The Mitchells: Five for Victory by Hilda van Stockum
The kids and I will be studying World War II in American History next year and I was interested in finding a read-aloud that focused on life in America during the war. It was the perfect opportunity to pre-read Five for Victory, the first book in the Mitchells series offered by Bethlehem Books.
The book opens as the five Mitchell children, their mother and their grandmother see Father off. He's heading to the war and they're left alone. The book follows their antics and earnest efforts to do their part for the war. In a very gentle way, we can see some of the hardships those left behind faced and also find inspiration in their heart-felt desire to help their mother and neighbors. Father is missing in action for a brief time without instilling a great amount of fear or anxiety in little listeners (just enough to give a taste for the fear and anxiety many people felt during that time).
The plot is a little predictable but I didn't feel it detracted from the pleasure of the story. I fully expect my children to love this book (as I did) and am eager to collect all the Mitchell books for our library. If you hurry, you can dowload the e-version of this book from the publisher for free; it's their free estack book for the month of June!
