Learning Commons Remembrance Day Resources
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Remembrance Day topics,offers wean recommendopportunity thatto parentshonour guidethose theirwho studentshave inserved, conversationsremember whilethose usingwho thesehave suggestedsacrificed, resources.and Ourreflect fullon collectionthe impact of Remembrancewar Dayand the importance of peace.
The Learning Commons has curated a selection of eBooks and audiobooks isto availablehelp onstudents explore these themes through historical accounts, biographies, poetry, and stories.
Choosing resources: Some books address difficult wartime experiences, including loss, violence and persecution. Parents and teachers are encouraged to preview resources and support age-appropriate conversations.
Explore the full Remembrance Day collection in Sora for more eBooks and audiobooks.
Browse our recommended titles below by grade range. Grade levels are suggestions, and individual student readiness may vary.
Grades K–3 | hereGrades 4–6. | Grades 7–12
Primary (Grades K-4)K–3: Introducing Remembrance
Gentle introductions to poppies, remembrance, family connections and peace. Some books work especially well as read-alouds.
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Lindsay Mattick · Suggested Grades K–3
A Canadian veterinarian serving in the First World War rescues the bear that would inspire Winnie-the-Pooh. An engaging, gentle introduction to military history.
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Jane Barclay · Suggested Grades K–3
Through animal comparisons, a grandfather helps his grandson understand his memories of wartime service and the meaning of Remembrance Day.
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Barbara E. Walsh · Suggested Grades K–3
Discover the story of Moina Belle Michael and how the red poppy came to symbolize remembrance and gratitude for veterans.
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Heather C. Hudak · Suggested Grades 1–3
An accessible Canadian introduction to why we observe November 11 and how communities honour those who served.
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by Sandra Moore and Kazumi Wilds · Suggested Grades 2–4
WinnerA of the 2015 Silver Evergreen Medal for World Peace
This true children's story is told by a littleremarkable bonsai tree called Miyajima, which lived with the same family in the Japanese city of Hiroshima for more than 300 years before being donated to the National Arboretum in Washington, DC, in 1976 as a gesture of friendship between America and Japan to celebrate the American Bicentennial.
Canadians have many reasons to celebrate, and they enjoy gathering throughout the year to observe many uniquely Canadian holidays. Canadian Celebrations provides readers with a closer look atconnects the history of theseHiroshima events,with a message of friendship and peace. Best shared with adult guidance.
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Grades 4–6: Understanding Wartime Experiences
Historical fiction and true stories about how war affected children, families and communities.
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Lindsay Mattick and Josh Greenhut · Suggested Grades 3–6
A longer Canadian wartime adventure inspired by the reasonsreal forbear eachWinnie, holiday,with historical details and the waysperspective inof whichthe Canadianssoldiers gatherwho cared for her.
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Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden · Suggested Grades 4–6
When his father leaves to celebrate them.
This book delivers positive and hopeful messages of peaceserve in an accessible, child-friendly format featuring Todd Parr's trademark bold, bright colours and silly scenes. Perfect for the youngest readers, this book delivers a timely and timeless message about the importance of friendship, caring, and acceptance.
In a country ravaged by war, a girl looks up at the sky, closes her eyes, and her imagination begins to soar, far away from hatred and sadness. She flies up high, high above into the sky, until she envisions that long-awaited dream in which we all hold hands. She invites us to dream with her so that in her country, Afghanistan, peace may reign forever. Her dream is directed to all regions; she enters homes, families, and hearts.
Middle School (Grades 5-9)
This physical book presents the context for writing the famous poem by the Canadian medical officer who visited injured soldiers in FlandersArmy during the First World War.
An eloquent counterpoint to the senselessness and inhumanity of war, this digital book tells the story of a young, homesick World War III, soldiera young Cree boy learns about courage, family and the meaning of war. Based on Larry Loyie's childhood, this story explores Indigenous military service and traditional Cree knowledge.
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Eleanor Creasey · Suggested Grades 3–6
Answers students’ questions about Remembrance Day and explores the ways Canadians remember those who risks his life to cross no-man 's-land and rescue a robin caught in the barbed wire that separates the opposing forces.served.
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Caren Stelson brings· Suggested Grades 3–6
Sachiko Yasui'Yasui’s storyfamily bowl becomes a symbol of survivinghope after the atomic bombing of NagasakiNagasaki. Includes loss and hergrief; messageguided reading recommended.
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Kimberly Brubaker Bradley · Suggested Grades 5–7
A girl evacuated from London during the Second World War finds safety and a sense of peacebelonging. toIncludes child abuse and wartime danger.
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Karen Levine · Suggested Grades 5–7
The investigation of one young Jewish girl’s suitcase brings a youngdeeply audience.
Sachiko'spersonal family home was about half a mile from where the atomic bomb fell on August 9, 1945. Her family experienced devastating loss. When they returned to the rubble where their home once stood, her father miraculously found their serving bowl fully intact. This delicate, green, leaf-shaped bowl, which once held their daily meals, now holds memoriesstory of the pastHolocaust to life. Teacher or parent guidance recommended.
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Grades 7–12: Service, Sacrifice and servesReflection
as a vesselStories of hope,service, peace,underrepresented and new traditions for Sachikocontributions and the survivingcomplex membersconsequences of herwar family.for older students.
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Candace Fleming · Suggested Grades 7–10
Meet ten teenage girls who helped Britain decipher secret messages during the NaziSecond Invasion,World 1944War, revealing young women’s vital behind-the-scenes contributions.
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by
Laura
InCarolyn thisGossage novel,· readersSuggested meetGrades Max9–12
RosenPersonal accounts and hisphotographs family. It's been years sincetell the Nazis invaded Max Rosen's home countrystories of Poland.Canadian Allwomen who served in the Jewisharmy, people, including Max's family, have been forced to live in a ghetto. At least Maxnavy and hisair sister,force Zena, had Papa with them...until two months ago whenduring the NazisSecond tookWorld himWar.
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Michael Noble · Suggested Grades 6–9
Perfect for readers who prefer the graphic novel format, the "I Survived" graphic novel series combines historical facts with high-action storytelling that's sure to keep any reader turning the pages.
For children learning about remembrancepressure and the human costrealities of war,battle.
there |
are
hard
questions
to
answer.
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answerVarious Indigenous creators · Suggested Grades 9–12
An Indigenous-created graphic anthology presenting Canadian history from Indigenous perspectives, including the questions kids ask about Remembrance Day and to explain how and why we honour the men and women who have served our country. Through every generation, some Canadian families have lost loved ones to international conflict and war. On Remembrance Day, present the origins, traditions, and customs of Canada's Remembrance Day in an engaging and easy-to-read fashion.
High School (Grades 10-12)
One Peace celebrates the "Power of One," and specifically, the accomplishments of children from around the globe who have worked to promote world peace. Janet Wilson challenges today's children to strive to make a difference in this beautifully illustrated, fact-filled and fascinating volume of portraits of many "heroes for today."
Canadian Craig Kielburger, who started Free the Children to help victims of child labour at the age of twelve, has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Farlis Calle, forced to identify the bodyexperiences of a youngFirst friend—aWorld victimWar ofveteran. herMature country's civil war—started the Columbia Children's Movement for Peace. At age ten, Kimmie Weeks, a refugee from the Liberian civil war, came within a whisper of being buried in a mass grave. Almost miraculously, he survivedtopics and vowed to make a difference in the lives of other children. At thirteen, he established Voices of the Future, Liberia's first child rights advocacy group. Other portraits feature the accomplishments of children from Sarajevo, Japan, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, Afghanistan and the United States. These moving testaments to the courage and initiative of youth will inspire readers, young and old.imagery.
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Ghosts
of
War
by
Ryan
Smithson
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Ryan
Smithson |
was an ordinary teenager until he witnessed the devastation of September 11th, 2001. Watching the Twin Towers fall motivated him to enlist in the Army Reserve at the age of seventeen. In Ghosts of War, Ryan vividly chronicles his experience of basic training and deployment to Iraq as a heavy equipment operator. From the pain of losing comrades to his inspiring encounters with Iraqi children, Ryan shares how his experience changed him—and what it taught him about the meaning of patriotism and service.
by Siegfried Sassoon · Suggested Grades 9–12
AtPoems written from the dawnperspective of a First World War I,soldier Siegfriedconvey Sassoonthe exchangeddisillusionment, his pursuits of cricket, fox-hunting,sacrifice and romantic verse for army life amid the muddy trenches of France. The first English soldier-poet to achieve notoriety as an opponent of the war, he ranks among the conflict's most critical poetic voices. This collection of his epigrammatic and satirical poetry conveys the shocking brutality and pointlessness of the Great War.
Many of these poems were written in the hospital while Sassoon recovered from wounds he received in battle. Their violence and graphic detail shocked readers, impressing upon them the horrorstragedy of trench warfarewarfare. Some graphic imagery.
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Explore More in Sora
These featured books are a starting point. Browse the complete Remembrance Day Sora collection for additional books and theaudiobooks. footSome soldier'snewly wearinessselected oftitles may not appear until they have been added to the never-ending struggle.collection.
Finalist for the 2020 Christian Book Award - Audio
team.
On February 29, 1948, Richard Wurmbrand was arrested by the secret police. His crimes? Leading Christian worship and witnessing—both of which were illegal under the atheistic Communist regime of Romania. He also spoke up for Christ at a gathering of party officials and religious leaders. Because of his faithfulness to Christ, he endured 14 years of prison and torture. His wife, Sabina, suffered two years of forced labour. They emerged not with melancholy or a bitter spirit but with a story of victorious faith. Though Richard and Sabina endured intense persecution, they remained outspoken and bold about sharing their faith in the God who saved them.
