Three Years and Eight Months

Gr 5–8—Based on the author's family's experiences, this book is a powerful account of the effect of war on an ordinary family. Ten-year-old Choi is living with his mother and uncle in Hong Kong in 1941. His normal morning at school is interrupted with the news that Japan is bombing the city and that everyone must go home immediately. Choi's mother and many others are dragged from their homes without explanation, beginning a difficult period in Hong Kong history that lasted three years and eight months. Anxiety increases as food supplies dwindle. Choi and his friend, Taylor, are given jobs as slave boys at a Japanese military station. Soon they are able to give information and stolen supplies to Uncle Kim, who is working with the resistance. Their efforts help Allied prisoners-of-war escape and aid American and British pilots who are shot down. The story alludes to women being mistreated by soldiers, as well as people suffering relocation and starvation, but does not go into graphic detail. A lengthy historical note at the end, however, describes atrocities committed by the Japanese soldiers, including rape and murder. The subject matter makes this picture book best suited for a middle-school audience. The author keeps the text from being completely one-sided by including a Japanese soldier who befriends Choi and Taylor and treats them humanely. The watercolor illustrations, accented with pen outlines, vividly depict the people's feelings of sadness, anxiety, and desperation. The many details ofuniforms, currency, buildings, and equipment will give readers a good sense of the time period and setting. This unusual book would make a good extended reading selection for World War II studies.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA