Blue

Ann Fay is the man of the family since her father has gone off to the war in Europe. Mama's hands are full with the twins and little brother Bobby. Then Bobby comes down with polio and is sent to the hospital where Mama stays with him. After Bobby dies Mama is not herself and Ann Fay takes on the role of mother to the twins and Mama. With help from her neighbor, Junior, she is able to cope. When she comes down with polio, Mama snaps out of her grief. There is so much packed into the pages but nothing seems to want for it. This is a poignant look at a difficult time but so very well written. A fifth grade student of mine said it best, "This is the best book I've ever read." For those who have read Peg Kehret's Small Steps, try this one.

Ann Fay Honeycutt is only thirteen, but she's already the man of the house. This is thanks to her daddy leaving to fight in the war against Hitler and leaving his blue overalls for Ann Fay to fill. <br /> <br />Trying to keep the wisteria she loves from choking the vegetable garden she's been charged to tend is nearly a full-time job, and that's without counting the extra work of taking care of her baby brother and twin sisters. <br /> <br />Ann Fay thinks these will be her greatest challenges while her daddy is off at war. But then a polio epidemic hits their hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, and Ann Fay learns what real challenge is. <br /> <br />This is a remarkable story of courage and of a spirit that cannot be broken. The flowing language this author uses is just gorgeous, and the voice of Ann Fay is as unique as they come. I stayed up late to read the next chapter and then the next -- one of the highest compliments I can give a book. <br /> <br />Reviewed by: Julie M. Prince

I don't know if this book has won any of the children's literature prizes.But it should! <br />The tough,funny,true-to-the-South characters, make this a heart tangling story of a young girl's toughness in the face of her father's absence in World War II, the terrifying polio epidemic that sweeps over her home town and her first heart-to-heart sense of what segregation has done to girls just like her, except that they are black. <br />The story is beautifully written giving a sense of the red clay, the wisteria and the natural environment. Research notes look extensive, but this story reads to the heart. <br />