Holocaust Memorial Day for 8-12

The Red Ribbon

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the liberation of Auschwitz, here is a poignant booklist that should hopefully help explain and inform younger readers about the events surrounding the Holocaust.

Read an article from the archive.

See our list for teens

  • Hitler's Canary

    Hitler's Canary

    Author: Sandi Toksvig
    Publisher: Random House
    Interest age: 9+
    Reading age: 9+

    Hitler's Canary, ultimately, is about the courage and heroism of ordinary citizens in a time of danger and strife.

  • When the World Was Ours

    When the World Was Ours

    Author: Liz Kessler
    Publisher: Simon & Schuster
    Interest age: 12-15
    Reading age: 12+

    Elsa, Max, and Leo are three friends who live in Vienna - but as Hitler's rise to power begins to cast a shadow over Europe, they find themselves torn in different directions. This moving and well researched book about the holocaust is only suitable for readers 12+.

  • Fritz and Kurt.jpg

    Fritz and Kurt

    Author: Jeremy Dronfield Illustrator: David Ziggy Greene
    Publisher: Puffin
    Interest age: 9-11
    Reading age: 9+

    The true story of two brothers and their family whose lives were torn apart by the Nazi plan to rid the world of anyone they considered ‘different’.

  • Once

    Once

    Author: Morris Gleitzman
    Publisher: Puffin
    Interest age: 10+
    Reading age: 9+

    Morris Gleitzman brings heart and humour to the difficult subject of the Holocaust in this ground-breaking children's book.

  • The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die.jpg

    The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die

    Author: Peter Lantos
    Publisher: Scholastic
    Interest age: 9-11
    Reading age: 9+

    The harrowing true story of a Hungarian Jewish boy and his mother and their journey to – and escape from – Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in the Second World War. Extraordinary and moving.

  • The Silver Sword

    The Silver Sword

    Author: Ian Seraillier
    Publisher: Random House
    Interest age: 9-11
    Reading age: 9+

    In the chaos of World War II, Ruth, Edek and Bronia are separated from their parents, and left alone to fend for themselves, hiding from the Nazis in the ruins of their city.

  • The Red Ribbon

    The Red Ribbon

    Author: Lucy Adlington
    Publisher: Hotkey
    Interest age: 12-16
    Reading age: 12+

    It’s Ella’s job in the camp, where everyone must either work or be killed, to make beautiful clothes for the wives of Nazi officers and female guards. The Red Ribbon is a moving story of friendship, kindness and heroism under impossible circumstances.

  • The Missing

    The Missing: The True Story of My Family in World War II

    Author: Michael Rosen
    Publisher: Walker Books
    Interest age: 10-14
    Reading age: 9+

    A fascinating family memoir and a very personal story about terrible loss, The Missing describes the impact of the Holocaust on one family, which provides a relatable pathway into this overwhelming event for young readers.

  • Survivors of the Holocaust

    Survivors of the Holocaust

    Author: Kath Shackleton Illustrator: Zane Whittingham and Ryan Jones
    Publisher: Franklin Watts
    Interest age: 9-11
    Reading age: 9-11

    Six people tell their stories of living through the Holocaust as children in this compelling and deeply thought-provoking graphic novel-style book.

  • On the Move: Poems About Migration

    On the Move: Poems About Migration

    Author: Michael Rosen Illustrator: Quentin Blake
    Publisher: Walker Books
    Interest age: 9-12
    Reading age: 9+

    This emotive poetry anthology from former Children’s Laureate, Michael Rosen, explores the plight of refugees today, Rosen's childhood as part of a Jewish family in post-war London, his family's' memories of the war, and the fate of relatives who disappeared in Nazi Germany.

  • Anne Frank

    Anne Frank

    Author: Josephine Poole Illustrator: Angela Barrett
    Publisher: Random House
    Interest age: 8-11
    Reading age: 8+

    This account of the Nazi persecution of the Jews and Anne Frank's family's hiding in a secret annexe to escape them, is sensitively told.

  • The Dollmaker of Krakow

    The Dollmaker of Krakow

    Author: R. M. Romero Illustrator: Lisa Perrin
    Publisher: Walker Books
    Interest age: 9-11
    Reading age: 9+

    Doll Karolina is saved from war in her native Land of the Dolls and transported to Poland to live with a man known as the Dollmaker - only for their lives to be turned upside down by World War II. An unusual novel blending reality with folklore and fantasy that will have a lasting impact on readers.

  • Death Match

    Death Match

    Author: Andy Croft Illustrator: Bob Moulder
    Publisher: A&C Black
    Interest age: 11+
    Reading age: 8+

    During the occupation of Ukraine in World War II, players from what had been the Dynamo Kiev football team set themselves up as Start FC and competed in a Nazi-organised league

  • When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

    When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

    Author: Judith Kerr
    Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

    Partly autobiographical, this is first of the internationally acclaimed trilogy by Judith Kerr telling the unforgettable story of a Jewish family fleeing from Germany at the start of the World War II.

  • Hidden: True Stories of Children Who Survived World War II

    Hidden

    Author: Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis Translator: Laura Watkinson
    Publisher: Scholastic
    Interest age: 12+
    Reading age: 12+

    This revealing, thought-provoking collection brings together true stories of Jewish children sent into hiding in the Netherlands during World War II - and provides plenty of opportunities for discussion.

  • Girl with a White Dog

    Girl with a White Dog

    Author: Anne Booth
    Publisher: Catnip Publishing
    Interest age: 11+
    Reading age: 10+

    Jessie is delighted when she finds a beautiful white puppy at Gran's house. But then Gran starts becoming confused, and saying strange things about their new pet.