Overview
In 1942 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, living in exile after theNazi invasion of her country, spent the summer in Lee, Massachusetts,with her daughter and granddaughters. The following is based on a truestory....
It’s summertime in New England during World War II, and a boy namedWilliam likes to imagine at bedtime that he is a brave knight fightinggreat battles to end the war. But in the morning he is always justWilliam again, not big enough to contribute to the war effort like therest of his family.
Then a real queen moves in just down the road: Queen Wilhelmina of theNetherlands. William’s parents explain that the queen has been forced out of her country because of the war. Now William has his chance to do something. It may not be “war work” — it’s more like peace work — but that makes all the difference.
Susan Jeffers’s dramatic illustrations portray the compelling contrastbetween William’simagination and the real events in the story, which are based on anactual incident in John Paterson’s childhood. Visually stunning, with anevocative, poignant telling, this is the picture-book art form at itsfinest.
In the summer of 1942, when Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands lives down the road from his family's house in Massachusetts, young William decides to take her some of the blueberries he has picked. Includes historical notes.
Synopsis
It's summertime in New England during World War II, and a boy named William likes to imagine at bedtime that he is a brave knight fighting great battles to end the war. But in the morning he is always just William again, not big enough to contribute to the war effort like the rest of his family.
Then a real queen moves in just down the road: Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. William's parents explain that the queen has been forced out of her country because of the war. Now William has his chance to do something. It may not be "war work" - it's more like peace work - but that makes all the difference.
Susan Jeffers's dramatic illustrations portray the compelling contrast between William's imagination and the real events in the story, which are based on an actual incident in John Patterson's childhood. Visually stunning, with an evocative, poignant telling, this is the picture-book art form at its finest.
Publishers Weekly
John and Katherine Paterson, who previously collaborated on Consider the Lilies, and Jeffers (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening) offer a sweet, fictionalized account of an episode from John Paterson's childhood. William, who lives in the Massachusetts countryside, is still young enough to imagine that knights and magic wands might help defeat Hitler. Then William learns that Queen Wilhelmina and her family, who "had to leave the Netherlands because of the war," have taken up residence nearby. He wonders endlessly about her ("Did she always wear her crown? Or did she have to go about in disguise so her enemies wouldn't know who she was?"), and he envisions himself as a pint-size knight in her service. He asks his father eagerly if picking blueberries is war work. "No," his father replies kindly, "I think it's more like peace work." But William triumphs when a gift of hand-picked blueberries earns him a reception with the Queen. "It will make your mouth rejoice," William tells her, and she agrees. Jeffers switches deftly between William's daydreams and real experiences. As William is about to meet Wilhelmina, a double-page boxed spread imagines her on a throne in splendid raiment, her hand on a pet jaguar. The next page reveals the truth: she's a grandma, with sensible shoes and a black cat, yet just enough details remain the same to tie the scenes together. Only the hardest-hearted will fail to be moved by this skillful presentation of a timeless theme. Ages 4-8. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.