October 26, 2009
Newbery Honor–winning author Audrey Couloumbis (Getting Near to Baby
) collaborates with her husband, Akila, to tell a story inspired by his family history in Greece during WWII. Twelve-year-old Petros and his older brother, Zola, live in the small town of Amphissa. Their rural life is interrupted when Nazis invade and a German commander takes up residence in their home. The family fears that their ties to America (the boys' father ran a store there, but they returned to Greece when it went bankrupt) will make them a target, and they hide all signs (such as American toys and clothing) that they are anything but an ordinary Greek family. Inspired by the courage of their cousin Lambros, a soldier who has escaped capture, Petros finds his own ways to contribute, including helping drop notes to spread war news; he also has an uneasy relationship with the German commander, who is something of a supportive presence but still the enemy. The Couloumbises craft a poignant and plainspoken account of the everyday impacts of a vast war and the importance of small victories. Ages 8–12.
October 1, 2009
Gr 5-8-In 1941, when Germans occupy their small Greek town and the commandant comes to live in their house, 12-year-old Petros and his family hide their American connections and an escaping Greek resistance fighter as well. Based on Akila Couloumbis's wartime recollections, this novel is a grand read: an adventure full of the particulars of boys' play, and an unusual perspective on World War II lives. From the opening bird-shooting contest, it is clear that for Petros, his older brother, and his friends, these games will also be life-or-death matters. The suspense mounts as first they wait for the Germans, then for the commandant, and finally for a time when their cousin Lambros can move on. Details of farm life are woven naturally into the third-person narrative, with just enough explanation for readers to imagine their way into that world. The authors maintain the boy's perspective, including his conflicting feelings about the German corporal who encourages his play but represents the detested enemy. Realistic family dynamics include sibling rivalries stretching on into adulthood. The climactic violence is believable, and the resolutionthough it takes place offstageis deeply satisfying. Memorable."Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD"
Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 1, 2009
Grades 4-7 Audrey Couloumbis, a Newbery Honor winner for Getting Near to Baby (1999), creates a fictionalized account of a story from her husband, Akilas, childhood. Twelve-year-old Petros has little memory of life in America since the family moved back to Greece when he was an infant. But he knows that his family must hide any ties they have with America and appear to be simple Greeks interested only in tending to their farm when the German army begins its occupation in 1941. At first he thinks its all very adventurous, helping his older brother undermine the Nazis, but the dear price of war quickly becomes apparent to him. The drama is lifelike, which is to say it carries a sense of boyhood authenticity, but is, at the same time, somewhat unfocused. Readers with a bit of patience and inquisitiveness will likely get the most out of this story, which eventually becomes quite exciting and affecting; more passive readers may find it easy to lose the thread. An interesting addition to World War II fiction that ventures into a relatively unexplored corner of Greece.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2010
A Nazi colonel moves into the house of Petros, twelve, and Zola, fifteen. Zola, defiant, coordinates distribution of secret messages; Petros, under cover of feigned play, assists the resistance fighter hiding in the family's well. Akila Couloumbis's memories come alive with details of Greek village life, an authentic stage for vivid characters who must navigate conflicting loyalties to establish viable wartime roles.
(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
Starred review from November 1, 2009
Like their father and uncle before them, Petros, twelve, and Zola, fifteen, are prone to quarrel. World War II -- as Italian invaders of Greece are supplanted by harder-edged Germans -- only fuels the brothers' competition. While foreigners flee their mountain village, Petros's family conceals evidence that they previously lived in the United States; they speak only Greek, now, and destroy all their American possessions. Zola, defiant, enlists younger boys in distributing secret messages; but when a Nazi colonel moves into their house, the boys realize how serious their games have become. Luckily the colonel tells Papa that "wars should be fought among men, not boys...Even in war, boys play." Ironically, this kindly belief enables Petros, under cover of feigned play, to assist the heroic resistance fighter (a cousin) who's hiding in the family well. Akila Couloumbis's wartime memories come alive with details of daily village life, from gardens to goats -- an authentic stage for vivid characters who must navigate secrets, rivalries, and conflicting loyalties in order to establish viable wartime roles. The easily read narrative, lively with dialogue, ends with a symbolic triumph (the launching of a kite the boys have made from a Greek flag). Meanwhile, by clarifying priorities and loyalties, the hostilities precipitate reconciliation among the various brothers. A gripping story that's also a fine introduction to a complex time.
(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)