The readable style capably delivers a history lesson likely unfamiliar to young readers.
A historical novel for young readers about a girl during Israel’s Six Day War.
Like Mira, the novel’s protagonist, Breen (There’s a Turkey at the Door?, 2011) was a fifth grader in Israel during the Six Day War in 1967. As Breen explains in her author’s note, her own experiences and research were used in writing Mira’s story. With her country on the brink of war, Mira is concerned with ordinary things like homework and the loyalty of her best friend, Gili. Mira has bigger concerns, too. Her father left, and she doesn’t know when or if he will return to live with her and her mother. Mira and Gili defy their parents’ orders and listen to a propaganda radio station that broadcasts out of Cairo. The Voice of Thunder station lends its name to the title of the book and unnerves the two girls with its endless threats. When bombs begin to fall in Israel, the girls must make a harrowing escape from school. Later, after they’ve made it home, they take shelter in the basement with the rest of the residents of their apartment building. There, several days later, they learn via the radio of the reopening of the Western Wall to the people of Israel; on the following Sabbath, Miri and Gili travel to the wall with Gili’s parents and Mira’s father. Breen adeptly juxtaposes the ordinary events of day-to-day life with the more dramatic events of a country on the brink of—and later entering—war. Told in the third person, the novel follows Miri’s story from a somewhat distant remove, though her occasional diary entries help show her own perspective. The language is suitable for elementary school readers, with unfamiliar terms and Hebrew words defined within the text. Though the narrative often attempts to give the dialogue a natural feel, sometimes the efforts to mimic human speech make for awkward reading; for instance, Mira says, “You can’t save—fix the whole world,” and later, she asks, “Just wondering how come, well—why didn’t you ask that there be no war?”
The readable style capably delivers a history lesson likely unfamiliar to young readers.Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-1937178178
Page Count: 118
Publisher: WiDo Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
1893
Pub Date: March 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-06-028454-4
Page Count: 250
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The Germans may have failed to destroy England, but this book hits its target.
Strong young characters, a solidly researched historical storyline and expressive illustrations work well here, as they did in Berten and Schott’s previous partnership (Littsie of Cincinnati, 2003).
Joining the ranks of books about children evacuated from London during World War II, Jake and Samantha, or Sam, ages 10 and 8, find themselves in Pevensey in 1940 under the care of the horrible Miss Bottomley. Sam is easily tired by her leg braces, a result of having polio, but Miss Bottomley still forces both children to do all the chores, remain outdoors for long hours in the cold, and barely gives them anything to eat. After one particularly bad morning, the siblings befriend both Miss Bottomley’s pet ferret, Fulham, and Brother Godric, a monk who maintains the ruins of the local abbey. Descriptions of life as an evacuee and the fear of German bombing are interspersed with tales of English history. Berten includes gas mask drills and home front guards while also covering the destruction of monasteries under Henry VIII, the problems of medieval lepers in England and more. Schott’s illustrations are well spaced, well envisioned and complement the text. The seemingly pat ending, in which medieval treasure is found and the children are reunited with their parents, is actually well researched. Fulham’s discovery of a secret area in the abbey is in character for the burrower, and British law does indeed allow for treasure hunters to be paid the full value of their finds. The only resolution that feels rushed and far-fetched is Miss Bottomley’s sudden turnaround of character after a childhood admirer professes his affection. Fans of the Chronicles of Narnia are rediscovering this era in history, and Berten, without the fantasy setting of the classic series, helps the reader find magic in exploring new settings and uncovering medieval history.
The Germans may have failed to destroy England, but this book hits its target.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-0-9724421-1-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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