 |
This story for middle-graders and older is about Amanda Martin, her best friend, Joyce, and their siblings and friends—including a mentor/teacher whom they call "Mr. Andy"—immediately following World War II. Their interest in an apparently abandoned barn and the stories that Mr. Andy tells of the place's history spark the young people's interest to investigate, cultivate their previously untapped bravery, and learn skills and solve mysteries in ways that are true to the life experiences and expectations of children and teenagers of three generations ago. The group is free to imagine, explore, and have adventures—good and bad and at times more dangerous than they had expected—and to learn in many ways while doing so.
Kooman’s book is a tip of the hat to the past by an author who is gently commemorating a time when young people retained a certain degree of innocence as well as wonder in their immediate environments and the possibilities that they contained. Friendships with chickens, specifically roosters, were wondrous and vibrant. Koomans' faith in God and people is expressed in her acknowledgments, as well as in the beliefs and actions of the characters. Readers will get a genuine feeling of small-town life in America in 1946. Some who are older will experience nostalgia. Others may feel comforted by the friendships and realism of the characters and the tale and feel that it is a history lesson with verisimilitude. Readers of all ages may feel the energy that the possibilities of 1946 generated for some of that era's population.