For the love of books: The Great War
This week I am writing about a book which has no words. It’s another fantastic book that is presented in a way which really brings a moment in time to life. Joe Sacco states in his author’s note that he had spent a couple of decades reporting from places of war and at the point of being asked to create this book he’d had enough of drawing wars. But he didn’t turn the opportunity down due to his fascination with the war that was supposed to bring an end to all wars. We know that World War One did not, in fact, become the war that it was supposed to be, and Sacco’s work in ‘The Great War’ provides an incredible reminder of its significance on our world and the vast number of lives that were lost during it. With Remembrance Day fast approaching, I thought it would be an appropriate book to share in order to remember those who were lost nearly 110 years ago.
The concept
So as I mentioned, ‘The Great War’ by Joe Sacco has no words. There is an accompanying guide with his author’s note, essay by Adam Hochschild and layout of the pages with annotations, but in order to appreciate the magnificence of this book fully, you don’t need the words – you just need a lot of space. Whilst you can view this book as if it were written, or rather drawn, as a book by flipping the pages, in order to see it in its full glory you may actually want a few volunteers to help you display it.
This book is a work of art. It is presented in black and white and the images (or image as you’ll find out shortly) are drawn in a cartoonist style. Sacco writes in his notes of how he wanted to tell a narrative in the same way that the Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest of Britain in 1066. I think it’s a wonderful idea which really helps to put into perspective the sheer gravity and repercussions of the event that the artwork tries to depict. The book is 24 pages long, but actually, the best way to view it is in its intended panoramic form. I remember the first time I unfurled it in front of my class of Year 5s. I needed about 6 of them to hold it up properly so that it could be seen effectively by all. It really is an impressive piece of work, and one that I believe really inspires children to consider the scale of the horrors faced by the soldiers that gave up their lives during this war.
The book barely fits in my hallway!What Sacco sets out to do in his book, is present one fateful day from the war – July 1st, 1916 – the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Now he does present it from the British perspective, and by his own admission this is due to his own knowledge being primarily of the British view of events. I have no doubt though, that the German perspective would have been fairly similar in terms of how that sad day transpired as the hours passed by and the realisation faced by the soldiers of the hell that they had just arrived in became gradually more apparent. And the pages move as though the hours of a day pass by. As I said previously, the book is very cleverly drawn over 24 pages, which represents the 24 hours of the day that are the focus of this panoramic view of the war. The concept is clever, artistically delivered and engages the imagination of the reader fully.
July 1st, 1916
So the first of July, 1916 signifies one of the worst days of the war for Great Britain. During that first day of the Battle of the Somme, just under 20,000 soldiers were killed, and nearly 40,000 more were wounded, captured or missing. What Sacco does so well in his book, is convey the magnitude of the event. First of all, he demonstrates the sheer volume of resources that were poured into this the offensive, in terms of equipment, ammunition, and most importantly, manpower. What really impresses me so much about this book is how well it conveys the enormous number of people who were involved and lost just on this day. And yet, it goes even further when you attempt to put this into the perspective of it being only one day over the course of a war that raged on for four years.
This book is one that I think is a must to use when teaching children about the scale of the loss caused by war, and if you are teaching a history topic on World War One, then it’s perfect for you to use as part of that. It presents what life was like on the front line in such a visual manner, ensuring that children understand the events of this day, and the impact it had on people’s lives. In the opening image, it also depicts General Haig, and I think that as you share the following pages with children, discussions around the nature of war and how carelessly lives were thrown away could be really powerful. We are in the business of trying to inform children truthfully and accurately about the events of the world, and the losses that were experienced during both world wars, and indeed other wars since, are an extremely significant part of that.
Cross Curricular Learning
‘The Great War’ is yet another example of a great book that can be used in a cross curricular manner. Obviously, there is so much history to explore, and whilst not a primary source of evidence, it is still a source that children can use and explore in order to develop their own perceptions about the war and follow lines of enquiry – a huge part of being a good historian. But it also lends itself to so many other aspects of the curriculum. From an English point of view, it can be an inspiration for writing in so many different styles. The children could retell events, describe specific aspects of the offensive action on that first day of the battle, or use their imaginations in order to create diary entries for how the events of the day progressed. I think there are also all sorts of opportunities for letter writing and poetry that can be explored alongside this book.
As a work of art itself, it is also an inspiration in its own subject. I’ve used this book to inspire children to create their own imitations of ‘fold-up’ pieces of artwork, replicating the imagery with their own twists so that it pops out artistically within their books. There are so many opportunities to encourage children to develop their drawing skills and to do this through the use of different mediums.
‘The Great War’ is a wonderful book, crafted beautifully and artistically to present an event from history that provides a terrible and grim reminder of the ultimate cost of war. It presents children with evidence in an imaginative and creative way, and through experience of using it within my teaching, it is thought provoking and a great stimulus for discussion. If you’ve not seen it before, I’d definitely recommend getting hold of a copy!