war has affected and changed their lives.

 Shooting the Moon by Frances O’Roark Dowell
When 12-year-old Jamie’s brother goes to war in Vietnam, she is envious that he is off on an adventure she cannot share.  She is confused by the fact that he does not write, but sends her rolls of film instead.  Jamie learns to develop the film and finds that the photographs give her an inside view of what her brother is experiencing that he cannot put into words.

 Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad by James Rumford
Rumford’s rich illustrations and elegant calligraphy are woven into the story of a young boy who uses calligraphy to express his feelings about family, war, and dreams of peace