Countdown [Hardcover]

Deborah Wiles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2010 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

The story of a formative year in 12-year-old Franny Chapman's life, and the life of a nation facing the threat of nuclear war.

It's 1962, and it seems everyone is living in fear. Twelve-year-old Franny Chapman lives with her family in Washington, DC, during the days surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis. Amidst the pervasive threat of nuclear war, Franny must face the tension between herself and her younger brother, figure out where she fits in with her family, and look beyond outward appearances. For Franny, as for all Americans, it's going to be a formative year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8 Franny lives with her family in suburban Maryland just outside Andrews Air Force Base, circa summer of 1962. Kennedy and Khrushchev's duel on the world stage plays in the background while the fifth grader worries about her best friend's betrayal adores her college-age sister, Jo Ellen and fights with her saintly little brother, Drew. When not navigating the ups and downs of early adolescence, she writes letters to Khrushchev, prepares for air-raid drills, and investigates her sister's coded letters from Ebenezer. At its core, Countdown is a straightforward, no-surprises tale of historical fiction that at times reads like a memoir. Its unique format, however, is anything but run of the mill. Planned as the first in a trilogy, the book has been dubbed a documentary novel. In a successful effort to give readers a sense of the country's total preoccupation with all things nuclear and Communist during the height of the Cold War, Franny's narrative is punctuated by newspaper clippings, advertisements for bomb-shelter materials, news broadcasts, brief vignettes about famous figures, ephemera, and more. The overall result is somewhat frenetic but certainly effective readers are not only immersed in the era, but also experience a feeling of bombardment similar to that felt by Franny. While the narrative may not have stood solidly on its own, the documentary format and personalization of the major events of the decade will draw and dazzle readers. Jill Heritage Maza, Greenwich High School, CT
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* More than a few books have been written about growing up in the early 1960s, but Wiles takes her story, the first in the Sixties Trilogy, to an impressive new level by adding snippets of songs and speeches and contemporaneous black-and-white photographs to the mix. Drawing on her own experiences during this turbulent time, Wiles’ stand-in is 11-year-old Franny Chapman. Living near Andrews Air Force Base, close to Washington, D.C., Franny and her classmates are used to air-raid drills, where they practice how to “duck and cover.” Worries about a nuclear disaster become concrete when President Kennedy announces Russian missiles are in Cuba, and the tension ratchets up for 13 days in October 1962. But, at the same time, life goes on, and while rumors of war swirl, Franny must also deal with family issues, including a shell-shocked uncle who embarrasses her, an older sister with secrets, and a best friend who has eyes for someone else. Dealing with fear is one of the book’s themes, and the dramatic ending takes this issue on in both macro and micro terms. Wiles skillfully keeps many balls in the air, giving readers a story that appeals across the decades as well as offering enticing paths into the history. Many readers will find this on their own, but adults who read bits and pieces aloud will hook kids. Theyll eagerly await the next installments. Grades 5-7. --Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545106052
• ISBN-13: 978-0545106054
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Would Give More Stars, If Possible!, May 19, 2010

By 

Portianay "portianay" (KY, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Countdown (Hardcover)

It's not just that Ms. Wiles so evidently has done her homework, and so clearly recalls personal feelings of that time; it is her absolute gift for recounting those dreadful tween feelings, of change, insecurity, and peer pressure, with that hideous Missile Crisis as a backdrop!

I first "discovered" her when I picked up EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS. That one helped me through the death of a close friend, and I never put it down till I was finished. Then, as now, I cried, I laughed, and I felt as if I had just had some sort of magical catharsis happen to me, through a children's book! I am a children's librarian, so I believe EVERYONE should read children's books--they are so life-facilitating, and one never outgrows them--but if you are only going to read ONE children's book this year, COUNTDOWN is the one.

I feel as if I have waited a very long time for this book; after I voraciously read, and made sure our library owned, everything Ms. Wiles has published, I could not bear that there were no more. Trite as this sounds, it was so worth the wait. Now, I have to settle down to anticipation of Book Two of this trilogy! <sigh>

Give this book to the discerning upper-elementary/tween reader. That child will see himself/herself in every chapter. My fifth birthday was the day JFK was killed, so most of these echoes are very dim for me, yet I also saw myself.

Ms. Wiles, you are a gift to every reader and librarian everywhere.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Our friend the atom (3.5 stars), August 18, 2010

By 

J. Green (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Countdown (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

It's 1962 and 11 year-old Franny Chapman is having problems. Her best friend seems to be edging away from her, she's worried her older sister Jo Ellen might be a communist, and her perfect younger brother Drew is obsessed with being an astronaut and constantly reads his favorite book, "Our Friend the Atom." Her mom is stressed out, her father is a pilot at Andrews Air Force Base, and her Uncle Otts (who lives with them) is losing his mind. On top of all this are tensions between the USA and the USSR and the escalating Cuban Missile Crisis. With regular air raid drills and nuclear missiles aimed at the country, suddenly the atom doesn't seem so friendly anymore.

I was blown away by the format of this book which is interspersed with information from around 1962 such as advertisements for bomb shelters, Bert the Turtle "duck and cover" posters, b&w photos, news broadcasts, songs and speeches, and essays on notable people - adding a wonderful element of history to the narrative. Unfortunately, it took me well over 100 pages to feel much of an interest in the story. Franny is likeable enough but we're given such a short view of her life that I never felt much of a connection - and I personally find the first-person present-tense narrative rather annoying. I'm not sure my 11 year old daughter will even have the patience to keep reading long enough to be drawn in, which is unfortunate because the ending is actually kind of nice. It also does a very good job at portraying the fear people felt at the Cuban Missile Crisis. Reading the book description I had the impression it might be something like Gary Schmidt's excellent The Wednesday Wars, but it never reaches that level (although it's probably unfair to saddle any book with such high expectations as that outstanding book delivers).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book to Experience, not just read!, April 30, 2010

By 

Andy Plemmons "Herolamb" (Athens Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Countdown (Hardcover)

Countdown follows the main character, Franny, as she faces life in 1962 during a turbulent time in US history. Franny's life is filled with interesting characters. Uncle Otts is still living a war in his mind and keeps the family a bit on edge with his antics. Franny's sister is going off to college and seems to have completely disappeared from the family. Franny's dad is currently in the military and is always off on various missions, which keeps her mom a bit tense. Then, there's Franny's school friends, who provide her with lots of adventure, but also the feuding that comes with growing up with friends. While Franny is trying to discover how to make her way through her own life, she's also having to cope with the inherent fear that has developed in the world due to President Kennedy's announcement that Russia is sending nuclear missiles to Cuba. The threat of a bomb is always on Franny's mind, and her school doesn't help to relieve this fear with their constant reminders of duck and cover drills. How will Franny learn to heal the conflicts that she has with her friends? How will she and her family come together during this turbulent time? Will the United States ever be filled with peace instead of the constant thoughts and fears of war?

In Countdown, Deborah Wiles masterfully weaves a documentary novel that both takes us into the lives of one American family but also helps us to see the fearful history that took place during this time. As I read, I felt as if I had boarded a time machine and traveled back to the sixties. I felt the constant fear because as I read I was presented with music, news reports, presidential announcements, and advertisements that brought the thoughts of nuclear attack back to the front of my mind. Just as I was living Franny's life with her and enjoying her moments and adventures with her friends and family, an announcement or a duck and cover drill would take place. I was never able to escape the fear of attack, and this made the novel so much more real. At the same time, I was also reminded through these same photographs and music of how the rest of the United States was trying to move on with their day-to-day lives and how there were other major events taking place at the exact same time. This is a must-read novel. It brings back a time in history that has much relevance to the fears and issues we face today. What might you learn from this novel? What might you experience as you take this journey with Franny?