Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

The War that Saved My LIfe is a powerful story set in England during WWII. How can a war possibly save the life of a child who has to be uprooted from her family due to wartime violence? Ada is a child whose life has been excruciatingly tough during her first 10 years of life in London. Fleeing to the countryside with her brother, Jamie, is a reprieve from the cruelty and abuse she has faced from her mother. As readers are swept into this story, details about child relocation, the devastation of London, and civillian war efforts are seamlessly woven into the story. Ada, has spent her life hidden and unloved, other than by Jamie, due to her congenital foot deformation. When Jamie and Ada are taken to their foster home in the countryside there are adjustments to be made for everyone. Is it possible to live a normal life? Can Ada and Jamie be contributing members of their host town? How can it be so hard to be loved? This book is bursting with heartbreak, hope, and history. A must read for middle grade students.… (plus d'informations)

Miri's family moved from Berlin to Paris after Kristallnacht, hoping that France would be safer for Jewish families. Their tiny apartment in the Pletzl is a far cry from their home in Berlin, but at least they are together, and they have developed a close friendship with their next-door neighbors. When police arrive at the apartment to round up Jewish citizens, Miri is separated from her family and placed on a bus with her neighbors. The woman convinces Miri to take the toddler Nora, whom Miri has always considered a sister, and run before she can be herded into the vélodrome, where people are being detained. With help from a passing nun, Miri and Nora are rescued and sent away from the city. They are split up, and Miri is placed at a Catholic boarding school while Nora is adopted by a local Catholic family. Miri is determined to get Nora back and escape to Switzerland, where Nora has family, but she is under the strict eyes of the nuns at the school, and she doesn't even know where Nora has been placed. She'll need cleverness, luck, and help from surprising sources if she is to succeed in getting Nora and herself away to safety.

Bradley is an author that I count on for excellent historical fiction, and in this case she has once again delivered. Great characters, an interesting setting, and a compelling plot. I sometimes think that there are already too many World War II novels for middle-grade readers, but there's always room for a book this good.… (plus d'informations)