Book: The Frightful First World War (1998)
Author: Terry Deary and Martin Brown
Genre: MG, Non-Fiction
Rating: 4 stars
Basic plot: This is one of the books in the Horrible Histories series. The introduction puts it this way: “History can be horrible. So horrible that some boring old fogies think young people should not be told the whole, terrible truth… Of all the history in the world, the story of the First World War… is perhaps the most horrible… But it’s also a story of courage and craziness, brave people and batty people, friendships and fierce hatreds, love… and lice.”
WHAT’S COOL…
1) The book gives the history of World War I in bite-sized chunks. Each year of the war (from 1914-1918) has its own little timeline.
2) It includes little games/quizzes. For example, in the 1915 section, they ask which of the following is true:
- British spies used girl guides to carry their messages (as long as the girls promised not to read said messages).
- An American spy (for the Germans) was arrested after his socks were tested and shown to have invisible ink on them.
- A German spy put up a poster offering £5 to anybody giving him info about the warships in Portsmouth.
- British spies were told that (when they were in Germany) if anybody took an interest in them, they would end up having to kill that person. “So don’t waste time. Do it.”
(The answer is of course provided in the book.)
3) The book is peppered with lots of cartoons to illustrate various events during the war. This is definitely one of the highlights… and will definitely appeal to the reluctant readers. (And non-reluctant readers like myself!)
4) I thought that the explanation about the causes of World War I was particularly easy to understand. Usually, all you get is that the Archduke was shot and thus began the war. But this book explains the whole history behind the assassination… beginning with the failed attempts and the final one that ended the Archduke’s life.
WHAT’S NOT COOL…
1) Some of the jokes are groaners! (But maybe you’ll think that’s cool.)
FINAL THOUGHTS
My rating is 4 Stars (out of 5) – This book is definitely a fun read! I’d recommend it for anybody who has an interest in history; but it will also appeal to those who don’t. (And for those who don’t, they just might learn something about history!)
YOUR TURN…
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…
I had not heard of this series. Sounds like a great way to present some difficult topics in our past. I’ll be looking to read this one soon and thanks for featuring it on MMGM.
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It’s pretty “old” all things considered (from 1998!) I picked it up at the library and pretty much read it in one sitting. (Almost one sitting.)
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I enjoy accessible histories and would love to learn more about the first world war, so will go looking for this one! Thanks for the recommendation, and happy MMGM!
–Suzanne
http://www.suzannewarr.com
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This definitely made WWI accessible… especially for reluctant readers. (And for those of us who just love history!)
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I am always interested in any book that makes history accessible for kids (and for me). Iwill check this one out. Thanks for the review.
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Yes, this definitely gave some interesting WW1 facts. AND explained a bunch of the war that has always puzzled me. (Like how to pronounce Ypres!)
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A perfect Veteran’s Day pick! I didn’t know about this series and now I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for your review.
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Yes, I was looking for something WW1-ish to review on November 11th.
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I love the idea of this book and how it seems to be laid out. I’ll admit I know a lot more about WWII and love when I get a chance to learn more about the first world war.
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Yes, I think there’s a lot more books out there about WW2. So, it’s nice to read a little about WW1. (Although, there is a WW2 companion book to this as well!)
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