Interest age: 9+
Reading age: 9+

Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders: World War II

Author: Tony Robinson Illustrator: Del Thorpe

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Tony Robinson takes children on a headlong gallop through the history of World War II in this entertaining history book, part of his Weird World of Wonders series.

Robinson picks out lots of intriguing facts, titbits and lively anecdotes to grab young readers' attention, including the silly, strange and disgusting elements that fans of Horrible Histories and other funny fact books will love. But as well as the jokes and quirky facts, this is also a good overview of the history of World War II: Robinson's enthusiasm for his subject comes across, and he deals thoughtfully with emotive subjects such as the Holocaust.

Black and white cartoon-style illustrations and photographs accompany the text, and children will particularly enjoy looking out for the 'Curiosity Crew' characters throughout the book. The book concludes with a quiz to test what you've learned, as well as a useful timeline. Altogether, a great fun book to engage young readers in this period of history, whether in or out of the classroom.

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