In his new book, World War II for Kids: A History With 21 Activities, Westbury author Richard Panchyk provides children with a fun and educational way to learn about American heroes and the country's second world war. The book chronologically takes the reader through the scope of the war, starting in 1933 with the rise of Hitler and ending in 1945 with the surrender of the Japanese and the return of U.S. troops.

Released earlier this month, World War II for Kids is a164-page book filled with excerpts from actual wartime letters written to and by American and German troops, personal anecdotes from people who lived through the war in the United States, Germany, Britain, Russia, Hungary and Japan, and gripping stories from Holocaust survivors.

"Kids are very impressionable and kids believe what they read," said Panchyk, 32. "Also, kids can get bored with just reading from an author's point of view. When a kid sees that this is a story of so and so, born in 1920, they think, 'Wow, this is interesting.'"

Unlike most history books, World War II for Kids also provides children with more than 20 hands-on activities, projects and games. Children will learn how soldiers communicated with their families by writing their own messages. They will discover the language of war by creating a code for friends to crack and they can experience how soldiers lived by making their own field rations and care packages. There are also over 90 previously unpublished photographs and illustrations from the Panchyks' personal collection, taken by his grandfather and great-uncles while serving in World War II.

In writing the book, Panchyk said, "I took a holistic approach. I just tried to cover every aspect of the war in a small book and make it readable for kids. It's a matter of trying to be a kid yourself and thinking, 'what would I like to do, what's fun, what's boring.'"

Although aimed at children 9 and up, Panchyk said his World War II book is not just for kids. "The 'up' can go all the way - students in college can really read it because other books get so into the technical aspects and talk in scientific language," he said. "You come out of it dizzy, bored and tired and don't feel [you] have a good sense of the subject. With this book, you can take the words 'for kids' off and you have something kids, adults and teachers can read."

World War II for Kids also features a foreword by Senator John McCain, an afterword by Senator Ernest Hollings and there is also a letter from President Clinton about the importance of teaching WWII history in the book. According to Panchyk, recent events such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have made books such as his even more important.

"Americans are thinking more about what it means to sacrifice for our country," said Panchyk. "Learning about World War II is a great way for children to understand the freedom we enjoy, why their grandparents were willing to fight for it then and why their parents are willing to fight for it today."

Panchyk and his wife, Caren - formerly of Carle Place, have lived in Westbury for five years. They have a 3-year-old son and 7-month old daughter. Panchyk earned his bachelor's degree from Adelphi University and his master's in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts. He has taught college-level courses as well as elementary classes in both history and archaeology. Although he currently works full-time in marketing and proposal writing for a Manhattan-based engineering firm, Panchyk said he always wanted to be a writer.

"Ever since I was a kid, when I was 7 and someone asked me what I wanted to be, I said 'an author,'" he said. "It is a dream that has been fulfilled." He did not, however, originally have children's books in mind. "I thought I would be writing novels, but the good thing about kids' non-fiction books is that they don't get stale, they are sold and teachers use them. If you write a novel, it goes out there and people either like it or don't like it and that's it."

In addition to his current WWII book, Panchyk is the author of Archaeology for Kids and the co-author of Engineering the City. All three books were published by the Chicago Review Press. He also co-authored a book on computer-aided drafting with his mother. His next book, Folk Art for Kids, also published by Chicago Review Press, is set to be released in 2003. In the future, Panchyk is looking to write similar "for kids" books on World War I, pop art and the great figures in American history such as Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt. He will hold a book signing for World War II for Kids at Barnes & Noble in Carle Place on Nov. 9.