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Beautiful book! Extraordinary illustrations and a wonderful reminiscence of a childhood during wartime in Britain. Quick read but one you'll want to linger through. ( )

"I woke up when the name came through the roof." So begins "War Boy: A Country Childhood," by Michael Foreman. This story caught my eye as a potential story to use to discuss the theme of growing up too fast. I only intended to peruse it for this purpose. I instead found myself reading the entire thing, which is not such a long task in the end. As a memoir, it is unique. The illustrations are a bit fanciful and borderline nonfiction, but they do help paint the picture of wartime England in the eyes of a child. The story is both innocent and hilarious at times, such as the line, "Some of my friends had big sisters, so they got to know the Yanks well." I thoroughly enjoyed this story and feel it could be a part of every classroom library to help teach World War II, if not be a resource to teach the war itself. ( )