The War That Saved My Life
Title: The War That Saved My Life
Genre: Newbery
Author: Kimberly Bradley
Major Awards: 2016 Newbery Honor Award
Age Group: 11+
Summary:
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Bradley is about a young girl, Ada and her brother, Jamie's rocky life during WWII. Ada was born with a clubfoot and was always told by her mother that she was a worthless cripple and was kept captive in her home at all times. Jamie, Ada's little brother on the other hand was a "normal" boy who was allowed to go to school,play outside, and really go about as he pleased. When everyone left and Ada was home alone she practiced walking every day even though she was in excruciating pain. She felt that maybe if she could walk her mother would love her and Jamie wouldn't leave her anymore. One day an order came in to evacuate all the children from London to the English Countryside, Kent .Despite their mothers orders, Jamie and Ada snuck out and joined the other kids on the road to a new life. Upon arrival Jamie and Ada notice that they're the filthiest kids there and keep telling themselves that no one is going to want them. After every child is chosen the only two left are Ada and Jamie. Ada and Jamie are taken to a woman's house, Miss Smith who does not seem very happy to have two young children dropped on her. Despite everything Miss Smith takes them in, as they have no where to go and begins to raise them as her own. She gives them baths,feeds them, reads to them, and even takes them both to the doctor for a checkup and to look at Ada's foot. The best part about Miss Smith's house is a horse named butter who Ada falls in love with and slowly teaches herself to ride. Over the course of the next year, Ada and Jamie stay with Miss Smith and live a normal life. They both learn to read and write and both are for the most part happy where they are. One day the children's mother,Mam decides to come to Kent and retrieve the children from Miss Smith due to the fact that she is having to pay for them being gone. She drags Ada and Jamie back home to London with nothing and surely enough they're back to where they started. Shortly after arriving back in their small apartment in London Mam begins to abuse Ada once again but this time Ada confronts her mother thanks to her new found confidence Miss Smith taught her. Mam says that she would be perfectly happy to let the two children live with Miss Smith forever if she didn't have to pay for them being gone. Ada promises Mam that she will not have to pay if they leave and Mam is extremely happy with this and tells them she doesn't want them and leaves for work. That night, a bomb hits London and Ada and Jamie flee their apartment to find shelter in which they stay the night. In the morning while the kids are leaving the shelter they run into Miss Smith who has come to London to get them back. All three go back to Kent where they find Miss Smith's house destroyed by a bomb. The villagers are so happy to see the two kids and Miss Smith as they all believed they were bombed and dead inside. Miss Smith tells Ada and Jamie that they saved her life and Ada replies with, "Now we're even".
I would love to use this book in my classroom if I was to teach middle school and up. I absolutely loved this book and think it may now be one of my favorites! Not only is it informational about WWII but it also has a plethora of amazing messages that I think all students should hear. Also, it shows that even if you're different ,you are just as valuable as everyone else and no one should tell you otherwise. Not only does it give you bits and pieces of what WWII was like but it gives you a first person perspective as they lived through such a terrible time.
I think that this book would be best for students in 6th grade and up. The words are relativity easy to read despite it being a longer book and it is also easy to comprehend. Also, starting in middle school children really dig into this part of history involving Hitler and WWII which the book is based on. It also has an immense amount of important life messages in which I feel like older individuals would really capture and understand.
If I were to use this book in my classroom I would do a book club sort of approach. I would have the students get into groups and throughout a series of weeks read the book and discuss about it in their book clubs at least once a week. I could also have them be creative and create their own shelters from bombs and what they would want theirs to look like. In addition, I would have the parts of the story and try and connect them to real life historical events from these awful times.
Genre: Newbery
Author: Kimberly Bradley
Major Awards: 2016 Newbery Honor Award
Age Group: 11+
Summary:
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Bradley is about a young girl, Ada and her brother, Jamie's rocky life during WWII. Ada was born with a clubfoot and was always told by her mother that she was a worthless cripple and was kept captive in her home at all times. Jamie, Ada's little brother on the other hand was a "normal" boy who was allowed to go to school,play outside, and really go about as he pleased. When everyone left and Ada was home alone she practiced walking every day even though she was in excruciating pain. She felt that maybe if she could walk her mother would love her and Jamie wouldn't leave her anymore. One day an order came in to evacuate all the children from London to the English Countryside, Kent .Despite their mothers orders, Jamie and Ada snuck out and joined the other kids on the road to a new life. Upon arrival Jamie and Ada notice that they're the filthiest kids there and keep telling themselves that no one is going to want them. After every child is chosen the only two left are Ada and Jamie. Ada and Jamie are taken to a woman's house, Miss Smith who does not seem very happy to have two young children dropped on her. Despite everything Miss Smith takes them in, as they have no where to go and begins to raise them as her own. She gives them baths,feeds them, reads to them, and even takes them both to the doctor for a checkup and to look at Ada's foot. The best part about Miss Smith's house is a horse named butter who Ada falls in love with and slowly teaches herself to ride. Over the course of the next year, Ada and Jamie stay with Miss Smith and live a normal life. They both learn to read and write and both are for the most part happy where they are. One day the children's mother,Mam decides to come to Kent and retrieve the children from Miss Smith due to the fact that she is having to pay for them being gone. She drags Ada and Jamie back home to London with nothing and surely enough they're back to where they started. Shortly after arriving back in their small apartment in London Mam begins to abuse Ada once again but this time Ada confronts her mother thanks to her new found confidence Miss Smith taught her. Mam says that she would be perfectly happy to let the two children live with Miss Smith forever if she didn't have to pay for them being gone. Ada promises Mam that she will not have to pay if they leave and Mam is extremely happy with this and tells them she doesn't want them and leaves for work. That night, a bomb hits London and Ada and Jamie flee their apartment to find shelter in which they stay the night. In the morning while the kids are leaving the shelter they run into Miss Smith who has come to London to get them back. All three go back to Kent where they find Miss Smith's house destroyed by a bomb. The villagers are so happy to see the two kids and Miss Smith as they all believed they were bombed and dead inside. Miss Smith tells Ada and Jamie that they saved her life and Ada replies with, "Now we're even".
I would love to use this book in my classroom if I was to teach middle school and up. I absolutely loved this book and think it may now be one of my favorites! Not only is it informational about WWII but it also has a plethora of amazing messages that I think all students should hear. Also, it shows that even if you're different ,you are just as valuable as everyone else and no one should tell you otherwise. Not only does it give you bits and pieces of what WWII was like but it gives you a first person perspective as they lived through such a terrible time.
I think that this book would be best for students in 6th grade and up. The words are relativity easy to read despite it being a longer book and it is also easy to comprehend. Also, starting in middle school children really dig into this part of history involving Hitler and WWII which the book is based on. It also has an immense amount of important life messages in which I feel like older individuals would really capture and understand.
If I were to use this book in my classroom I would do a book club sort of approach. I would have the students get into groups and throughout a series of weeks read the book and discuss about it in their book clubs at least once a week. I could also have them be creative and create their own shelters from bombs and what they would want theirs to look like. In addition, I would have the parts of the story and try and connect them to real life historical events from these awful times.
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