A child’s goodness in difficult times animates this touching story for fans ofThe Borrowers and the Chronicles of Narnia.
A young girl carefully keeps a magical secret during World War II.
Before she left Japan to return home to England in 1913, Tatsuo Moriyama’s teacher entrusted him with care of the Little People, instructing him to give them a secret place to live and provide them with milk daily in their special blue crystal glass. Each generation of the Moriyama children has in turn taken on responsibility for filling the blue glass. Now it is Yuri’s chance to look after Balbo and Fern and their children, Robin and Iris. For years a bookshelf in the Moriyama house has been a hidden refuge, but radical changes are underway with the onset of World War II. Evacuated for safety to a remote rural area, Yuri does her best to care for the Little People, but as food becomes scarce, their situation takes a turn for the worst. Originally published in Japan in 1967, this is a powerful mix of fantasy and historical fiction depicting the impact of war on civilians—children in particular—and offering insights into the Japanese experience of the Second World War. Although filled with lovely imagery and charming descriptions, for example, of the Little People’s ingenuity with scavenged objects and their friendship with a helpful pigeon, there is ample drama and anguish as well.
A child’s goodness in difficult times animates this touching story for fans ofThe Borrowers and the Chronicles of Narnia. (Historical fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-78269-034-4
Page Count: 193
Publisher: Pushkin Children’s Books
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2019
An outstanding new edition of this popular modern classic (Newbery Award, 1961), with an introduction by Zena Sutherland and...
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1990
ISBN: 0-395-53680-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates.
Siblings decode familial and wartime secrets in 1940 England.
Headstrong 14-year-old Lizzie Novis refuses to believe that her mother, a U.S. embassy clerk who was working in Poland, is dead. After fleeing from her grandmother—who’s attempting to bring her back to America—Lizzie locates her 19-year-old brother, Jakob, a Cambridge mathematician who’s stationed at the clandestine British intelligence site called Bletchley Park. Hiding from her grandmother’s estate steward, Lizzie becomes a messenger at Bletchley Park, ferrying letters across the grounds while Jakob attempts to both break the ciphers generated by the German Enigma machines and help his sister face the reality of their mother’s likely fate. With a suspicious MI5 agent inquiring about Mum and clues and codes piling up, the siblings, whose late father was “Polish Jewish British,” eventually decipher the truth. Shared narrative duties between the siblings effectively juxtapose the measured Jakob with the spirited Lizzie. Lizzie’s directness is repeatedly attributed to her being “half American,” which proves tiresome, but Jakob’s development from reserved to risk-tolerant provides welcome nuance. The authors introduce and carefully explain a variety of decoding methodologies, inspiring readers to attempt their own. A thoughtful and entertaining historical note identifies the key figures who appear in the book, such as Alan Turing, as well as the real-life bases for the fictional characters. Interspersed photos and images of ephemera help situate the narrative’s time period.
A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates. (Historical mystery. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780593527542
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
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