True Stories of World War II (Graphic Library: Stories of War)

Step back in time and experience World War II through the stories of the people who lived through it. Witness the horror of a prison camp march. Experience the sinking of a U.S. warship. Watch a young French freedom fighter outsmart the Nazis. True Stories of World War II doesn’t just tell you the tales of war. It drops you into the thick of combat.

Gr 4-6-The heavy dependence on fictionalized content or unattributed information in this collection of profiles begs the question as to why the individuals are mentioned at all when so many licenses were taken with their actual stories. Attracting reluctant readers to history via a graphic-novel format has merit, but fictionalization for effect is a risky bet, and it's one these titles lose. A list of pages containing verified quotations is hidden at the front of three of the books; World War II contains no confirmed quotation notes. The illustrations vary from volume to volume, but are full of action and engaging. Despite a brief summary of the war, a time line, and a map as well as back matter, these books aren't appropriate for reports, and even browsers, especially the less sophisticated ones, need a preface explaining the purpose fictionalization serves.α(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.