Lauren Tarshis

{My thoughts} – Paul is an eleven year-old boy living in France. His village has been taken over by the Nazi’s for some years. His father had been taken from him and his mother. His best friend and his family had been taken by the Nazis in the middle of the night.

Paul is a boy that has learned to find ways to cope with what is going on around him. He hasn’t been very happy lately but when the book begins it is around his mothers birthday. He wants nothing more then to surprise her with her favorite cookies. So he goes and tries to sell his soccer ball to the only leather worker still in town. At first he doesn’t want it but then he decides to take it.

On his way home with the cookies he is nearly run off the road by the Nazis. He learns quickly his cookies are a crumbled mess on the ground and all he can think to do is cry. Then a bird comes up to him and gets his attention. The bird leads him to a soldier caught in a tree. He has to decide if he should help him or not. He chooses to do what he thinks is right and he helps him. They barely escape before the Nazis locate them with their dog.

They manage to stumble upon a resistance base. They manage to stay safe. Paul learns so many things in a short amount of time that it almost makes his head spin. There was so much he didn’t know that was going on around him and so much he wished he had. If he’d known some of the things maybe life would have been more bearable for him at his age.

This is a really well written book and it has it’s moments of “What am I reading?
and “Did I really just read that?” It was a fast read that I wish hadn’t ending. I have a strong fascination in the events that unfolded during WWII.

I look forward to reading the next book in the series very soon!… (mehr)

{My thoughts} – Max and his sister Zena go through a rough time. Their dad is rounded up by the Nazi’s and taken away from them. They are deposited in the Ghetto where they are more or less forced to fend for themselves. They have little to no access to food and drink and have to scavenge for what they need or want. Their Aunt Hannah had disappeared shortly before their father had been taken. Since the two of them had been on their own.

One afternoon they are out looking for food and come across a berry bush that is on the other side of the fence. Max decides he is going to go under the fence to get some of the berries so they can eat something. Zena is not okay with that, but he seems to get her approval because she is so hungry. He gets a handful and then gets popped across the head with the butt of a rifle. He is then taken by the Nazi soldier to the police station – although he never quite makes it there.

Zena gets his attention and then they end up running off together away from that Nazi soldier. They end up in a wheat field with a farmer finds them and then hides them in his barn. That farmer saved their lives. He helped to get them out of Nazi reach. Once the Nazi’s are through with searching the barn and the area they leave. The farmer comes back and then Max and Zena learn that they weren’t they only ones he was helping. They learn he was helping a group of others – those others included their Aunt Hannah.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I love nearly anything that has to do with helping children to learn more about WW2 and the tragic events that had taken place during. There are so many people in this world that have no idea about what had happened over the course of WW2 and it breaks my heart. It was a horrific time in history, but even the bad things are worth knowing and learning about. How else are we suppose to prevent such tragedies from occurring again?

I look forward to reading the next book in the series very soon!… (mehr)

{My thoughts} – Carmen is s a sweet girl that moved from Italy to Boston with her father at a young age. He decided that there wasn’t much in Italy for them and that he’d wanted more for him and his little girl. They made the journey and started their lives new.

It had taken sometime for them to adjust and with the advice from her grandma she was able to do just that. She managed to make friends with the upstairs neighbor boy and their family took her and her family in as members of their family. They’d cook big meals and invite them to go up and join on a regular basis.

One day Carmen is out with her friend Tony and they are up by the Molasses tank. They get caught and scared off and when they burst into the horse barn, she gets some sad news. She learns that her dad is sick and then he shortly passes away, but she was there with him throughout the rest of his sickness. She ended up moving in with the neighbors upstairs. She became an even bigger part of their family.

One day she over hears the parents talking about a trip to Italy. A boat ride and how it was going to be long and might be a rough journey. She thinks they are trying to send her back to Italy and she runs off. She ends up falling asleep at the park and then eventually is found by Tony up at the Molasses tank.

This is the point in the book where everything picks up. It starts happening at a fast pace and it is a lot of information in a small amount of pages. I really enjoy how these stories are put together. I really enjoy how well the author researches each of the topics that she writes about. I really enjoy getting to know each of the children in the stories, getting to know their story. The end of this book unlike many of the others was one that had caused me to tear up. I’m not sure if it’s because I am pregnant or what, but I teared up. Happy tears, but still!

I look forward to reading the next book in the series when and if another is released. These books are quick reads that are very informative about historical events that children should know about. History is what we learn from and I think that these books are a good way for children to better understand those events. I hope the author continues to write many more books in this series as I am sure there are plenty of historic events to be written about.… (mehr)

{My thoughts} – Nate is an eleven year old boy that has been forced to grow up. His mother had passed away some years before from small pocks. His father from a viscous storm out at sea. Since Nate had no other family he was forced to go live with a distant relative.

That relative was an Uncle. He was a horrible excuse for a human. He’d mistreat his slaves and Nate. The day Nate decides to runaway his Uncle nearly strangled him to death. He jumps on a boat and finds himself smack in the middle of a war zone.

It’s not easy for Nate to accept but he figures eventually that anything his better then his Uncles. He ends up joining up and helping fight the battle for America’s freedom. He ends up seeing so many horrible and unforgettable things over the next seven months.

Nate grows up quickly. He learns what it’s like to serve in the military in Nader General George Washington. He learns what it’s like to more or less be loved and be wanted!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The scenes that take place during battle are difficult to imagine, but true to what it would probably be like. It’s hard to think about such a young child on the battlefield, however it seems common in other countries and cultures.

I look forward to reading the next book in this series very soon!

… (mehr)