A great graphic novel resource that is pitched at a 8-12 year old demographic, teaching them about how America came to be involved in World War Two and the role ordinary people played in it. Focus on the contributions of ordinary people tells the story of war from a different point of view than we traditionally see, usually from the perspectives of world leaders or soldiers fighting.

The illustrations in this graphic novel are detail, with a vintage feel about them, which additionally set the scene for the time period and assisted in the immersion of the story. The language used in it is accessible for a young audience, without being patronising or overly kiddish. Events and responses are explained clearly and in detail, giving young people who would have very little, if any, background knowledge on the subject, a strong foundation to build upon.

This would be a fantastic resource for budding young historians, for families seeking to nurture or foster a love of history, or as an additional resource for history students who are reluctant readers, or struggle with reading. It is engaging, informative and accessible for a range of ages and abilities. However, it is a uniquely American point of view and international readers (especially school students) will likely not get the same level of value from it as young people in America.

Thanks to Netgalley and First Second Books for giving me the option to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest, before I became a school librarian I kind of turned my nose up at graphic novels, but I have since learned their value.

I think that this was an amazing way to teach kids about World War II and how it affected America. The author did a great job of showing not only many the positive changes that were brought upon by the war that so many of us know about, but also the negative aspects, such as the continued discrimination against blacks, the pay inequality with women and non-whites, the Japanese-American internment camps, the zoot suit riots, and how many Americans didn't believe that the holocaust was real. There were also a few fun additions such as a recipe for SPAM loaf and how to do the jitter-bug.

The last portion of the book, with a quick run-down of how things changed post-war was really informative, too. Overall a great source of knowledge for kids.

Graphic novels are an amazing way to present information to middle grade students. The History Comics does a great job in doing that and I was highly impressed by the amount of information that Kate Hannigan managed to get into this edition while still making it easily digestible for young readers.

The focus of this title was how WWII impacted America on the home front. Therefore, it was less about the war and more about how Americans dealt with the war, which I personally find fascinating. There were a number of topics touched upon which could encourage a student to delve deeper if they wanted to. Hannigan also mentioned topics that historically many have wanted to brush aside. She focused on the role of women on the Homefront, showing how they went to work when the men went to war, but also included the fact that women were paid less than men had been and that Black women were paid even less, if they were hired, that is. WWII brought about a large rise in patriotism, but it was also a time where Blacks, Japanese, and Mexican Americans were highly discriminated against. Not to focus on negatives, Hannigan also included how kids were involved in the war effort, the rise of paperback books and comics, of baseball and roller skating. The book ends with some way that the war itself changed America and the world.

This title will definitely be added to my school library.

I usually say that homefront stories are not what my WWII obsessed readers want, but this was perfect. It's not a story, but rather a LOT of facts about all manner of things that went on stateside during the war. There are some things that young readers might know about, like Rosie the Riveter, but lots of others they might not, like the rationing of shoe leather and rubber (even I didn't know about rubber combs!) or the fact that women who left teaching when they were married were called back in to make up for the shortage of teachers (although I woman I knew who did this indicated that it was to replace male teachers, not teachers who left for other careers). The artwork is colorful and engaging, and there's just so much information! There's plenty of diversity represented, with the challenges faced by Black workers and soldiers, the Japanese internment, and even the Zoot Suit riots that affected the Latine community. Hannigan has some great historical fiction, like The Detective's Assistant and The League of Super Heroes series, so it's not surprising that she had a lot of miscellaneous and fascinating facts lying about! Definitely purchasing!

Straight forward graphic novel about the role that kids and others had on the home front in World War II. Covers war bonds, victory gardens, scrap/collection drives, enlistment, women joining the workforce and military. Also includes lines from my favorite WWII song "Rosie the Riveter." Nice drawings, not too overwhelmed with text, good research.

There is a saying that the winners always write the history… it is great to see a story that shows the American history with its flaws in an accessible manner for today’s younger generation in a graphic format. I love this History Comics series for this reason.

***I received a free ARC of this e-book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.***

Kate Hannigan's wonderful graphic novel about World War II focuses on the homefront efforts during this time period. The photos and text are engaging and provide tons of information. This title will be the perfect addition to our nonfiction graphic novel unit for middle school.

The History Comics series is really popular in the library where I work, and this will be a good addition to our collection. I thought the focus on "the homefront" and showing what everyday Americans - including kids - were doing to support the war effort was interesting and made the material approachable for kids. I also really appreciated the way it didn't gloss over the sexism and racism many people experienced even as they were working and dying to support America both at home and in the armed services. This book will be a good jumping off point for deeper conversations.

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy! This book gave a nice overview of America on the home front of WWII- it covered a wide variety of topics ranging from Victory Gardens to Japanese internment to women’s roles to the Zoot Suit Riots. It also covered some of the major impacts of the war on the post-WWII nation without going into a lot of detail. The book covers a lot of material in a short span, but it’s a great introduction and overview for young people. I think it’ll spark interest in a variety of topics and would serve as a great review for students.

This graphic and others in the series are definitely ones that I want to look at more of. I love how accessible it made WW2 home front and made it easy to understand. It also didn’t focus on the “big” people on the home front it looked the everyday person and how they were affected. The art was easy to follow. I definitely want to find others in this series and get them out to people.

It can be really challenging to find nonfiction in graphic novel format that is truly geared toward the elementary school audience, while also really capitalizing on the graphic novel format. This book uses the graphic novel format to present snippets of time throughout World War 2, mixing facts, quotations from the time, and illustrations to help students understand how World War 2 impacted the lives of many different Americans -- from children creating victory gardens to soldiers fighting, from women and Black Americans who fought for the ability to work and enlist, to Japanese Americans experiencing life in internment camps. It balances the strengths of the country -- such as coming together through difficult times, fighting against fascism -- while also not sugar-coating the sexism and racism that citizens experienced. It does all of this in a developmentally appropriate manner, with text and illustrations both that are perfect for the middle elementary school reader and above.

This book includes so many things about World War II that I did not know, and it does it in an easy to understand format.