Read for Remembrance Day

Inspirational Stories From Men and Women in the Canadian Armed Forces

Book - 2017

Everyday Heroes is collection of first-person essays written by members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Harrowing and heroic, Jody Mitic — a city councillor...Show more Everyday Heroes is collection of first-person essays written by members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Harrowing and heroic, Jody Mitic — a city councillor in Ottawa and a Canada Reads panellist in 2017 — brings soldiers' stories from several wars together, including World War Two, the Korean War and the war in Afghanistan. Mitic is a veteran and also the author of the memoir Unflinching: The Making of a Canadian Sniper. Show less

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To Look A Nazi in the Eye

A Teen's Account of A War Criminal Trial

by Kacer, Kathy

Book - 2017

Jordana Lebowitz, 19, is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. In this nonfiction book written by Kathy Kacer, Lebowitz reflects on what it was like to attend the 2015 trial of Oskar Groening, known as the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz." Jordana Lebowitz, 19, is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. In this nonfiction book written by Kathy Kacer, Lebowitz reflects on what it was like to attend the 2015 trial of Oskar Groening, known as the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz." Show less

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The Stone Carvers

by Urquhart, Jane

Book - 2001

A sweeping novel that spans several generations of wood carvers, the main story follows a brother and sister, both grieving the emotional and physical los...Show more A sweeping novel that spans several generations of wood carvers, the main story follows a brother and sister, both grieving the emotional and physical losses incurred throughout the First World War, as they travel to France to work as stone carvers on the Vimy Memorial, a monument constructed to remember fallen Canadian soldiers. The themes of art, obsession, love and memory are the foundations of this novel, which suggests the possibility of the past’s redemption even in the face of a tragic present. Show less

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By Chance Alone

A Remarkable True Story of Courage and Survival at Auschwitz

by Eisen, Max

Book - 2016

Holocaust survivor Max Eisen has toured the world, educating people about the horrors he survived during the Second World War. He has recorded his memorie...Show more Holocaust survivor Max Eisen has toured the world, educating people about the horrors he survived during the Second World War. He has recorded his memories in the deeply moving memoir By Chance Alone, which was a finalist for the 2017 RBC Taylor Prize. Show less

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The Cartographer of No Man's Land

A Novel

by Duffy, P. S.

Book - 2013

This story leaps back and forth between the trajectory of Angus, who forsakes his pacifist ideals and deserts his peaceful Nova Scotian fishing village to...Show more This story leaps back and forth between the trajectory of Angus, who forsakes his pacifist ideals and deserts his peaceful Nova Scotian fishing village to enter the battlefield of WWI, and his son Simon Peter, who grows older under the shadow of a community torn apart. Beautifully written while capturing the shock of ubiquitous violence. Show less

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Vimy

The Battle and the Legend

by Cook, Tim

Book - 2017

Historian Tim Cook examines the battle of Vimy Ridge, a defining moment of the First World War in which 10,600 Canadians were killed or injured. These four days in April 1917 are often referred to as the "birth of the nation." Historian Tim Cook examines the battle of Vimy Ridge, a defining moment of the First World War in which 10,600 Canadians were killed or injured. These four days in April 1917 are often referred to as the "birth of the nation." Show less

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Lost in September

by Winter, Kathleen

Book - 2017

Lost in September is a complex and layered story of a homeless, former soldier who suffers from PTSD. Jimmy bears a resemblance to General James Wolfe, &...Show more Lost in September is a complex and layered story of a homeless, former soldier who suffers from PTSD. Jimmy bears a resemblance to General James Wolfe, "Conqueror of Canada" and "Hero of Quebec," who died on the Plains of Abraham in 1759. The book, Winter's second novel, was a finalist for the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction. Show less

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Obasan

by Kogawa, Joy

Book - 2006

This award-winning novel, based on events in the author’s own life and telling the story through the narrator Naomi’s relationship with her two aunts, is ...Show more This award-winning novel, based on events in the author’s own life and telling the story through the narrator Naomi’s relationship with her two aunts, is the first to have told the story of Japanese internment in Canada during the Second World War. Set in the 1970’s and focused on the particular devastation of the war felt by relocated Japanese Canadians, Kogawa beautifully and intricately describes the silence caused by trauma and the process of learning to speak through it. Show less

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The English Patient

A Novel

by Ondaatje, Michael

Book - 1992

This classic, Booker Prize-winning novel of the Second World War needs nearly no introduction. (Because you’ve all seen the movie, or at least seen the Se...Show more This classic, Booker Prize-winning novel of the Second World War needs nearly no introduction. (Because you’ve all seen the movie, or at least seen the Seinfeld episode about the movie.) It follows four characters whose lives intersect in a villa in Italy during WWII, one of whom being the eponymous patient, who is has been burned beyond recognition and whose memories of before the war began serve as one of the temporal landmarks for the novel’s nonsequential narration. Show less

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The Road to Afghanistan

by Granfield, Linda

Book - 2013

War historian Linda Granfield composes the stories of three generations of soldiers in this children's book: a young soldier recently returned from Afghan...Show more War historian Linda Granfield composes the stories of three generations of soldiers in this children's book: a young soldier recently returned from Afghanistan, his grandfather, a veteran of the Second World War, and his great-grandfather, who fought in the trenches of the First World War. Show less

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Highway of Heroes

by Stinson, Kathy

Book - 2010

The first half of this nonfiction picture book imagines the hearse ride of a young boy along the highway of heroes after his father is killed in Afghanist...Show more The first half of this nonfiction picture book imagines the hearse ride of a young boy along the highway of heroes after his father is killed in Afghanistan. The second half of the book describes the history and purpose of the Highway of Heroes and some of the conflicts involving Canadians over the last few decades. This very gentle and heart-felt introduction to more recent wars is an excellent book with which to start a conversation about how we remember the sacrifices many people have made for their country. Recommended for Grade 2 and up. Show less

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Three Day Road

A Novel

by Boyden, Joseph

Book - 2005

This is Boyden’s first novel and a deeply significant book in terms of its exploration of both past and present tensions between First Peoples and Canadia...Show more This is Boyden’s first novel and a deeply significant book in terms of its exploration of both past and present tensions between First Peoples and Canadians of European descent. Told between the alternating perspectives of Niska, a Cree woman and descendant of those who chose not to enter the reserves in the 19th century who lives outside of society, and her nephew Xavier, who is returning home traumatized by the violence of the First World War. The story itself is based on the real war hero, Ojibway Francis Pegahmagabow, a decorated sniper. Show less

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A Boy From Botwood

Pte. A.W. Manuel, Royal Newfoundland Regiment, 1914-1919

by Manuel, Arthur

Book - 2017

First World War veteran Arthur Manuel rarely spoke of his experience in battle. In 2011, 27 years after his death, 400 pages of writing and 60 hours of ta...Show more First World War veteran Arthur Manuel rarely spoke of his experience in battle. In 2011, 27 years after his death, 400 pages of writing and 60 hours of tape were discovered by Manuel's grandson David. Working from this material, Bryan Davies and Andrew Traficante have written an account of Manuel's life, from his enlistment in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, to his 1917 capture at the battle of Passchendaele and survival as a prisoner of war. Show less

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The Water Beetles

A Novel

by Kaan, Michael

Book - 2017

Inspired by the diaries of Michael Kaan's father, The Water Beetles takes place in Hong Kong during the Second World War. It follows a young boy named Chu...Show more Inspired by the diaries of Michael Kaan's father, The Water Beetles takes place in Hong Kong during the Second World War. It follows a young boy named Chung-Man, forced to leave his parents and hide in the countryside when Japan invades Hong Kong. Kaan's novel was shortlisted for the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction. Show less

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