In this Special Friday edition of Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday, Nancy Johnson explains her focus for the weekend picks for December 2019. She is going to focus on World War II. She explains her focus on this topic and then will make the weekend picks. Below, in slide show, I insert a few titles that I think are important as we guide students to books that focus on this important era in our history. Thanks Nancy.
It's hard to imagine but 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII. While it's been over seven decades since this dark period in global history, interest in WWII has not waned. Nor has there been a dwindling of books and stories that illuminate people, places, and events that occurred during these bleak years.
Literature for young people (and adults) that takes place before most of us were even born continues to find dedicated, interested readers. While this isn't new -- WWII novels have found their way into hungry hands for years -- what's become available to today's teens are more books in all genres, not only compelling fiction, but also page-turning nonfiction, as well as graphic and illustrated memoirs. And all of it is impeccably researched.
Literature for young people (and adults) that takes place before most of us were even born continues to find dedicated, interested readers. While this isn't new -- WWII novels have found their way into hungry hands for years -- what's become available to today's teens are more books in all genres, not only compelling fiction, but also page-turning nonfiction, as well as graphic and illustrated memoirs. And all of it is impeccably researched.
In the Slide Show are Few My (Steve's) Suggested YA books Focused on WW II.
But, what is it that continues this fascination with WWII? And specifically, what appeals to teens about books set during WWII? As I look at the literature that readers still choose to read, as well as new publications, I'm struck by some common connections. At their very core, we find universal themes relating to justice and injustice, hardship and triumph, the interplay of good and evil, and the discovery of everyday people who risked their lives for friends, neighbors, and sometimes even strangers. People who became heroes, even if we never knew their names. We can also find resonance from a generation that will soon disappear, but not without leaving fingerprints (and perhaps life lessons) that relate to issues today.
I'm also struck by the myriad questions ignited by WWII literature. How could this happen? What's the role of fear? What compels human beings to hate people who are different? How could they look the other way? Did they really not know what was happening? What allows humans to be complicit? What obliges them to resist? Can people be both good and evil? How do people endure? Survive? Forgive? What might I have done?
And then there are questions that lean into who we are and the world we live right now, questions that force us to think about whether the world is different seventy-five years later -- Could this happen again? -- nudging us to raise questions that require us to wonder if we've created a better, more just world. What would I do if this happened today? Would I stand against evil? Would I advocate for others? Would I risk my life to save another? Have we learned anything?
This keen interest in history, particularly WWII stories, relates strongest through connection. When we read these "stories" -- real and fictional -- and identify common, contemporary threads, it's hard not to become deeply affected. We are invited to consider how WWII served to define the world we live in right now. Today's news reveals a political and cultural climate that echoes a time when people acted out of fear, and when there was explicit denial of some people as worthy, as human, as deserving of even basic human rights. Sadly, we don't have to look beyond national news to hear stories of how ordinary people have no control over their fate, to learn about abuse of power, the role of fear to intimidate, corruption and complicity, or to see aspects of government that subjugate "the other." Nor do we have to look very far to see young people taking a stand, exhibiting bravery and resilience, and making decisions on the side of morality.
I'm also struck by the myriad questions ignited by WWII literature. How could this happen? What's the role of fear? What compels human beings to hate people who are different? How could they look the other way? Did they really not know what was happening? What allows humans to be complicit? What obliges them to resist? Can people be both good and evil? How do people endure? Survive? Forgive? What might I have done?
And then there are questions that lean into who we are and the world we live right now, questions that force us to think about whether the world is different seventy-five years later -- Could this happen again? -- nudging us to raise questions that require us to wonder if we've created a better, more just world. What would I do if this happened today? Would I stand against evil? Would I advocate for others? Would I risk my life to save another? Have we learned anything?
This keen interest in history, particularly WWII stories, relates strongest through connection. When we read these "stories" -- real and fictional -- and identify common, contemporary threads, it's hard not to become deeply affected. We are invited to consider how WWII served to define the world we live in right now. Today's news reveals a political and cultural climate that echoes a time when people acted out of fear, and when there was explicit denial of some people as worthy, as human, as deserving of even basic human rights. Sadly, we don't have to look beyond national news to hear stories of how ordinary people have no control over their fate, to learn about abuse of power, the role of fear to intimidate, corruption and complicity, or to see aspects of government that subjugate "the other." Nor do we have to look very far to see young people taking a stand, exhibiting bravery and resilience, and making decisions on the side of morality.
Perhaps that's the most dominant reason there is profound fascination in WWII stories. Literature raises questions of moral choice, which is what Antony Beever, English historian and author of several books on the Second World War, claims as the basis of all human drama (https://www.dw.com/en/moral-choice-explains-fascination-with-wwii/a-17881948).
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And perhaps the appeal of WWII literature to teen readers is revealed in what Monica Hesse, feature writer for The Washington Post and author of three novels for teens set during this time period, believes: “I love that teenagers are openhearted and curious. Not only is this the time of life when they are becoming readers, it’s when they are becoming actors in human society and when they are struggling with what is right and wrong, what is easy and hard, and what kind of person they are going to be” (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/13/books/14novels-bring-world-war-ii-to-life-for-new-generation.html).
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As another year moves toward the end, this month's YA Wednesday Weekend reads features historical reflection on WWII and invites us to consider not only the human drama, the darkness and despair, of this world war, but also the role of bravery and courage exhibited by everyday people, just like you, me, and your students.
~ Nancy J. Johnson
Professor Emeritus, Children's/Young Adult Literature
Western Washington University
~ Nancy J. Johnson
Professor Emeritus, Children's/Young Adult Literature
Western Washington University
Until next time.
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