Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff (Delacorte Press, 1977), reading level 8+
"Things are never going to be the same, not even when the war is over," says Lily to her grandmother.
This story belongs to Lily, a rising sixth grader, who is trying to cope with the unbelievable loss and chaos of WWII.
Lily is a willful and stubborn child who has always let her imagination go wild, which leads to lying, sometimes small lies and sometimes whoppers. When her beloved father goes off to war; when her best friend's brother goes MIA in Normandy; when a skinny immigrant boy tells her that his sister was left behind in France behind the Nazi lines, Lily copes by telling a lie so huge that she puts herself and the immigrant boy in danger of death.
Overall, this is a character study, a quiet story that builds slowly and gives young readers a glimpse into daily life during WWII. Recommended for young readers, grades 4 - 6. Although it starts out slowly, this book might be good for teachers to read aloud to students.
This story belongs to Lily, a rising sixth grader, who is trying to cope with the unbelievable loss and chaos of WWII.
Lily is a willful and stubborn child who has always let her imagination go wild, which leads to lying, sometimes small lies and sometimes whoppers. When her beloved father goes off to war; when her best friend's brother goes MIA in Normandy; when a skinny immigrant boy tells her that his sister was left behind in France behind the Nazi lines, Lily copes by telling a lie so huge that she puts herself and the immigrant boy in danger of death.
Overall, this is a character study, a quiet story that builds slowly and gives young readers a glimpse into daily life during WWII. Recommended for young readers, grades 4 - 6. Although it starts out slowly, this book might be good for teachers to read aloud to students.
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| lilys_crossing_key.pdf |