Shopping in Grandma's Day; Grandma's War

This series looks at aspects of life during the 1930s and 1940s through the eyes of women who were children at this time. It is a strategy used often in history books for children to improve coherence and add human interest. Each book includes examples of a number of kinds of writing. War posters, letters, school records and instructions on gas masks feature in Grandma's War and lables, advertisements, price lists and ration books in Shopping in Grandma's Day. Illustrations in both books include contemporary photographs, 'then and now' pictures and delightful borders of objects of interest; ration books, gas masks and china dolls, and delivery vans, old fashioned scales and tills and wicker - baskets. Shopping in Grandma's Day is organised round topics like 'Village Shopping', 'Clothes and Shoes' and 'Rationing' while Grandma's War lends itself to a broadly chronological organisation from the start of the war to the return of the evacuees in 1944 and the end of the war in 1945. The latter is the more successful in giving a flavour of what it was like to live through these years.

Both books could be a good starting point for children's further research and writing. The posters and advertisements would be good material for the work on persuasive types of text in Years 5 and 6 (9-11 year-olds) in The Framework for Teaching - the reference document of the National Literacy Strategy to help primary teachers in England meet objectives in a daily literacy hour from Reception (age 5 years) to Year 6 (10-11 year-olds). I just wonder if the narrative is challenging enough for more mature readers of this age group.