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When trying to explain the importance of veterans and our active duty military to our youngest citizens, books are always an excellent resource! These picture books about Veterans Day offer the perfect opportunity for instilling respect and appreciation for these heroes!

In the United States, we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11th every year. This is also the anniversary of the signing of the armistice, which ended the World War I hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany in 1918.

Unless a child has a family member or close friend currently serving in the military, it can be difficult to convey the importance of our veterans and active duty military. These individuals and their families sacrifice (or have sacrificed) immensely, some even paying the ultimate sacrifice with their lives.

I’ve compiled several picture books about Veteran’s Day that will help our children foster a deeper respect for these heroes in our communities! After reading some of these books, may we also consider the many others ways we (and our children) can honor our veterans!

Picture Books about Veterans Day

(Links to books are affiliate links)

1. The Poppy Lady by Barbara Elizabeth Walsh

This book chronicles the efforts of Moina Belle Michael, an American teacher and professor, to make a difference in the lives of servicemen in World War I. She is ultimately responsible for the poppy being the symbol of honor for fallen war heroes. The text of the book is short and great for a read-aloud and there is also a prologue, author’s note, and appendix with additional information about Moina Belle Michael and her poppies.

2. The Wall by Eve Bunting

A boy and his father go to Washington, D.C. to try to find his grandfather’s name on the Vietnam Memorial wall. The boy’s grandfather died in Vietnam and the book explores the sadness and pride they felt at the memorial. This book is very sad but helps children understand the ultimate sacrifice paid by many of our military and how this impacts their family members and friends. The book also is a great introduction to the importance of memorials.

3. Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops by Jill Biden

This heartwarming book helps us step into the shoes of a child whose parent is deployed. Natalie misses her dad when the leaves fall, at Thanksgiving, at Christmas, in the snow, at church, when she loses her first tooth, and during many of life’s small moments during the year her dad is deployed. Throughout the book, she tells herself to be brave just like her daddy would want her to be. Finally, at the end they are reunited and they tell each other how brave they each were! This book is an excellent way to discuss what life is like for families of active duty military. And reading this book definitely brought tears to my eyes!

4. H is for Honor by Devin Scillian

Sleeping Bear Press has published dozens of alphabet books based on various themes and H is for Honor is a book specifically for military families. This is a true alphabet book and each letter has a short poem that goes along with the word (D is for Drill Sergeant, L is for Letters, N is for Navy, R is for Reveille, U is for Uniform, etc.) The poem makes for a great read aloud! If your reader is looking for more extensive information, there are at least a few paragraphs on each page that go into greater detail about each object represented by the letter of the alphabet.

5. Veterans: Heroes in our Neighborhood by Valerie Pfundstein

This sweet rhyming book is perfect for introducing Veterans Day to elementary students. This book does an excellent job of discussing why we set aside a day to honor these heroes. Veterans: Heroes in our Neighborhood highlights many individuals in the community who served (or are serving) in the military (the butcher, barber, mailman) as well as those who have been affected by family members serving in the military. The book is positive and light-hearted but acknowledges the sacrifices that many in the military have made.

Other Veterans Day Books I have found but have not personally reviewed…