Customer Reviews

The Victory Garden

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a retired teacher. I retired early (age 25) to stay home with my first baby when she was born in 1989. We now have three children who love to read. I love children's literature and this book interested me. It interested me because entangled in the pages are history, family, friendship, devotion, loyalty and patriotism. The author had me glued to the pages and I, literally, did not put the book down until I finished it! She made the main character so real and I was cheering her on, feeling her pain, and could remember being a little sister to a big brother whom I loved and adored. My daughter is reading the book now - it is beside her bed. These are the kinds of books that I loved as a child and love passing down to my children. It's a wonderful book. I hope the author is inspired to continue to write more children's books. She has a gift and we are fortunate that she shared her gift with us, the gift of writing.

I purchased this book for my 10 year old grandchild and decided I should read it before presenting it to her. I am so glad I did. It is a splendid combination of the spirit of World War II and the details of that period of history that should not be forgotten or changed. It was written for the kids we hope will never experience that kind of time, but who must learn about it.

It is not just a story of a victory garden but a child's view of the spirit of the people then and to some extent now. It is so timely because once again our children are called to the details of another world wide battle in which we (and they are involved).

Bravo to the author for bringing this charming, enlightening chronicle of a child uniting people by leading in a way that unified them while helping them. Isn't that what won that war?

I am a 5th grade girl. I did not think books about war could be this interesting. When I started the book I thought it was moving slowly, but it really picked up and gave a bang at the end. In some ways I could really relate to Teresa. I have older brothers and they give me nicknames too. I would miss them if they went to war. I went back to the map many times while I was reading. I thought the map was a cool idea. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes suspense and emotional stories.

This is a great read for kids and for anyone who remembers World War II on the homefront, no matter what their age. I find it interesting that PW criticizes the book for being too sunny and "Pollyan-ish." It is a sad social commentary that we cannot allow our kids to be happy, to think nice thoughts, to know that there are good, humanitarian people in the world and that not everyone is out to skin you alive. Not every good work of children's lit has to deal with death or betrayal or abuse.

This book is better for children older than 11 maybe 11-13 because 9 year olds and even my 10 year olds were not able to get into it. It is a good book and is worth reading even if the kids have to wait a few years to fully understand it. Some how books like this are better read aloud by teachers who understand the literature.

I enjoyed this return to the World War II era where community spirit was alive and well in spite of a few disgruntled neighbors. I loved 11-year-old Teresa's bold spirit, her special relationship with her older brother, and her ambivalent feelings about Billy, the kid who seemed to purposely alienate all the other kids. We don't see many novels like this anymore, and I loved its Americana flavor with all the old traditions and values.