On the Home Front

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In her first book, Stalcup offers an adult perspective and anecdotal account of life in the rural town of Lydney, England, during WWII. Only four years old when England declared war on Germany in 1939, Stalcup cobbles together her own memories with those of neighbors and friends for this slow-moving and spotty chronicle of the war's military progress and its repercussions. The author recalls some interesting highlightsan irritable teacher and several evacuated children from suburban Birmingham and London take up temporary residence in her home, her mother sews thick black curtains for protection from potential nighttime air raids, German and Italian POWs arrive to work on local farmsbut does not recount them with the target audience in mind. Young readers must wade through a great deal of personal, often superfluous detail here (e.g., "English men were worried that with the Yanks now based in so many towns, the supply of beer would soon be gone!"), and in other instances must make sense of convoluted asides (e.g., "Since Hitler's ideal Germans were fair-skinned and blond-haired, the Nazis were suspicious of anyone with dark hair or skin, often making the assumption that they were Jewish"). Without a narrative through-line to recommend it as recreational reading, and with uneven pacing that creates a challenge for researchers (the year 1942 is covered in two chapters, 1940 gets eight), it's hard to pinpoint a readership for this one. Ages 8-11. (May)

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-The author of this mesmerizing, beautifully written book was a three year old living in the English town of Lydney, Shropshire, when issued her first gas mask in September of 1938. A year later, Great Britain was at war with Germany. Told from a child's point of view, the story vividly brings to life Stalcup's world through the end of the war in May of 1945. In a straightforward and highly readable manner, she relates how her childhood was shaped by these historical forces. At first, the war "suddenly seemed rather wonderful to me," Stalcup states, for she soon had evacuees from Birmingham and London living with her family, children her own age to play with. She describes the changes that occurred in her family because of rationing, her father's service in the Home Guard, her mother's knitting for soldiers, blackouts, and the fiery destruction of nearby Bristol. Combined, they present a picture, albeit somewhat idealized through the filter of memory, of a family and a people coping as best they could under difficult circumstances. Personal and archival black-and-white photographs and a glossary of British English are included. This memoir could serve as a companion to Michael Kronenwetter's London (Crestwood, 1992).-David A. Lindsey, Lakewood High and Middle School Libraries, WA

Kirkus Reviews

A touching memoir from a former teacher, about her experiences in Lydney, England (120 miles west of London), as a young child during WW II. Born in 1935, and only four years old when England entered the war against Germany, Stalcup wonderfully recreates the voice of young child to recount the everyday incidents of a small family coping bravely with the war. She describes the issuing of gas masks, which "looked like pigs' snouts and smelled foul," her mother and father's attempts to keep her from worrying, and the blacking out of windows with thick curtains. She describes the evacuation of women and children from London, rationing, and the rescue of Allied soldiers at Dunkirk by the "little ships." One night, in a scene right out of the film Hope and Glory, when an 18-year-old German parachutist landed in the field next to her house, the author discovered that he was a nice lad and "realized that a great many of the German people were probably just like us." This child's view of WW II is certain to touch the hearts of readers. (glossary, further reading, index) (Memoir. 11-14)