In this moving picture book, award-winning collaborators Davide Cali and Serge Bloch present a fable for our time about two lonely soldiers facing each other across a barren battlefield. What each discovers, as the story unfolds, is that the enemy is not a faceless beast, but rather a real person with family, friends, and dreams.
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
“Every morning I shoot at him. Then he shoots at me.” The words and pictures are minimal in this picture book, with just a short sentence and a small khaki-colored ink drawing on almost every white page. A uniformed soldier in a hole shoots an enemy in a hole on the opposite page. The soldier knows from the manual that “the enemy is not a human being,” that the enemy will kill families and pets, burn down forests, and poison water. The spare trench-warfare scenarios evoke World War I as the soldier crawls to the enemy’s hole and discovers their connections, including loving family photos and battle manuals filled with untruths. In eloquent contrast to the close-ups of the two small holes and barbed wire are the big double-page views of what the soldiers share: the starry night and the stormy sky. The elemental peace message will spark discussion. Add this to the core collection column, Peace Not War in the November 1 issue of Booklist. Grades 2-4. --Hazel Rochman
Review
Starred Review, School Library Journal, April 2009:
"Poignant, thought-provoking, and powerful in its frankness and simplicity, this short piece will prompt discussion on war and other means of resolving conflict."
Review, The Wall Street Journal, April 25-26, 2009:
"Think of it as a kind of 'All Quiet on the Western Front' for the elementary-school set, though with chic, inventive illustration by Serge Bloch."
"Poignant, thought-provoking, and powerful in its frankness and simplicity, this short piece will prompt discussion on war and other means of resolving conflict."
Review, The Wall Street Journal, April 25-26, 2009:
"Think of it as a kind of 'All Quiet on the Western Front' for the elementary-school set, though with chic, inventive illustration by Serge Bloch."
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This simple tale about an endless war sends a heavy message about peace,
This review is from: The Enemy (Hardcover)
Two soldiers are at war with one another. They have never even seen each other, but their manuals paint a portrait of an evil monster, not a human being. Every morning, after they have crouched in their foxholes for a while, they each climb a ladder to the top to peer over the edge. "Every morning, I shoot at him. Then he shoots at me." For the rest of the day they lay low, just passing the time away. Each one gets hungry, but it is a waiting game. Finally when the soldier is starving he lights a fire. Very soon after that, "the enemy lights his."
The manual says all kinds of things about this "wild beast." It says hey have "nothing in common" and that he'd better kill him first before he kills all of them, their families, pets and destroys their way of life. In the meantime, war goes on in the foxholes. It's been a long time and the waiting game seems like forever. Sometimes the soldier wonders if they have been forgotten. Food and water and the lack of it is becoming a problem. Is all this really necessary? He climbs out of his hole and goes to the enemy foxhole, but finds no one there. But, oddly enough there are pictures of his family. Hmmm and he has a manual too. He now realizes the enemy is in his foxhole. What will happen if he tries to call a truce? This is a very simple tale with very simple line drawing illustrations that packs a wallop in the message department. It reminds me of the old saying about peace, love and hope only this little story comes from two stick figures playing a waiting game to see who can kill each other first to end a senseless and seemingly endless war. The most touching part is when the little soldier says, "There are pictures of his family . . . I wasn't expecting him to have a family." Do you think anyone in the enemy forces has a family?
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing,
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This review is from: The Enemy (Hardcover)
This book has sparked some interesting conversations with my 4 year old son. My husband was a little shocked by it's honesty, but that's just what I was looking for as we fall head first into the superhero/shoot 'em up phase of boyhood. Beautifully illustrated.
5.0 out of 5 stars
there's no enemy,
By mark "mark" (brooklyn, ny) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Enemy (Hardcover)
i believe the soldier climbs out of his hole in disguise
and wanders back into his own hole. the soldier describes his disorientation before leaving. i believe the message of the book is the reader shouldn't write a message in a bottle and throw it out of their "hole", hoping an imaginary enemy will receive it and stop the war. the reader should read the message themselves and act. this is a great book.
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