Description
ebook available
What was it like for children growing up in rural Suffolk during World War 2?
Elsie and her family live in a small double-storey cottage in Bungay, Suffolk. Every night she lies awake listening anxiously for the sound of the German bomber planes. Often they come and the air raid siren sounds signalling that the family must leave their beds and venture out to the air raid shelter in the garden.
Despite the war raging across the English channel, daily life continues with its highlights, such as Christmas and the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt, and its wary moments when Elsie learns the stories of Jack Frost and the ghostly and terrifying Black Shuck that haunts the coastline and countryside of East Anglia.
Includes some authentic World War 2 recipes
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AnneS –
Jennifer Alderson review at https://www.facebook.com/groups/BooksandEverything/permalink/2153057218344644/
AnneS –
Comments and thoughts at https://www.instagram.com/p/B2HQkpvAd_V/?igshid=11tdf7zyauumj
Robbie Cheadle –
Christoph Fischer reviewed at https://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/2019/06/08/review-while-the-bombs-fell-by-robbie-cheadle-and-elsie-hancy-eaton/
Robbie Cheadle –
Jacquie Biggar USA Today Best Selling Author reviewed at https://jacqbiggar.com/2019/05/03/while-the-bombs-fell-by-robbie-cheadle-elsie-hancy-eaton-memoir-bookreview-bakeandwrite/
Robbie Cheadle –
Colin Garrow reviewed at https://colingarrow.org/2019/04/07/while-the-bombs-fell-by-robbie-cheadle-and-elsie-hancy-eaton/
Robbie Cheadle –
Kevin Cooper reviewed it at https://authorkevincooper.com/2019/10/31/while-the-bombs-fell/
Priscilla Bettis –
This is an historical biography of Elsie Hancy Eaton’s childhood in the 1940s in Suffolk County, England, quite literally while the (German) bombs fell. The book is aimed at younger readers, I’d say upper middle grade or younger YA, but as an adult, I quite enjoyed it.
The book is narrated in a series of vignettes rather than a traditional story structure. I found each chapter sweet or frightening or humorous or sad, but always interesting. I learned a lot about England during the early 1940s.
Because of the War and rationing Elsie had anything but a carefree childhood. And yet, Elsie and her siblings had carefree activities, like playing in the mud, swimming in the river, patriotic singing, visiting the cows, and plucking fruit from the apple trees. Cheadle and Eaton include several lullabies, folk songs, and children’s rhymes which add to the atmosphere of the story.
This book has the same vibe as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: a young girl in tough times thrives nonetheless.
A fantastic read, kudos to Cheadle and Eaton.
I bought the ebook through the Lulu online bookstore.