This is a very realistic story told from the perspectives of three different children who are praying and thinking about their parents who are fighting oversees. One little boy wishes his father luck as he leaves to serve in the Navy. Another girl waves goodbye to her mother as she leaves to go into the Air force. Finally, the third boy waves to his dad as he goes overseas to fight with the army. This story was probably one of the most emotional, heartfelt, realistic children's books I have ever read in my life. Eileen Spinelli invites the reader to travel into a child's perspective of war, grief, loneliness and anxiety. So often we only think about the men and women serving in the military and we forget about how their children and their wives and their husbands must feel as they wait patiently back at home.

Evaluation

The way in which Eileen Spinelli wrote this piece was almost as if she was writing a poem or a prayer. In most cases the phrases were short, but meaningful. The exchanges between the parent and child were absolutely heart wrenching. The way in which she captured a child's worry was unbelievably realistic. One of the little boys said he took mommy's blanket and wrapped it around himself to make him feel like she was still there. This book isn't just talking about loss, it's talking about various coping mechanisms. Some of the children found actual items to give them comfort and other children preferred to talk to their parents as if they were right beside them. My favorite part of this whole story was probably when one of the boys explained how his daddy told him to "give mom extra hugs, be safe and remember to smile." The boy told his dad to, "keep safe. be well, and make sure you drive careful in your jeep." The innocent thoughts of a child can sometimes teach us life's most important lessons. It was amazing to me to think that throughout all of my classes we constantly talk about homosexual parents, divorces, and generational families, but we never talk about what it is like for children to have a father or a mother in the military.

One of the ways this book could be incorporated into the classroom is during a patriotic holiday such as Memorial Day or the anniversary of September 11th. I think it is especially important for us to remind the younger generation what happened on September 11th and why it is so important that we honor the people who fight overseas. You may even have a student in your classroom whose parent is in the military and who is going through a difficult time. You may choose to give this book to individual child to take home as a source of comfort. A great service activity would be to have your first or second grade students practice writing letters to the men and women overseas, thanking them for all that they do to keep our country safe. It is essential that we use literature as a sense of guidance, as a sense of knowledge, as a sense of information and as a sense of comfort.

Eileen Spinelli Author
Renee Graef Illustrator
Hyperion Books Publisher
2004 Year