Don't Talk to Me About the War

by David A. Adler

Overview

Thirteen-year-old Tommy Duncan just wants to root for the Brooklyn Dodgers and listen to his favorite radio programs. But it's 1940, and the world is about to change. All his friend Beth wants to discuss is the war in Europe. Don't talk to Tommy about that, though. He has more immediate concerns, like Beth starting to wear earrings and his mother's declining health. The stories of a Jewish friend at school, however, begin to make the war more real to him, and Tommy, like the world around him, is sure to be forever changed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101162804
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	02/05/2009
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	500 KB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

David A. Adler is the author of more than 175 children’s books, including the Young Cam Jansen series. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"[A] satisfying historical novel." -Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-7- Thirteen-year-old Tommy's life in the Bronx in 1940 is dominated by the Brooklyn Dodgers and radio shows, while his politically aware friend Beth continually tries to tell him her concerns about the raging war overseas. Newspaper headlines and radio reports reflect Germany's successive invasions across Europe, but Tommy, influenced by his dad's opinion that America should stay out of the conflict, is indifferent to what is happening faraway to people he doesn't know. His simple neighborhood life is overshadowed by worry about his symptomatic mother, who is ultimately diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. As his family situation becomes more complicated and distressing, his friendship with Beth, whose mother died of cancer, strengthens. This coming-of-age story introduces the war's particular consequences for Jews through their schoolmate Sarah, who fled Germany with her family. Sandwiched between Beth and Sarah, sensitive Tommy relies on their compassion while trying to maintain a normal male camaraderie with his baseball-loving friends. His appreciation for the world's threatened freedom takes hold as events bring the war closer to U.S. soil. Readers may identify with Tommy's disinterest in politics while going about his everyday life.-Rita Soltan, Youth Services Consultant, West Bloomfield, MI

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School Library Journal

It's 1940, and much is going on in the life of 13-year-old Tommy Duncan. He would love to carry on with his routine of family, school and the Brooklyn Dodgers, but the world won't leave him alone. His mother is clearly ill and getting worse, and the war raging in Europe is all his new friend Beth wants to talk about. Beth's mother recently died of cancer, and keeping up with the news is how Beth maintains their connection. Now his other friend Sarah is talking about how her family fled the Nazis and how not all family members have been accounted for. Though readers may pick this up thinking it's a baseball story, it is more a family story, full of important lessons about life, loss and going on because you have to. The mystery of Mrs. Duncan's illness will pull readers along, and Tommy and his times are subtly evoked in this satisfying historical novel. (Fiction. 10+)

Kirkus Reviews

"[A] satisfying historical novel." -Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher