Why We Made War and Peace for Kids

Most people know one thing about War and Peace: it is long. More than 1,200 pages, a huge cast, and Russian names that change depending on who is talking.

We made it for the same reason we made Joyce's Ulysses. Adapting a famously difficult novel for children is a challenge we wanted, and our bet, the one the whole nüNERD series rests on, is that a great book you met as a child is no stranger when you come back to it. Much of the difficulty of Tolstoy's first hundred pages is not knowing who anyone is. A child who has met Natasha and Pierre already does.

It helps that so much of the novel happens at home. Between the battles, Tolstoy gives whole chapters to dinners, a first ball, a wolf hunt, and a sleigh ride at Christmas.

Is War and Peace appropriate for children?

Yes, if the version fits the age, and fitting it was most of our work. For the toddler book we kept the part of the novel that is about home: one big house beside an oak tree, full of family, then empty when the war comes, then full again. The war arrives as a far-off BOOM and men marching into town, and the house's everyday sounds stop until everyone is back. For the picture book we chose Natasha, because her biggest moment is one a child understands at once: she has the family's trunks taken off the wagons so wounded soldiers can ride instead. The book follows the family through their time away, and not everyone comes home. For the chapter book we chose Pierre, because a clumsy, curious man wandering onto the field at Borodino in a white hat, with no weapon and no orders, is Tolstoy's argument about history in a single picture.

What age should kids read War and Peace?

Our toddler book is for ages 0–4 and the picture book for ages 3–7. The chapter book is for ages 6–10: read it aloud to the younger ones, and older ones can read it alone. The full novel is for older teenagers and adults. All three of our books are on the War and Peace page.

What was Tolstoy trying to say in War and Peace?

Tolstoy believed history is made by countless ordinary people, and that emperors and generals control far less than they seem to. Writing about Borodino, he makes his point with a joke. Many historians, he writes, said the French did not win the battle because Napoleon had a cold, and that without the cold Russia would have been lost. Fine, Tolstoy answers: then the valet who forgot to bring Napoleon his waterproof boots saved Russia. The ordinary people he says really make history are the ones he follows home: a father holding his baby on one huge hand, two women tugging a document case back and forth outside a dying man's door. Our chapter book keeps Napoleon's cold, too. The men on the mound at Borodino never knew about it, and it made no difference to them.

How do you read War and Peace with kids?

The three books share moments on purpose. The oak is in all of them, and the picture book and chapter book both have Natasha's first ball and the loaded wagons, so a child who knows the picture book will find those scenes again, told at more length, in the chapter book. With the toddler book, make the sounds with your child, and notice together when they stop. In the chapter book, most of the Russian names come with a pronunciation the first time they appear, so you can read it aloud without guessing.