Language: G: (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13 War Violence
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
12-year-old Patryk lives in a small village in Poland in 1914. One boy, Jurek, is a bully and a trouble maker, after stealing a button off a Russian Soldier's uniform, he convinces Patryk and the other boys to have a button contest with him. Who can get the best button? The winner is the king. But when their village is attacked by the Germans, and war comes to their town, the stakes get higher - is a button worth risking your life for?
This took a bit to get into - it never really said it was at the beginning of WWI, and perhaps some historical background knowledge would have been helpful. The action is intense and scary - much of it happening at night; young boys doing dangerous and stupid things, but once the story was established, it was hard to put down. I'm not sure about the cover - I will have to recommend this to the right kids to get it read. I really enjoyed it, I hope the kids will. Maybe too graphic for elementary - lots of dead body descriptions.
Lisa Librarian
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment