The War that Saved my Life:

I chose to read The War that Saved My Life, Kimberly Bradley. This is a Newbery award wining book and is about a girl named Ada and her little brother during World War II. Ada is a handicap girl who has a cleft foot which prevents her from walking. Eventually she moves to the countryside where she learns how to walk with crutches and teaches herself how to ride a horse. Ada’s little brother is named Jamie who is six years old. He was raised by his nine year old sister Ada until Mrs. Smith took them in when they moved to the country, where she became their caregiver during the war. Ada is very intelligent, because she teaches herself how to read and write, she is also very brave and catches a German spy while she is out riding one day, and ends up becoming the village hero. I would use this book in my classroom if I was to teach about World War II. Before I even taught the lesson, I would have the students read this book, then we would discuss the book after the class had read it though. Then I would use class time to teach my students about the history of World War II. I like this book because it is very insightful and gives a child’s perspective about how the war effected her life.