Childrens Books with Dark Subject Matter

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Is a young adult novel told in the perspective of Death a sympathetic and slightly humorous narrator around the time of Nazi’s rise to power. The plot is of a twelve year old girl named Liesel who is adopted by the Hubermanns over the course of the book Liesel sees the affects of the Nazi’s dictatorship over Germany progress. Liesel’s connection with her adoptive father, her friends and her childhood lover allows for a balance against the harsh reality of the death and destruction of the town.

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

Written in the perspective of 9 year old Bruno whose family moves close to a German concentration because his father is the commanding officer. Bruno is naive to what his father does and what torture he inflicts on the prisoners. Over the course of the book Bruno makes friends with Shmuel a child the same age as him but he lives in the concentration camp. even though the books theme is dark and the ending is upsetting it is evened out by the friendship the two boys share. 

Anne Frank's Diary also shares these themes but in a realistic account. at this time Anne was going from being a child to a adult  in a confined space 

 A Cross on the Door by Ann Turnbull

this children's book is about a young boy named Sam who gets locked into his house with his adoptive family in what they call "quarantine" but by the time officials let them out it will be too late for any of the occupants. this story does not feel as heart felt that the ones above but i was interested by the illustrations used looks similar to the wood cuts used in the 17th century especially the simplicity of the faces.

when creating my plot I will be adding a strong relationship between my main character and another to make the story flow better as well as making it a bit lighter to confront the dark subject matter