I marked this as an adult book, too, because every adult should read it, should begin to understand, if you do not already, how many children have to survive every single day. This story tells of the main hero, 7th grade Zoey and the secondary one, a teacher. It's heartbreakingly realistic. We read of too many stories in life where a single parent, mostly moms, have to make tough and frightening choices, but they do for the love of their children and hopefully for themselves, too. It's fitting that I finished it on Mother's Day. It is Zoey's story, growing up too fast, but stepping up to help her own mom and a friend take steps to save both families. I'm hoping Ann Braden's story will touch and offer hope to many.
Thanks to Candlewick Press for the following books, out just this month of May! This first one is appropriate for young adults and adults. The rest of the books will be great for younger readers.
Ober tells us that this story is of a war "fought by little men, like Pierre. In the afterword, he shares his family's French military tradition but turned to philosophy instead. Although he grew up hearing their stories and played his own war games with little soldiers, he did not become a soldier. The photographs that tell Pierre's story include staged miniatures of soldiers and some country people set in various backdrops, like fields of snow or flowers, through windows, in marching formation. It appears that some digital overlays are made, like what appears to be a French call to arms. Back matter photos, some way to see just how tiny the figures are (one is below). The ability to show expressions in both body and face is impressive.
The story's timing revolves around the time of that first Christmas, one written about in other books, the ceasefire for the one Holy Day. Pierre has gone home for two days to see his mother at Christmas to be "the good son", without permission. He returned, "to remain a good soldier". An especially poignant scene at first has Pierre telling of them marching all over the countryside, saying "It was beautiful." and showing fields with red flowers. A few pages later, they meet the enemy for the first time, also in a field showing a few of those flowers, but this time with bodies lying on the ground. Pierre says, "It was terrible."
The message to those who may have experiences of war or have read books and stories will not be new, but the pictures here in this particular story show some of the worst a battlefield can be, some of the feelings felt by Pierre and others who want to do right, yet don't understand being "caught up in a big mess". I wonder how many who are fighting today would agree?
Ted Kooser, former Poet Laureate, offers us a reminder of looking at the world through different glasses, as the story begins with Mr. Posey down in the dumps one morning. He looks out the window at his young neighbor, Andy, lively and full of energy, and wishes for a change from the dullness in his life. He decides he may need a trip to the Cheer Up Thrift Shop, smelling like 'rose petals in old shoes' to see what's available. With Andy tagging along, they both have an unexpected adventure. Choosing different glasses takes them into fantastic worlds, the ocean deep, the night sky filled with stars, a whirling world that makes him dizzy. Imaginative illustrations packed with details by Daniel Duncan create Mr. Posey's experiences with delight. One can look at the details early on and see that Mr. Posey definitely is not seeing well: the bathroom trash overflows and the flowers in a vase droop. Brown-tones reflect his feelings. The surprise ending is fun and one I was not expecting at all.