Book Review:

 

 

Bibliography:

Cushman, K. (2022). WAR AND MILLIE MCGONIGLE. Yearling.

 

 

Plot Summary:

Millie McGonigle lives in sunny California. It should be perfect, but times are tough. Hitler is attacking Europe and it looks like the United States may be going to war. Food is rationed and money is tight. And Millie's sickly little sister couldn't be more of a pain if she tried. Still, there's sand beneath her feet. A new neighbor from the city, who has a lot to teach Millie. It's a time of sunshine, siblings, and stress. Will Millie be able to find her way in her family, and keep her balance as the world around her loses its own?

 

 

Critical Analysis:

The book covers the period of time before, during, and after the Japanese first bomb Pearl Harbor. This novel brings to life the everyday struggles of Americans on the home front during WWII, job loss, economic instability, food scarcity, discrimination against Japanese Americans, worry about the coming war, and the fear that Japan might attack the west coast. Amid all this, Millie is dealing with pre-teen angst in addition to the sudden death of her beloved grandmother, caring for her younger siblings, neighborhood meanies, and trying to find her own place in supporting the war effort from home. The cast of characters are eccentric and have thoughts and emotions that are honest, heartfelt, and sometimes messy. Some characters are well developed yet Mom and Dad seem detached and somewhat removed from the action throughout the book. The vivid descriptions of the setting, Mission Beach, are full of sensory detail from the salty, fishy smell of the mud to gulls screeching like rusty hinges. The specifics make the reader feel the San Diego sun on their shoulders as they read. Millie’s first-person narration is filled with 1940’s slang, appropriate for a child during that time.  

 

 

Review Excerpts:

Kirkus Starred Review: "Transforms grim history into a light for dark times." 

Booklist Review: “A lively choice for historical fiction fans.”

Connections:

- Millie and her mother are good at writing jingles. Look at the gallery of World War II propaganda posters on this website: propaganda posters

Select one poster and write a jingle that Millie might write to support the message of the poster, choose Canva or Sutori to create and present with.

- At the end of the novel, Millie begins writing in a new notebook that she calls “My Book of Life.” Write the first entry that Millie might make, using Book Creator App.

-Internet resources that go along with the time period of the text:

Pearl Harbor Natnl Memorial Website

WWII Memorial-Washington DC

WWII museum-New Orleans

 

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