FICTION

Cold War on Maplewood Street

by Gayle ROSENGREN
192p. Putnam. Aug. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780399171833.
COPY ISBN
Gr 4–6—Joanna, a sixth grader, is a normal girl living an ordinary life with the usual tween concerns in 1962. Her overblown, fear-filled imagination causes her to think that a new elderly neighbor is a witch with evil intentions. She imagines that a loud noise means a burglar might be breaking into her apartment. Played against her active imagination is the very real threat of nuclear war. She's concerned for her older brother who is in the Navy and whose ship might be part of the U.S. blockade of Cuba. Unfortunately, Joanna's personal story isn't enriched by larger context or details about the Cuban missile crisis. Her constant fearful responses to radio and newspaper reports, while understandable, will not translate to readers unfamiliar with the historic events.
VERDICT An additional purchase, best used after reading a nonfiction account of the Cuban missile crisis.
Reviewed by Lillian Hecker, Town of Pelham Public Library, NY
Chicago preteen Joanna's active imagination and associated anxieties are dwarfed by global events as the Cuban Missile Crisis invades her otherwise normal reality. This novel, inspired by Rosengren's childhood feelings, never really hangs together: the historical events and atmosphere aren't made relevant enough to younger readers, and the domestic events don't elicit real drama. Deborah Wiles's Countdown addresses this historical moment more successfully.
 , Jun 01, 2015

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