★ 02/09/2015
Eleven authors mark the centenary of WWI with original short stories that are simultaneously poignant, thought-provoking, and relevant. David Almond, Michael Morpurgo, Ursula Dubosarsky, Marcus Sedgwick, and others anchor their fictional narratives around objects specific to that time—the nose of a zeppelin bomb, a wartime butter dish, etc. In A.L. Kennedy’s stream-of-consciousness narrative, “Another Kind of Missing,” a child relates his visit to his recuperating soldier father; half his face is gone, but “the men and women at the Tin Noses Shop.... will make him a mask.... And no one will be able to tell the difference from how he was.” And Tanya Lee Stone’s “A Harlem Hellfighter and His Horn,” written in verse, follows an aspiring musician who takes up with bandleader James Reese Europe, eventually joining the famed infantry regiment (“There was no question about it for me./ I followed Europe to/ Europe/ without taking a beat”). Kay’s haunting b&w illustrations bookend each story, exploding into pointy geometric shapes that recall shrapnel. Explanations of the featured objects conclude this evocative, potent anthology. Ages 10–up. (Apr.)
The stories ... say something profound about memory and loss and what it means to wage war. ... Each story, lovingly crafted, shows a different facet of war in the same way that each artifact reflects something different about the time. ... Black-and-white illustrations by Kay and photos and descriptions of each artifact complete the whole. Extraordinary.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Eleven authors mark the centenary of WWI with original short stories that are simultaneously poignant, thought-provoking, and relevant.... Kay’s haunting b&w illustrations bookend each story, exploding into pointy geometric shapes that recall shrapnel. Explanations of the featured objects conclude this evocative, potent anthology.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Each of the 11 original short stories in this superlative collection about WWI has been inspired by an object evoking the conflict.... Haunting black-and-white illustrations by Kate Greenaway Medal–winning illustrator Jim Kay reinforce the stories' somber mood and cumulative power. This book is both beautifully designed and beautifully written.
—Booklist (starred review)
As there are no living World War I veterans to tell their stories, this profound collection may be as close as some readers will get to truly understanding the emotional devastation of one of the world’s bloodiest wars. ... An essential purchase for public and school libraries, particularly those needing to update their World War I collections.
—School Library Journal
A stunning anthology of stories . . . atmospheric black and white illustrations by the Greenaway winner Jim Kay, and a nice use of typography and layout make this book even more special.
—WRD magazine
Readers will likely discover resonant offerings among this collection.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
The writers of the short stories in this collection use different styles, forms, and genres, including poetry. The stories will prompt readers to question the impact and damage—not only physical—that can result from war, and encourage them to consider whether anyone benefits from it.
—Literacy Daily
This book is a compelling portrayal of the psychological, emotional, and physical impact of war.
—School library Connection
03/01/2015
Gr 5 Up—Last year marked the centennial of the start of World War I. This collection of short stories, with chapters by acclaimed British authors, including Printz winners Marcus Sedgwick and David Almond, is a timely choice. Each tale is inspired by actual artifacts from the time (an army helmet, sheet music, a compass) and focus on the British participation in the war. In the exceptional "Another Kind of Missing" by A.L. Kennedy, a young boy narrates the story of his father who has returned from war with severe facial injuries. David Almond's "A World That Has No War in It," tells the story of how writing with a soldier's pencil ended a deadly feud between two Irish families. And in Sheena Wilkinson's "Each Slow Dusk," a teenage girl realizes she will have to sacrifice her college plans in order to care for her wounded brother. Interspersed throughout are Kay's haunting illustrations and at the end of the compilation are photos and descriptions of the items that inspired the stories. As there are no living World War I veterans to tell their stories, this profound collection may be as close as some readers will get to truly understanding the emotional devastation of one of the world's bloodiest wars. VERDICT A solid purchase for public and school libraries, particularly those needing to update their World War I collections.—Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Rockaway Township Public Library, NJ
Physical items from WWI inspired this collection of 11 short stories, but no visuals are necessary to bring these powerful generation-spanning tales to life. The listener will recognize the accents of Scots, Aussies, African-American, French, Irish, and English characters as six different narrators (one per story) reveal uniquely personal tolls of war through the eyes of soldiers, siblings, children, families, and young workers. After each fictional story, a narrator briskly describes the actual item that inspired it, for example, a helmet, compass, or butter dish. With a death toll of approximately 17 million and another 20 million wounded, no one in the Allied Countries was unaffected. Listeners will also be greatly affected by these compelling stories of loss, luck, patriotism, and perseverance at war and at home. L.T. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
★ 2014-12-22
A group of celebrated writers, including Michael Morpurgo, A.L. Kennedy, David Almond and John Boyne, reflects on simple artifacts from World War I to create a collection of short stories. The items themselves are simple, even mundane. A wartime butter dish. A compass. A school magazine. But the stories themselves, ranging in setting from the apex of the war to its centenary now, combine each small treasure with a child's point of view to say something profound about memory and loss and what it means to wage war. In Timothée de Fombelle's "Captain Rosalie," a small girl imagines herself a secret spy as she works to uncover the code that will let her read her father's letters. Tanya Lee Stone's story in verse, "A Harlem Hellfighter and His Horn," takes readers from America's racially divided cities to Belleau Wood, where a young musician learns that "Maybe making something of yourself is as / simple / as…walking, no / marching / straight into the center of / fear / all while playing a horn." Each story, lovingly crafted, shows a different facet of war in the same way that each artifact reflects something different about the time. Perhaps most moving is Tracy Chevalier's "When They Were Needed Most," in which a small boy's theft of a cigarette from a Christmas package meant for soldiers becomes the very thing that saves his father's life. Black-and-white illustrations by Kay and photos and descriptions of each artifact complete the whole. Extraordinary. (Short stories. 8 & up)
