Recommended Reading: Women in WWII

I have continued reading about WWII over the last month. I also borrowed a documentary on it from the library.

1. Yankee Doodle Gals is an easy education on women pilots in WWII. It has tons of photos and illustrations.  I am dumbfounded by how brave these women were and how long it took them to get recognition for their contribution to the war effort.  It was not until someone made a blunder in the 70s referencing then recent women Air Force grads as the "first women to fly military aircraft" that the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of WWII were finally recognized for their efforts.

2. The Battle of Britain - There are 2 movies by this title. One is from the late 60s and is fun to watch from a historical fiction perspective, but not very clear in its plot or history.  The other one, starring Ewan McGregor and his brother is an excellent documentary.  After reading about the planes that Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) and WASPs flew, it was fun to see them piloted up close.

3. The Secret Lives of the Codebreakers describes the work of men and women at Bletchley Park during WWII. I have not seen the Enigma movie yet about Alan Turing, but I doubt that I will like it as much as getting the true story from this book. I like the book because the author interviewed more than 100 veterans and tells the story in a multifaceted way.  It is crazy to think that all the men and women employed there had signed the official secrets act and were told to continue keeping the secret of what they did during the war until well into the 70s, and they did! National pride must have been more important to them then than it is to most people today. I guess that is my biggest take-away from all this reading about WWII.  Everyone did their part and they did it willingly, to the very best of their abilities, for the greater good.

4. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel is about 2 Jewish children hiding in rural Poland in WWII.  It is the kind of WWII book that I don't like. I don't recommend it. War is atrocious. Some of the sad scenes haunt me. Their story is not true, just possible given a lot of true circumstances.  I started reading it and then I had to finish and find some kind of resolution.

We also recently finished or are finishing reading aloud 2 books with the kids.

5. Chasing Vermeer is a mystery with a lot of moving parts. I enjoyed it, like solving a logic puzzle. Big sister A had a hard time following all the details of it.  I think it is more for ages 10+.  There is no sketchy content, just a need for concentration and good reading comprehension skills.

6. The Boxcar Children (BOOK 1) is the first of a series, but only the first book is considered a classic children's story, as I understand it. It was published in the late 1970s and I remember reading it as a child. I loved the story then and my kids are loving it now. It is so hard to put it down and the children are so easy to relate to.  I think it falls in the "rags to riches" genre of stories. That is not the part that resonates the most though, at least not for me.  I love how they made do with what they had and were cheerful in overcoming hardships.