Jimmy's Stars [Hardcover]

Mary Ann Rodman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

It’s September 1943, and eleven-year-old Ellie McKelvey’s older brother, Jimmy, has just been drafted. Jimmy has a joyful heart and a kind word for everyone, and he’s the only person who thinks Ellie is smart and funny and as beautiful as Lana Turner, the movie star. Ellie can hardly stand to see him go. With Jimmy gone, Aunt Toots moves into his bedroom, Ellie’s mother takes a war job at a factory, and everything in Ellie’s life seems upside down. But she figures that the war will be over and Jimmy home by Christmas, so as much as she misses him, she keeps her spirits up. Even as families in the neighborhood begin to receive telegrams informing them that their boys are wounded or worse, Ellie never stops believing in Jimmy.

In her second work of historical fiction, Mary Ann Rodman captures all the authentic details of life on the homefront during World War II, as well as the fierce love a sister has for her beloved big brother.

Jimmy's Stars is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—Ellie McKelvey feels assured that her brother, Jimmy, will not be drafted into the army because he the only breadwinner in the family while their father is recuperating from a broken leg. She is certain that the draft board will have forgotten about Jimmy or that the war will end quickly. But the Nazis and the Japanese continue to advance, and Jimmy eventually receives his orders. As the war and Ellie's story drag on, she displays a typical 11-year-old's childish anger, blaming her brother for promises he cannot keep. She witnesses her neighbors experiencing death notices and the return of wounded soldiers. Rodman's development of a child's emotional response through her protagonist's unwavering wishful thinking climaxes as word comes of Jimmy's heroic death. Ellie's disbelief extends to desperation and then hopeful thoughts that an error has occurred and that her brother will return any day. Ellie's story moves slowly, but readers will sympathize with her loneliness and inner strength to believe in miracles. This psychological, child-oriented war perspective could provide significance in today's military dilemma.—Rita Soltan, Youth Services Consultant, West Bloomfield, MI
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Review

“Beautifully crafted . . .  Ellie’s intense outpouring of grief is masterfully portrayed, and Rodman’s painstaking attention to historical detail creates a vividly realized sense of time and place. Readers will find this emotionally gripping story of love and loss profoundly moving.” —Starred, Kirkus Reviews

"Finds beauty in every emotional nuance as Ellie hurtles between self pity, denial, and even rage toward her brother for having “welshed on the deal.” The lively spirit of working-class Pittsburgh, where neighborhood families live for news of the war and the fate of their sons, extends Ellie’s personal story with a broader sense of homefront life. Suggest this fine novel as enrichment to World War II curricula." —Starred, Booklist

 

"This psychological, child-oriented war perspective could provide significance in today's military dilemma." —School Library Journal

 

"Rodman's careful attention to Ellie and Jimmy's pre-enlistment domestic rituals and to their upbeat, encouraging correspondence establishes the tight, affectionate bond between brother and sister."

—Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books

“Packed with intimate details about life in America during World War II, this book will leave readers with a meaningful picture of what it was like to live through those very hard years.” —Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); First Edition edition (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374337039
• ISBN-13: 978-0374337032
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,325,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children, April 12, 2009

By 

Yana V. Rodgers "econkids.rutgers.edu" (New Brunswick, NJ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jimmy's Stars (Hardcover)

Ellie McKelvey, a sixth-grader from Pittsburgh, enjoyed baseball, going out to the movies with her brother Jimmy, and hanging out with her friends, but she despised Victoria Gandeck. After all, Victoria called Jimmy a slacker because he had not gone off to fight in the war like Victoria's own four brothers. Ellie knew that Jimmy had a deferment from the service because their family depended on his earnings. However, now that their dad had returned to work, it was only a matter of time before the draft board would call her brother into the service.

Jimmy reported for duty on October 2, 1943. Ellie missed her brother terribly, and she tried to take comfort in his promise to come home for Christmas. All around her, the war effort impacted every part of Ellie's life. Her Aunt Toots moved from West Virginia into their house, into Jimmy's room, so she could get a factory job. Ellie's mother also joined the likes of Rosie the Riveter and found work at a factory, her older sister got a job at the local diner when the owner's daughter joined a volunteer women's division of the navy, and Ellie found herself performing a growing number of household tasks. Daily routines changed as food items became rationed and as materials from children's toys were recycled for wartime production. Even at school she could not escape the war, with her teacher's bulletin board covered with pictures of former students and family members who had joined the military. Worst of all was the collective shock and grief when the telegram delivery boy brought news about the loss of a loved one.

By approaching the difficult theme of war through the eyes of an eleven-year old girl, Mary Ann Rodman makes the story both accessible and spellbinding for middle grade readers. Of particular interest is the book's focus on major adjustments and sacrifices that adults and children made in their daily lives as part of the war effort, even though they were far removed from the actual fighting. Jimmy's Stars also deserves high praise for its unpredictable plot, well-developed characters, and carefully-researched historical backdrop.

5.0 out of 5 stars Universal story, October 12, 2009

By 

Tracy Barrett (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jimmy's Stars (Hardcover)

In hands any less skilled than Mary Ann Rodman's, JIMMY'S STARS could have turned into a tearjerker, but the author's deft touch keeps the reader involved and engaged without resorting to cliche or sentimentality. Ellie is an appealing narrator; she has her flaws and doesn't always behave as the adults in her life might wish, but she is tough, smart, and loving. Her story will draw in today's readers despite its historical setting. The story moves gently, yet the reader will find it harder to put down than many current action-packed books that ultimately skim over the characters' inner lives.

5.0 out of 5 stars Jimmy's Stars, February 8, 2009

By 

Melissa A. Palmer - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jimmy's Stars (Hardcover)

This book takes place during World War 2. Ellie's older brother Jimmy is drafted as a medic in the Army. He promises Ellie that he will be safe and be home for Christmas. She and he are quite close and she is focusing on his promises as a way to keep going while he is fighting the war. This book shows the effects of war on the soldiers in both a physical and mental way. It also shows the effects of war on the family members left behind.
This book would be good for MS readers or HS readers. I think both boys and girls would like this book. It has a lot of war stories in it and has strong male and female characters.