The War Below

By Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch 

     I love that this book and this author go beyond what one thinks they know about the plight of Europeans during and after World War II.  In the story "Making Bombs for Hitler", you meet two children that are surviving their ordeal in a German Concentration Camp, Luka and Lida become fast friends and learn to depend on each other in order to live.  This is the tale of Luka after he escapes the camp and how he hides, survives and tries to make it home.  

     He is very fortunate in that he stumbles upon a farmer and his wife that nurse him back to health and points him in the right direction.  Than as he stumbles to where he thinks is safety a young girl, Martina, finds him and teaches him how to remain safe from capture.  As the two of them elude soldiers they develop a close friendship, so when they stumble upon a hidden hospital and resistance fighters they willingly join the cause.  

     During Luka's time with the resistance, he learns a lot, and he is able to hone his medical capabilities, he becomes integral to his group and saves many lives.  As the war turns, however, and he looses Martina to a gunshot, he thinks he has to move on and continue on his quest to return home.  One of the adults in the resistance convinces him he should go out and share their story of what they have been able to accomplish.  Luka relents and heads away from home.  As he travels he notices an increasing number of people that have been dislocated and are homeless and have no place to go.  He follows along and finally reaches a camp run by Americans.  The Americans are trying to reconnect family members and communities, they provide food, clothing and other necessities.  For a long time Luka wanders the camps looking for family members or his friend Lida.  So when the day arrives that someone says they know her, he makes a point of hunting her down.  As he reconnects with Lida he is filled with love.  This love is put to the test when a Russian Soldier approaches Luka during school and says that his father is looking for him in Kyiv.  Luka is heartbroken when he hears the truth.  He rushes back to Lida and the reader is left with a deep hope that they remain together.
     What is amazing about this book is that it evokes images, sensations and feelings in a simple and concise manner.  All too often when hearing, learning or discussing World War II and German Concentration camps and the plight of many Europeans the emphasis is on the Jewish Holocaust.  I am in no way trying to minimize the horrors that were inflicted by the Germans, but this opens ones eyes to the atrocities on the entire continent and points out both perpetrators and victims.  I give this book a 4.5 out of 5, it was outstanding and would encourage anybody over 5th grade to enjoy this book!

Links 

Author

Battle of Kyiv (Kiev)

Russian Prison Camps

Resistance during WWII

Brown Girl Dreaming

By Jacqueline Woodson

     This book is a beautiful surprise.  Many people have told me that they love this book and I now know why.  It is extraordinarily well crafted, the voice is honest and the imagery transcends time.  This is an incredible narrative through the craft of poetry.  In this tale you meet the Woodson family as they grow and move from their Ohio home, to South Carolina and than New York during in the  1960's.  A time when this country went through the civil rights movement and emotions were charged. 
     Jacqueline is the youngest of the Woodson family, initially, and as such feels constantly challenged by her older siblings.  Both Odell and Hope are seemingly very intelligent one loves science and the other can lose themself in a good book.  Young Jacqueline wants to be a writer, but the process of getting her beautiful stories on paper is a struggle.  At first, she does not know how to write, than she struggles finding words that she knows how to spell, so her writing does not flow nor is it fluent. 
     As time marches and the Woodson family moves from Ohio to South Carolina, to live with their grandparents, whom they love a great deal.  Jacqueline and her siblings learn to love the heat of the deep south, though they do not understand all of tension between everyone.  They are forced to become Jehovah's Witness, by their grandmother.  They love their grandfather, whom they consider their daddy.  Their mother leaves them in her parents care while she travels to New York looking for a job that could support their needs.  When she finally returns to bring them to the big city with her, she brings a baby, Roman.  Jacqueline misses her South Carolina family and dislikes their new home and the cold dreary New York weather.  This new time in her life brings her her best friend Maria and opens her up to new experiences, public school.  Yet the still spend their summers in South Carolina with their aging grandparents.  Daddy's health is beginning to wane as a life time of cigarettes takes a toll on him.  As Jacqueline ages she learns more words and how to spell and she is finally recognized as a writer. 
     I love this book, it was a nice read and it flowed beautifully.  The use of powerful poetry worked well with the imagery that the author projected.  I am giving this book a 5 out of 5 stars and feel that it is appropriate for fourth grade and up.  The content about discrimination, although beautifully done and not graphic at all needs to be above third grade.  What I appreciated the most about this book is the multiple layers to each chapter and the ease of the read, very enjoyable.  If you have not done so, pick up your copy today. 

Links 

Author Jacqueline Woodson

The history of the Civil Rights movement in South Carolina

The History of New York city