World War 2

Canada

This book tells the story of the famous WW1 poem, "In Flanders Fields." It contains the poem text, illustrated competently by Janet Wilson. Interspersed with the picture book is information on John McCrae, how he came to write the poem, and what happened to him afterwards. My only criticism of the book is the editorial decision to break up the poem with the biographical content. Otherwise, it's an excellent elementary level WW1 resource.

In Flanders Field, by John McCrae, opens with the haunting poem In Flanders Field and is followed up with other poems, mostly of war and with it death. McCrae captures the essence of the World War I in his work. The second part of the book contains some history of the man and several diary extracts.

McCrae was schooled as a physician, but served in the Second Boer War as an artillery officer and further served in World War I as an artillery officer before being moved to hospital duty. He preferred the big guns to working the hospital.

A short book, but very worth the read if you are interested in World War I or first hand impressions of war in general. ( )

A beautifully illustrated book using the poem by McCrae, the World War I surgeon and poet. Interspersed with the lines from the short poem are pages describing the war, and a short biography of the poet. Hand this to everyone today.
I read an article in the Washington Post today about the poppies and why they appeared in the fields so abundantly. Apparently the bombings and trench digging brought the long dormant seeds to the surface where they flourished. If only they hadn't been. ( )