World War II Resources

for the students of
Fuhrman Middle School, Sterling Heights
Warren Consolidated School District

BOOKS - Fiction:
(All book descriptions from FirstSearch database listings unless otherwise noted)

Ayres, Katherine    Voices at Whisper Bend
(History Mystery series)  1999.
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - Call number - jfic HISTORY #4
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jPB A
Fifteen copies at other libraries
In their Pennsylvania town in 1942 twelve-year-old Charlotte and her classmates collect scrap metal for the war effort only to have it disappear from the school basement."

Banim, Lisa    American dreams    1993.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jfic Banim
"Developments in World War II force Amy Mochida and her family to move from Hollywood to an internment camp with other Japanese Americans, changing Amy's friendship with eleven-year-old Jeannie."

Banks, Sara    Under the shadow of wings    1997.
Six libraries own copies of this book
"During 1944, life in rural Alabama brings changes for eleven-year-old Tattnall as she realizes that she cannot always protect her older, brain-damaged cousin."

Bat-Ami, Miriam    Two suns in the sky    1999.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - YA Fic Bat-Ami
"Star-crossed lovers are the stuff of romantic dreams, but the author pursues this theme in an unlikely setting: the grim refugee camp at Oswego, New York, during World War II. Chris Cook, 15,is fascinated by the exotic strangers living so close by. She and her friends sneak into the camp where she meets Adam, a Yugoslavian Jew."  (Paraphrased - Amazon.com review)

Burch, Robert    Hut School and the wartime home-front heroes    1974.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jfic Burch
"Describes the reactions of a sixth grade class in Georgia to World War II and its effect on their lives."

Duey, Kathleen    Josie Poe : Palouse, Washington, 1943 /    1999
(American Diaries #13)
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - Call number - AD #13 also,
Warren Dorothy Busch Branch, Warren Walt Whitman Branch
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - j PB D
Copies at many other branches
"Josie lives in the little farming town of Palouse, Washington, during World War II. She is ashamed of her older brother, Tom, who hasn't enlisted in the armed services.  When a robbery seems to involve Tom, Josie has to find out the truth about her brother."

Ferry, Charles    O Zebron Falls!    1977.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jfic FERRY
Three other libraries own copies.
"An unresolved conflict with her father, imminent high school graduation, and World War II complicate a young girl's struggle to shape her life."

Gaeddert, Lou Ann Bigge    Friends and enemies    1999.
Two libraries own copies
"In 1941 in Kansas, as America enters World War II, fourteen-year -old  William finds himself alienated from his friend Jim, a Mennonite who does not believe in fighting for any reason, as they argue about the war."

Giff, Patricia Reilly    Lily's crossing    1997.
Warren Arthur Miller - Call number - jfic GIFF
Warren Edgar Guest Branch, Warren Walt Whitman Branch,
Warren Maybelle Burnette -same
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jfic Giff
Fifteen copies at other libraries
"During a summer spent at Rockaway Beach in 1944, Lily's friendship with a young Hungarian refugee causes her to see the war and her own world differently."

Greene, Bette.    Summer of my German soldier    1973.
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - Call number - jfic GREENE
Copies in numerous libraries in various editions
"Sheltering an escaped prisoner of war is the beginning of some shattering experiences for a twelve-year-old girl in Arkansas."

Hall, Donald    The farm summer, 1942    1994.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jfic Hall
Troy Public Library - Call number - JF H
"A young boy spends the summer on his grandparents' farm in New Hampshire while his mother works in the war effort in New York and his father serves on a destroyer in the Pacific."

Hinman, Bonnie    The Homefront (American Adventure #47)    1999.
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - On order *
Roseville Public Library - Call number - j pbk A
"During World War II, the Harrington's find themselves faced with various hardships, including food shortages, as well as trying to keep Mr. Harrington's work confidential, as he is now employed at Boeing where the B-29 is still top secret."

Holmes, Mary Z.    Dear Dad    1992.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jfic Holmes
Macomb County Library - Call number - j H
In 1942 in Florida, junior high school student Max does his bit to help the war effort at home while his father is fighting overseas for their fellow Jews."

Hoobler, Dorothy    The 1940's : secrets    2001
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - Not Yet Released 1/26/01 isbn 0761316043
"In 1944 Gabriella, Esther, and other young people see the impact of World War II  on their lives in the United States."

Jones, Vera Boyd    Coming Home (American Adventure #48)    1999
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - On order *
"Polio strikes one of the Harrington children, while everyone awaits the news of an older brother, hoping he will return safely after the war." (Description in Dynix cataloging)

Lisle, Janet    The art of keeping cool    2000.
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - On order *
Warren Walt Whitman Branch - Call number - jfic LISLE
Sterling Heights Public Library - On order
Five copies in other libraries
"In 1942, Robert and his cousin Elliot uncover long-hidden family secrets while staying in their grandparents' Rhode Island town, where they also become involved with a German artist who is suspected of being a spy."

Marko, Katherine    Hang out the flag    1992.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jfic Marko
Macomb County Library - Call number - j M
"In 1943, as she waits for her father to come home on leave, a sixth-grade girl in a Midwestern town tries to find something special to do for the war effort, such as catching a German spy."

Matus, Joel    Leroy and the caveman    1993.
Troy Public Library - Call number - JF M
Clinton Macomb Public Library - Call number - JF MATUS
"In 1942, having been driven by bullies into Dead Man's Canyon, sixth grader Leroy discovers a living Neanderthal man and is entangled in an adventure involving German spies."

Myers, Anna    Captain's command    1999.
Warren Edgar Guest Branch - Call number - jfic MYERS
Romeo Public Library - Call number - jFIC MYERS
"Even as Christmas approaches and Gail longs to hear that her soldier  father has not been killed in World War II, the sixth grader helps bring her handicapped uncle back to life."

Osborne, Mary Pope    My secret war : the World War II diary of Madeline Beck    2000.
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - On order *
Warren Edgar Guest Branch - Call number - jfic DEAR
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jfic Osborne
Ten copies in other libraries
"Thirteen-year-old Madeline's diaries for 1941 and 1942 reveal her experiences living on Long Island during World War II while her father is away in the Navy."

Ray, Deborah Kogan    My Daddy was a soldier : a World War II story 1994
(40 pages)  for younger kids
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jfic Ray
Richmond Public Library - Call number - E R (Juvenile easy)
"While Daddy's away fighting in the Pacific, Jeannie plants a Victory  garden, collects scrap, and sends letters to her father as she anxiously awaits his return."

Reeder, Carolyn    Foster's war    1998.
Warren Arthur Miller Branch + 3 other libraries
Call number - jfic REEDER
"When his older brother joins the army during World War II in order to escape the rages of escape the rages of an authoritarian father, eleven-year-old Foster fights his battles on the homefront."

Rinaldi, Ann    Keep smiling through    1996.
Eight libraries own copies
"A ten-year-old girl living in middle-class America during World War II  learns the painful lesson that doing what's right is not always an easy thing to do."

Savin, Marcia    The Moon bridge    1992.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jfic Savin
Three copies at other libraries
"The friendship between San Francisco girls Mitzi Fujimoto and Ruthie Fox is changed when World War II begins and Mitzi and her family are forced to go into an internment camp."

Thesman, Jean    Molly Donnelly    1993.
Three libraries own copies
"Twelve-year-old Molly, who lives next door to a Japanese American  family and whose cousin is a nurse in the Philippines, experiences many changes in her life when World War II breaks out."

Travis, Lucille    Jeanmarie and the FBI    2000.
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - On order
"During World War II, Jeanmarie and her friends at Apple Valley Orphanage suspect their director of involvement with the black market and/or Nazi saboteurs, and, after writing to alert the FBI, they set out to prove it."

Tripp, Valerie    American Girl Series - Molly
Warren Arthur Miller - juv pbk AG
Numerous holdings in most libraries
Meet Molly : an American Girl  for younger kids
"While her father is away fighting in World War II, Molly finds her life full of change as she eats terrible vegetables from the victory garden and plans revenge on
her brother for ruining her Halloween."

Zindel, Paul    The Gadget    2001.
Warren Arthur Miller - Not Yet Released 1/26/01 isbn: 0060278129
"In 1945, having joined his father at Los Alamos, where he and other  scientists are working on a secret project to end World War II, thirteen-year-old Stephen becomes caught in a web of secrecy and intrigue."

BOOKS - Non-Fiction:

Biography

Stevenson, James    Don't you know there's a war on?    1992.
(The war from child's perspective - 11-15 years old)
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - jB Stevenson

The Forties

Gerdes, Louise I., editor    The 1940's    2000.
Macomb County Library - Call number 973.917 N
Shelby Township Library - Call number 973.917 N

Fyson, Nance Lui    The 1940's       72 p.   1988.
New Baltimore Library  - Call number - YA 909 F
Shelby Township Library - Call number - 909.82 F

Peacock, John    The 1940's
Mount Clemens Public Library - Call number - 391.009 Pea

Time-Life Books    This Fabulous century 1940 - 1950
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - Call number - 917.3 T  v. 5
Warren Dorothy Busch, Warren Walt Whitman, Warren Maybelle Burnette, Warren Edgar Guest
and Sterling Heights Public Library all have copies
Numerous copies throughout Macomb County and Troy

Uschan, Michael V.    The 1940's (A Cultural History of the United States)
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - Call number - jref 973.92 K (library use only)
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - j973.9 C
Eleven other libraries have copies that can be checked out

General

Meyer, Susan E. Norman Rockwell's World War II : impressions from the homefront  1991.

The New Grolier encyclopedia of World War II    1995.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number j940.53 N vol. 1(The Homefront)
Three other libraries own volume 1.

Homefront

Bailey, Ronald H.    The home front : U.S.A.    1977.
Warren Arthur Miller Branch, Warren Edgar Guest Branch, Warren Maybelle
Burnette Branch - Call number - 973.917 B
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number 973.917 B
Nine copies available at other libraries

Gilbert, Bill    They also served : baseball and the home front, 1941 - 1945    1992.
New Baltimore Library - call number - 796.357 G

Heide, Robert   Home front America : popular culture of the World War II era 1995.
Warren Edgar Guest Branch - Call number - 973.17 H
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - 973.917 H
Three other libraries have copies

Homefront : America during World War II    1984.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - 973.917 H
Four other libraries have copies

Lingeman, Richard R.    Don't you know there's a war on? : the American homefront, 1941 - 1945    1970.
Five libraries own copies

Polenberg, Richard    America at war : the home front, 1941 - 1945    1968.
Harper Woods Public Library - Call number - 309.173 P
Troy Public Library - Call number - 973.917 P

Stein, R. Conrad    The Home front    1986.
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - Call number - juv 940.5373 S
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - j940.5373 S
Four libraries have additional copies

Whitman, Sylvia    V is for victory : the American home front during World War II 1993.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - j973.917 W
Five other libraries own copies

Japanese - American experience

Levine, Ellen  A fence away from freedom: Japanese-Americans and World War II 1995
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - j940.531 L
One other copy

Michigan in the war years

Poremba, David Lee     Detroit, 1930 - 1969    1999.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number 977.434 P
plus three copies at other libraries

Oral history/letters

Americans remember the home front : an oral narrative    1977.
Warren Edgar Guest Branch - Call number - 973.917 H
Warren Maybelle Burnette Branch - Call number 973.918 H
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number 973.917 H
Three other libraries own copies

Jeffries, Edward    Detroit and the "Good War" : World War II letters of Mayor Edward Jeffries and friends    1996.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - 940.54 J
Four other libraries own copies

Satterfield, Archie    The Home front : an oral history of the war years in America, 1941 - 1945.  1981.
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - 940.5373
Fraser Public Library - Call number - 940.5343 H

Turkel, Studs    "The Good War" : an oral history of World War II    1984.
Warren Arthur Miller Branch, Warren Dorothy Busch Branch,
Warren Edgar Guest Branch - Call number -  940.54 T
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number - 940.54 T
Fourteen copies at other branches

Women on the homefront

Colman, Penny Rosie the riveter: women working on the home front  in World War II  1995.
Warren Edgar Guest Branch - Call number - juv 331.409 C
Five copies at other branches

Hartmann, Susan M. The home front and beyond : American women in the 1940's 1982.
Shelby Township - Call number - 305.40973 H

Since you went away : World War II letters from American women on the homefront  1991.
Warren Edgar Guest Branch - Call number - 940.5315 S
Five copies at other branches

REFERENCE BOOKS 
(Can NOT  be checked out - library use only)

Chronologies (datelines)

Chronicle of the 20th Century
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - Call number - REF 909.82 C

Facts on File Yearbook (weekly world news digest, 1941 - the present)
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - Call number - REF 905.8 F

AUDIOCASSETTES

The Home front, 1938 - 1945 (the war years in America : music, people, events)
- sound recording - 4 cassettes (ca. 336 minutes)
Sterling Heights Public Library Call Number - AC 973.917 H v. 1-4

The Decades : 1940's
- sound recording - 3 cassettes
two libraries own this set
  

MUSIC CD'S:

Vera Lynn  For all World War II sweethearts
Call Number:  CD Popular LYNN

SOFTWARE:

"Chronicle of the 20th Century"

VIDEOS:

"Lowell Thomas remembers : the war years :  the forties (142 min.)  Vol. 1  1986
Warren Arthur Miller Branch - Call number -
Sterling Heights Public Library - Call number -

"Women at war : from the home front to the front lines" (45 minutes)   1989
Macomb County Library - Call number - VC 940.5315 W

WEB PAGES:

Posters:

Stockings: 

Victory Gardens:

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