Peggy's Letters

Deborah Dowson is a Canadian children’s librarian living in Powell,
Ohio.

Peggy, her mom, and her little brother are waiting in line at the
butcher shop when an air-raid siren goes off. They seek shelter in the
shop’s cellar. After the emergency is over, they come out to discover
that their house has burned down. They spend a night at the Red Cross
shelter and the next day arrange to stay with Granddad. Granddad is
annoyed with the situation.

Peggy writes letters to her dad to tell him how hard things are. When
her mom starts to work in a parachute factory, the young girl becomes
responsible for her little brother. Peggy’s friend at her new school
always seems to get her in trouble. The worst situation occurs when the
shrapnel they retrieved from her friend’s scavenged collection turns
out to be a live bomb. Granddad saves the day, and it is a turning point
in their relationship. Peggy begins to feel like living with Granddad
has become a real home.

Set in London, England, during the Blitz, this World War II story
cleverly mixes the dangers, worries, and fears of war with the everyday
world of a child trying to cope with responsibilities at home and at
school. Unfamiliar English terms used in the text (e.g., doodlebug,
pram, petrol) are explained in a glossary. Readers are introduced to
several changes in the roles of women and family life that the war
helped to bring about. Highly recommended.