Physical artifacts from World War I served as the inspiration for each of the short stories in this marvelous collection that explores the experience of war in general, and that war in particular, from a variety of intriguing perspectives. War’s poignancy, tragedy, and irony are all revealed. While most of the stories are set during World War I, many of them on the home front in Britain, a few are set in the present. These feature contemporary child and teen characters encountering an artifact that gives them a new or deeper understanding of war’s human dimensions, which go far beyond those who fight. The same insights extend across the stories, and the volume as a whole does the same for readers. Moody and affecting black-and-white illustrations are paired with the stories, while photographs and descriptions of the items chosen by each storyteller are at volume’s end. (Age 12 and older)

Eleven writers contribute short stories to this collection about “the war to end all wars.” The stories were inspired by artifacts of the times, items that range from the nose of a Zeppelin bomb to sheet music. Contributing writers are: David Almond, John Boyne, Tracy Chevalier, Ursula Dubosarsky, Timothée de Fombelle, Adele Geras, A. L. Kennedy, Michael Morpurgo, Marcus Sedgwick, Tanya Lee Stone, and Sheena Wilkinson.

2016 Outstanding International Book, United States Board on Books for Young People.

The illustrator lives in England.

UK. Originally published in English by Walker Books in 2014. Published in the United States by Candlewick in 2015.

In a powerful collection, eleven internationally acclaimed writers draw on personal objects to bring the First World War to life for readers young and old.

A toy soldier. A butter dish. A compass. Mundane objects, perhaps, but to the remarkable authors in this collection, artifacts such as these have inspired stories that go to the heart of the human experience of World War I. Each author was invited to choose an object that had a connection to the war—a writing kit for David Almond, a helmet for Michael Morpurgo—and use it as the inspiration for an original short story. What results is an extraordinary collection, illustrated throughout by award-winning Jim Kay and featuring photographs of the objects with accounts of their history and the authors’ reasons for selecting them. This unique anthology provides young readers with a personal window into the Great War and the people affected by it, and serves as an invaluable resource for families and teachers alike.