Award-winning author Sara Cassidy captures what life was like for young Esther’s great-grandfather when he was a child in the time of WWII. Sydney Barnes’s illustrations vary from full-page spreads to multiple panels such as seen in comic books. Great-grandfather’s flashbacks are coloured in sepia tones and the writing alternates from narrative to dialogue to capture children’s life in the 1940s. Children who are not familiar with WWII will connect with the elder’s memories of playing with a friend, trying to earn pocket money, or going to a block party. Older students studying global armed conflict and Canada’s role may use this book as inspiration for interviewing senior citizens about their life experiences. Additional extensions possible in this book would be WWII, VE Day, childhood games, and how environmental awareness has changed from then to now.

32 pp., 10 × 9", colour illustrations

Source: Association of Book Publishers of BC - BC Books for Schools (2021-2022)

Les livres de Sara Cassidy ont &eacutet&eacute finalistes pour de nombreux prix : le Chocolate Lily Award pour Black Gold et Blackberry Juice ; le Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award pour A Boy Named Queen ; le Bolen Books Children’s Book Prize pour Skylark ainsi que le Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature. Deux de ses titres, A Boy Named Queen et Double Play, ont &eacutet&eacute s&eacutelectionn&eacutes par la Junior Library Guild. Sara Cassidy a publi&eacute de nombreux recueils de po&eacutesie, œuvres de fiction et ouvrages documentaires pour adultes. Elle vit &agrave Victoria en Colombie-Britannique.

Sara Cassidy's profile page

Sydney Barnes is an illustrator and graphic designer with a life-long passion for books. She holds a Master of Publishing degree from Simon Fraser University and runs a freelance design business called SJBarnes Design. For more information, visit sjbarnes.com.

Sydney Barnes' profile page

Painted Fences does an excellent job portraying what life was like for a child at the time of World War II. ... There are lovely sentiments and learning for children ... with discussion and conversation about Remembrance Day, World War II, and also intergenerational memoirs and the passing of time.