Fallen at his feet
From poignant memorials to dashing schoolboy spies, Ann Packer surveys new war-related books for young ones.
THIS IS WHERE I STAND, by Philippa Werry and Kieran Rynhart (Scholastic, $28)
When all is said and done, when even the survivors are dead and gone, the memorials remain. In eloquent prose, Philippa Werry, author of several children’s novels including The Telegram, set in World War I, and an impressive collection of nonfiction titles, recalls a century of dawn parades. From his pedestal, her steadfast bronze soldier, brought to pictorial life by fellow Wellingtonian Kieran Rynhart, has watched children, trees and traffic grow, witnessed the swirl of history and seen further names added to the lists at his feet. Yet even while international conflicts continue to erupt, and Anzac Day gatherings around the community memorial may swell and subside, the steadfast watcher stands.
MY NAME IS HENRY FANSHAW, by Gillian Torckler and Adele Jackson (Bateman, $25)
The story of New Zealand’s bomber squadron, seen through the single functioning eye of its piratical panda mascot, flight lieutenant Henry B (for Bear) Fanshaw. The “boys” of 75 Squadron have shared their history with Henry: the bad – such as the destruction of Cologne – as well as the good bits, including Operation Manna and Operation Chowhound, which saw seven million kilos of food dropped to the starving Dutch nation. Jackson’s graphic novel-style illustrations help flesh out the stark facts of six years of war in Europe (“No more tulip bulbs for supper!”), but how Henry got his eyepatch is never explained – though it’s the first question young readers will ask.
THE VALLEY OF LOST SECRETS, by Lesley Parr (Bloomsbury, $17)
Uprooting kids from London during the Blitz seemed like a good idea at the time, but the reality for many was to prove nightmarish. Jimmy and his little brother, Ronnie, last to be chosen from the trainload evacuated with their teacher to a small Welsh mining village, are billeted with kindly, childless couple Gwen and Alun. But Jimmy is torn between loyalty to his nan and dad back in London (Mum has scarpered) and committing to his new surroundings. Finding sanctuary in tree climbing, he takes a tumble and finds a skull hidden in the cavity. Although the mystery at the heart of their new community is pivotal to the plot, the evolving relationships between the evacuees and their hosts – who’s to be trusted and who’s not – are equally engaging. A classic evacuee tale, up there with Goodnight Mister Tom and The War that Saved My Life.
THE LAST PAPER CRANE, by Kerry Drewery (Hotkey, $27)
“The flash is barely a second. The ‘after’ is about to begin.” How to tell a story so world-shattering you’d rather children were never exposed to it, yet so significant they need to know? Drewery’s blankverse dialogue between contemporary child Mizuki and her grandfather, Ichiro, soon flips to the teenage Ichiro’s experiences on that day in 1945 when atomic hell broke loose. Assisted by Japanese-American illustrator Natsko Seki’s painstaking rendering, and poignant haikus, the bombing and its aftermath unfold as Ichiro and his friend Hiro collect Hiro’s little sister, Keiko, from kindergarten but struggle to stay together in the surge of humanity and searing heat. Connecting the two eras are the paper cranes of the title – those universal symbols of Hiroshima. Spoiler alert: there is a redemptive ending. And although you can understand why the author says researching this book broke her heart, you can also learn how to make a crane with the endpaper.
KATIPO JOE: SPYCRAFT, by Brian Falkner (Scholastic, $20) This Kiwi take on Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series, with its uber cliffhanger endings, is the second in the New Zealand expat author’s World War II schoolboy spy series that began with Katipo Joe: Blitzkrieg. Unlike Horowitz’s orphan Alex, however, Joseph St George, son of a diplomatic family resident in Berlin when war breaks out, has at least one surviving parent: at the end of the previous book, his mother’s existence was revealed to him, in secretarial garb, in a photo of Hitler’s entourage.
On a mission to rescue her before the Gestapo can “make her talk”, Joe must parachute into enemy territory and once more attempt to insinuate himself into the Hitler Youth movement – this time in the guise of a propaganda film exercise involving real-life film-maker Leni Riefenstahl and a group of teen girls and boys at the Führer’s Eagle’s Nest retreat in the Bavarian Alps. As with the first book, a good glossary and bibliography plus a swag of relevant photos not only support the author’s solid research but point to further avenues of investigation. ▮