SOMETHING OLD AND NEW

I recently finished reading Countdown by Deborah Wiiles. There has been a copy of this book in the IMC since June of 2011, but now it is one of the 2013 Rebecca Caudill Book Award nominees. Since 6th graders will participate in voting for this award, the IMC will be getting new, multiple copies. Set in 1962, Fanny Chapman tells the story of her family living outside Washington DC and the story of United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Franny worries with the rest of the country if there will be nuclear war while dealing with family problems such as a shell-shocked uncle who starts digging a bomb shelter in the front lawn, an older sister who disappears for days, a very anxious younger brother, and a father on active duty. In between chapters there are pictures and excerpts from speeches or news articles about the greater crisis facing the world. Somehow Franny's world and the larger world around her survive this frightening year.