Michael at the Invasion of France, 1943

December 1, 2011
A young Parisian joins the French Resistance in this Boys of Wartime series entry. Motivated equally by patriotism, hatred for the occupying boches and a desire to win the esteem of his absent father, Michael joins a friend in distributing taunting leaflets. His involvement in Resistance activities soon escalates into helping captured British and American airmen make their way to Spain. At first he acts only as a courier of forged identity documents, but later he helps first to slip a Jewish neighbor's child out of the city, then hides an ailing American fugitive in his family's apartment before accompanying him south over the Pyrenees. Meanwhile, he serves as a witness to the anxieties and physical hardships of wartime life under the Nazis, while seeing friends, neighbors and his own older brother taken away and ultimately earning sufficient self-esteem to lose his dependence on his father's regard. Calkoven's characters are simplified types, but she crafts an action-oriented plot that is suspenseful without being explicitly violent and is also well stocked with carefully researched details. A timeline and multiple notes at the end provide quick overviews of the tale's historical background and the war's overall course. An absorbing adventure that wears its twin informational and character-development loads lightly. (map, glossary, reading list) (Historical fiction. 10-12)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

March 1, 2012

Gr 5-8-The invasion of France and arrest of his brother make 13-year-old French American Michael keen to join the Resistance. The movement and activities of French citizens are immediately restricted once the Nazis take over, with crueler treatment extended to the Jewish population. A young Jewish child is hidden and smuggled to safety, while a respected teacher who speaks out against the Nazi regime disappears. Michael and a friend form a resisters club; eventually he joins the official Resistance movement, delivering forged identification papers for Allied soldiers and assisting an injured American pilot to safety. The story is short on characterization and long on action, which should draw in reluctant readers of historical fiction. The fear French citizens feel is palpable, and Michael's shock at discovering friends in the Nazi youth unit and the Resistance is realistically portrayed. The action is intense, particularly in scenes involving a near-disastrous encounter with a Nazi during a rescue attempt and Michael encountering an interloper while attempting to deliver Resistance materials. While Calkhoven's research is apparent, it never threatens to overtake the story line and action. Extensive back matter includes a detailed time line and brief biographies of key historical figures.-Jennifer Schultz, Fauquier County Public Library, Warrenton, VA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2012
Grades 4-7 From the day the Nazis round up Michael's neighbors, normal life is undone by the German occupation of Paris. Left with his mother and sister, the boy longs for word of his father and brother, allied with the Free French Forces. How can he resist the chance to become involved with the Resistance when the opportunity arises? Calkhoven's second Boys of Wartime title delivers taut action and adventure as Michael plays a role in shepherding downed Allied aviators out of France. The elements of hiding, codes, and surreptitious communications will capture readers, as will the bravery of the many French who defied the Nazis.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2012
Twelve-year-old Michael is determined to do something to prove his worth after his brother is taken prisoner by the Nazis and his father goes missing. Michael joins the French resistance, risking his life to fight for what he believes in. His experiences teach him about the complexities and horrors of war in this accessible and informative book. A historical note is appended. Reading list, timeline. Glos.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)