Books About Veterans for Older Readers

Understanding the life of veterans isn&t easy, but this book list for kids in grades 4-8 will help.

By Amy Mascott
Oct 30, 2017

Ages

9-13


Oct 30, 2017

Editor's note: This post was originally published on November 2, 2015.

Understanding the life of a veteran is not always easy for us as civilians. The training and discipline, the system and challenges are unlike much of what we experience outside of the military.

So in order to better appreciate and recognize Veterans Day this year, how about providing your older reader, in Grades 4-8, with books that will help strengthen that understanding?

The books below each contain characters who are veterans, and these characters share the good, bad, and ugly of military life or life after the military. Most importantly, what your readers will learn is the effect of this experience on other characters — friends and family, co-workers and fellow veterans.

Take a look at the seven books about veterans we chose for older readers:


The King of Dragons by Carol Fenner (Grades 4-7)


We Were Heroes: The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins, a World War II Soldier, Normandy, France 1944 by Walter Dean Myers (Grades 5-8)


December Stillness by Mary Downing Hahn (Grades 6-8)


After the Dancing Days by Margaret I. Rostkowski (Grades 6-8)


The Mailbox by Audrey Shafer (Grades 6-8)


Park’s Quest by Katherine Paterson (Grades 6-8)


10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War by Philip Caputo (Grades 6-8)

As always, this list is simply our recommendations. Please always use your judgment when providing your child with any book. We suggest you read the book before giving it to your child so you know if it truly is a good fit for your child or not.

What books are missing from this list? Which books on this list do you rank among your favorites? Share your thoughts on the Scholastic Parents Facebook page!

Featured image: © Pamela Moore/iStockphoto

Raise a Reader Blog
Age 13
Age 12
Age 11
Age 10
Age 9
Reading
Veterans Day
Holidays