50 Best Anzac Day Books for Children & Teens (2025)

50 Best Anzac Day Books for Children & Teens (2025)

50 best Anzac Day books for children & teens: Stories of the great Australian and New Zealand Anzacs who served and why we remember them today.

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‘THE ODE’

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

– Read full poem, For The Fallen by Laurence Binyon here

50 Best Anzac Day Books for Children & Teens (2024)

The list of all 50 Books:

Adelaide, Australia – Original Australian Army World War II campaign medals with soldier’s pay book and ID photo badge.

Adelaide, Australia – Australian Anzac WWI rising star hat badge 100th anniversary centenary, 1915 Gallipoli Campaign.

“25 April 1915 – The barges, lifeboats and rowboats set out from the big ships before dawn. As the sky grew grey the first 1,500 men of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) waded ashore into enemy gunfire on a narrow strip of Turkish Beach.” So begins A Day to Remember: The Story of Anzac Day by Jackie French.

It tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign on the first Anzac Day of 25th April, 1915 and why we hold dawn services each year. This is a beautifully written picture book that portrays the significance of Anzac Day with evocative illustrations by Mark Wilson, highlighting subsequent wars and the Anzacs through the decades. It is a reflection of the 100 years that have passed since that tragic dawn when the Anzacs first landed on the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula.

This is just one of many picture books included in this list that introduce the first world war and this important day to children in an age-appropriate way. Take your pick of Anzac Day books from this list of 50 great stories that include picture books, biographies, non-fiction, historical fiction and activity books. I strongly encourage you to read as many of these as possible as each one brings a different perspective of the Anzacs and many of them tell a great story of little known people or circumstances that you may have never heard of.

If we recite ‘The Ode’ at our pre-dawn Anzac day service this year, we want our children to know more than just dates and names of battles and landings. Here are the stories of those who lived it, the Australian soldiers and the New Zealand soldiers side by side, the ones who did not make it home and those who were left at home, enduring it from the other side of the world.

Having a good understanding of the origins and meaning of Anzac Day is an important part of knowing our Australian history. Understanding our history and those who have gone before, helps us to understand not just past but also the present and the future and what we can learn from the past.

By the time you have read through several of these selections, you will have started to develop a deeper connection to the stories of those who fought and many who fell on the shores far from home. Anzac Ted tells a moving story of a battered teddy bear who went to war, allowing children to recognise that sometimes we need to look beneath the surface in order to understand the experiences of others.

Read the moving poem We’re All Australians now by Banjo Paterson which highlights the states and locations, including the Australian outback from which the soldiers came. There was a huge diversity of vocations of the men who signed up to fight which also included the many boy soldiers who lied about their age in order to fight in the Great War.

Follow the incredible true story of a German orphan in Young Digger. This is the heartwarming story of a little boy who wandered into the Australian airmen’s mess on Christmas Day and found a new life.

Charters Towers, Australia April 25, 2015

Rachel Bin Salleh’s poignant narrative in Alfred’s War tells the little known story of Australian Indigenous servicemen who fought for Australia as well as the lack of recognition that those who returned home received for their service. This was not just the case here in Australia but also for Indigenous soldiers from New Zealand. Tragically this was also the case in many countries around the world in the wars of the 20th century.

Enjoy the many touching stories of animal heroes who navigated war alongside our brave Anzac soldiers. Although a fictional story, the Anzac Puppy is based on the true story of Freda, a Harlequin Great Dane. Freda became the mascot of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade during World War I. This is a simple story that portrays the reality of war in a sensitive way for younger readers. Read more animal hero stories in 33 Heroes: True War Stories of Courageous Animals.

Sign commemorating Anzac Cove, Turkey a scene of one of the bloodiest campaigns of World War 1 in the Gallipoli Peninsula on the Aegean Sea

If you want to add some activity to your Anzac Day learning, head to Notebooking Pages for lots of great ideas that will take the stress out of your homeschooling days. I have included a colouring book and an activity book in the list which includes games, crafts, quizzes, poetry and food to serve on Anzac Day. Anzac Day Fun Things To Do includes recipes for Donna Hay’s Anzac Biscuits as well as delicious pavlova for dessert. There are crafts for red poppies and remembrance wreaths as well as iconic poetry to recite for dawn services and afterward as you remember those who served.

If you are wanting to borrow or buy any of these selections, get in fast as these titles are often lent out or sold out well before Anzac Day.

The Red Poppy

After Canadian medical officer, John McCrae wrote his poem In Flanders Fields in 1915, the scarlet poppy became a universal symbol for remembrance; remembering those who had died and suffered as a result of war.

Spanning right across northern Belgium and northwest France, the dormant red corn poppy seeds in Flanders Fields were stirred up as result of the trauma to the soil during the many battles there. The vibrant red poppies are said to have risen up from the blood of the one million soldiers from 50 different countries who were injured or died in Flanders Fields.

The scarlet poppy is typically associated with Remembrance Day, held on the 11th November in Australia, commemorating Armistice Day when the fighting with Germany ceased in World War 1. However, the red poppy is also worn on Anzac Day and wreaths of red poppies are laid at memorials and honour boards as a symbol of remembrance, often during the Anzac dawn service.

The Last Post

In military tradition, there are several bugle calls throughout the day that indicate transitions from one phase to another. The final bugle call of the day is called the Last Post that indicates the day’s activities are over and the sentry’s are all in place, standing guard while soldiers sleep. It is sounded on Remembrance Day and at Anzac dawn services to commemorate the final rest of the fallen soldiers.

Bugler at ANZAC Day commemorations 25 April 2019, Leeton, NSW, Australia.

Anzac Biscuits

Those left back at home in Australia and New Zealand wanted to send some love in the form of something delicious and nutritious from home. Because of the long transport times in often hot and damp conditions, Anzac Biscuits became popular due to the fact they could be baked hard and the ingredients did not spoil easily on their journey to the soldiers. Personally, we bake ours for a little less time in order to make them more chewy rather than crunchy but bake to your own preferences. These are delicious and always disappear fast in our household 🤤. They are such a lovely, heartwarming way to commemorate Anzac Day.

Anzac Biscuit Recipe

Make your own delicious Anzac Biscuits by following this recipe by the iconic Donna Hay. The recipe is also included in Anzac Day Fun Things To Do.

Notebooking Pages

We have used many of these Notebooking Pages in our homeschool after purchasing lifetime access many years ago. If you are wanting to add a hands on approach to your Anzac Day studies by creating folders, projects or lap books, I highly recommend Notebooking Pages.

These products and the abundance of homeschooling advice that Debra, mother of 10 offers in her tutorials are gold. If you are stressed and overwhelmed and find the joy has gone out of your learning, take the pressure off and visit Notebooking Pages to revolutionise your homeschool today.

NotebookingPages.com LIFETIME Membership

Picture Books

Typically, I would say that picture books are appropriate for all ages but as any book about war contains mature themes, please preview before deciding whether a book is appropriate for your family. That said, because they are targeted at young children, most of them deal with this topic in a sensitive, age appropriate way. The illustrations are beautiful and touching and a great way to introduce your children to a difficult topic and conversations about the war.

Lone Pine: 110th Anniversary Edition

$15.09

2025 Release

50 Best Anzac Day Books for Children & Teens (2024)

The list of all 50 Books:

The Red Poppy

The Last Post

Picture Books

Biographies

Non-Fiction

Historical Fiction

Animal War Heroes

Activity Books

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