The War that Saved My Life

The War that Saved My Life

The War that Saved My Life

By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Review by Kelly Shea

With amazing depth and insight, The War that Saved My Life tells the wartime story of nine-year-old Ada and her little brother, Jamie.  Ada has spent her entire childhood inside her mother’s apartment, with only the view from her window and her little brother’s stories to help her understand the outside world.  Her mother is verbally and physically abusive and blames Ada for her clubfoot.  However, the Second World War brings new and exciting changes to Ada’s life.  When the opportunity arrives, Ada learns to walk as best she can.   She sneaks away from her imprisonment with Jamie in tow.  The pair end up joining many other children evacuating London to travel to the countryside.

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Picture Book Reviews

Reviews by Laurie Doan

A Hat for Minerva Louise

A Hat for Minerva Louise By Janet Morgan Stoeke

Dutton Children’s Books, 1994.

Plucky chicken, Minerva Louise, loves a snowy day but brrrrr she could use something warm to put on. Minerva is hilarious as she tries on, among other things, a garden hose for a scarf and a planter for a hat. Lucky for her she finds the perfect “hat” and struts through the henhouse in style. This story will delight preschoolers with its cheerfully curved chicken and her barnyard friends. The illustrations are rendered in story board form with the kind of clear pictures that are perfect for holding up to show to a group.

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