The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is the sequel to The War That Saved My Life, which I reviewed, here:

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

And, because it's a sequel, there may be some spoilers, so I'd advise you to skip this review if you're concerned that I might give away a plot point or two from the first book. 

In The War I Finally Won, this middle grade WWII fiction continues the story of Ada, her brother, Jamie, and Susan. In case you don't want to click through to the first review, just a quick reminder of what happens in The War That Saved My Life: Ada is stuck at home with a cruel mother who occasionally locks her into the cabinet and won't let her leave the apartment, even to attend school, embarrassed about Ada's club foot. But, when her little brother Jamie is evacuated to the country, Ada finds a way to tag along and they end up with a depressed woman, Susan, who rises to the challenge of dealing with a traumatized child who has not attended a single day of school.

In The War I Finally Won, Susan has become the children's permanent guardian, Ada has surgery to fix her club foot, and the family has moved after losing their home to a direct hit by a bomb. Now that they know their mother has been killed, Ada is struggling with whether or not Susan will abandon them and upset by the fact that Jamie has begun to call Susan "Mum". There are some other plot points I don't want to give away because I think it's best reading them as they unfold but, as in the first book, there's a good deal about horses. In The War That Saved My Life, a horse named Butters figures heavily into the plot about Ada's healing.

The War I Finally Won is a very plot-driven story packed with emotional scenes that gives you that wonderful "you were there" sensation. There are so many moving scenes, in fact, that I pretty much cried my way through the book. At one point, I was reading in bed and I cried enough that I had to sit up because I was soaking the collar of my shirt. I consider that a positive. I like a deeply affecting book.

Highly recommended - It is necessary to read The War That Saved My Life, first, because The War I Finally Won is a continuation of the story in that book and much of what's in the latter will not make sense if you haven't read the first book. Both are excellent. While I didn't think the characters sounded British when I read their dialogue, that was the only indication that the author is American. Otherwise, the time and place were clearly thoroughly researched.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Slinky Malinki's Cat Tales by Lynley Dodd and Oi Frog! by Kes Gray and Jim Field - Children's Day #3

These two books were both purchased for my personal collection.

Slinky Malinki

was blacker than black,

a stalking and lurking

adventurous cat. 

He had bright yellow eyes,

a warbling wail

and a kink at the end

of his very long tail. 

He was cheeky and cheerful, 

friendly and fun,

he'd chase after leaves 

and he'd roll in the sun.

Slinky Malinki and Scarface Claw were mentioned in my cat group by an Australian cat lover who thought cat lovers from other countries might be interested in the cat books Australians grew up with. It's a huge cat group with over 150,000 members from around the world. I have to wonder how many other non-Australian cat lovers rushed online to see if they could find a Slinky Malinki book or two to read, as I did.

Slinky Malinki's Cat Tales contains a variety of stories about Slinky Malinki stealing things, causing all sorts of chaos when Slinky Malinki figures out how to open doors, playing outside with other cats at night, and waking his family (then going for a nap after they all rise). The fifth story is about Scarface Claw and what a tough cat he is, except when he sees his own reflection — the only thing he's afraid of!

Highly recommended - Cat-loving kids (and old folks like me who love to read children's books) will adore Slinky Malinki and Scarface Claw because they're so very, very true to the reality of the kind of mischief and silliness that cats get up to. Even my husband loved this collection of stories.

Oi Frog! Sit on a log!"

said the cat. 

"But I don't want to sit on a log," said the frog.

"Logs are all knobbly and uncomfortable. 

And they can give you spliinters in your bottom."

"I don't care," said the cat.

"You're a frog, so you must sit on a log."

"Can't I sit on a mat?" 

asked the frog. 

"Only cats sit on mats," said the cat.

Oi Frog! is a book that I bought almost entirely based on the cover. I just thought it was so stinking cute. And, the illustrations are by far the best thing about the book, which continues to talk through what various animals sit upon. Hares on chairs, mules on stools, frogs on logs. Because they rhyme and it's a British book, there are a few that don't quite rhyme if you're American, like gophers on sofas, but if you're as ridiculous as I am, you can always read the book to your child in a British accent (it's okay if you're terrible at British accents — kids don't care).

Some of the rhymes are delightfully nutty, like parrots sitting on carrots, fleas on peas, and storks on forks. But, the ending is by far the best part.

"What do dogs sit on?" asked the frog. 

"I was hoping you weren't going to ask that," said the cat . . . 

The final illustration shows a frog beneath a dog's bottom, holding a white flag that says, "Help!" I laughed out loud at that final page spread.

Recommended but not a favorite - It's the illustrations that make Oi Frog! a delight. Admittedly, I did find myself zoning out a bit at the sheer number of rhyming descriptions of what various animals sit on. But, I'm sure little ones will have giggle fits at the silliness. It's a super cute book. There's a whole series, in fact. I don't plan to buy more. Oi Frog! was a total whim. I'll have fun reading it to the grandkids (or they'll have fun reading it with Mom or Dad), though. I'm definitely curious to see what else Jim Field has illustrated. I do love the illustrations.

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop

Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop

Copryight 1952

Puffin Books - Children/Middle Reader

76 pages

While we were still waving we saw Suzanne slip off Philip's back and run toward us at top speed. She tumbled into the midst of us, shaking from head to foot. "They're coming! They're coming!" she yelled. And suddenly Philip and George were also among us, panting. "They're coming! They're coming! The Nazis are coming!"

"What?" we shrieked, and we all raced up the slope and looked, the smaller ones taking turns on Philip's back.

Far, far down on the valley road two green spots with helmets moved toward us on bicycles.

We looked at one another, terrified. Then I don't know how but Henry, Arthur, Denise, and I, we all said at once, "The cave!" And we ran toward the back of the house. The others followed us.

--from p. 44 of Twenty and Ten

Kiddo and I recently cleaned out one of his cabinets, tossing out junk and setting aside children's books to donate. And, one of the books we came across -- which Kiddo promptly added to the donation pile -- was Twenty and Ten. I was intrigued by the cover image of a Nazi sitting on a rock while children peek out of a cave behind him, so I set the book aside and read it the next day.

Published in 1952 and penned by a Frenchwoman from Le Havre whose grandfather was the village storyteller, Twenty and Ten is based on a true story. And, I must say . . . it certainly has the tension of a real-life Nazi story. The story is about twenty children who are living and attending school together with their teacher, a nun named Sister Gabriel, safe in the hills above their French village. Most of the children are the same age -- about 11, as I recall -- but one of them is the younger brother of one of the girls and he's only 4.

As the book opens, the children are playing a game called The Flight into Egypt about Mary, Joseph and Jesus, and arguing about who gets to play the roles of Mary and Joseph. It's WWII and France is occupied by the Germans, but the children and Sister Gabriel live a fairly comfortable life. Rations are tight but they argue and play like children everywhere in spite of growling stomachs.

Then, one day a young man shows up dirty and starving with ten Jewish children in tow. He asks the nun if the children can stay because he thinks they'll be safest around other children.

Warning: I tell about this story in quite a bit of detail so there may be some spoilers. If you plan to read the book soon, skip this part.

Sister Gabriel and the children agree and the children slowly adapt to each other. At some point, they discover a cave on the school grounds, but it's not till they're playing in the cave and think of the Nazis that they realize the value of their find. And, soon it comes in handy. One day, Sister Gabriel must take the hour-long walk to town to fetch the mail and she doesn't return. The children are on their own.

The Jewish children hide in the cave, one of the boys is taken to a barn and beaten because the Nazis are convinced the missing children are somewhere nearby, and he escapes briefly to let the children know what's happening to him. The children work together to make sure their Jewish friends in the cave are provided with food and water. Then, the youngest child says something that sounds like a confession that Jews are nearby to one of the Nazis. Will the Jewish children be found and taken away?

End spoiler alert. It's safe, now.

I was surprised at what a nail-biter Twenty and Ten turned out to be and, of course, I loved the way the children used their heads and courageously worked together. I don't know if Twenty and Ten is still in print but it looks like ours was the 22nd printing, so I'd guess it's likely still around. Highly recommended for children and adults. And, isn't the cover stunning? There are also illustrations inside, by William Pene du Bois, whom you may know as the author of the Newbery Award-winning book The Twenty-One Balloons.

In other news:

I'm pre-posting this review and will be taking a few days off from the blog while the weather is nice. Not sure when I'll be back, apart from sometime next week. If you leave a comment and don't see it for a couple of days, don't panic! I moderate comments so it might take me a while to get to them. I'll leave you with a picture of Isabel deciding what to get into next and see you next week!

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.