Marcia Williams' mother was a writer and her father was a playwright and theatre director. She spent the early part of her life in Canton, Hong Kong, Nigeria and the Middle East with her mother and diplomat stepfather. She loved books from an early age and remembers being read to almost every night; "I would often be scared, especially by fairy tales, but I never wanted the stories to end." She went to boarding school in Sussex, from where she sent weekly illustrated letters to her parents overseas. Willie Beech, a lonely and deprived child, is evacuated to a tiny English village just before the Second World War, and finds himself living with reclusive widower Thomas Oakley. Marcia didn't receive any formal art training. She calls herself "an obsessive illustrator. I've just always done it. I never consciously thought: that's what I want to do." She had a number of jobs, including nursery teacher, which is when she developed her taste for story-telling to young children; "I learnt what they found accessible and what they enjoyed." Giving up teaching to paint, she studied watercolour at Richmond College and held some successful local exhibitions before a friend suggested that she took her work to show Walker Books. This is the remarkable story of David’s introduction to the world: sea, mountains and flowers, the colours of Italy, the taste of fruit, people laughing and smiling, all are new to David. David learns that his polite manner, his haunted eyes and his thin features are strange to other people. He must learn to fend for himself in this strange new world.

War 2 | Literacy Classroom World War 2 | Literacy Classroom

Throughout the book, the detailed illustrations display the emotional journey that Flossie goes on, the little star motifs being the most telling. The verbal text describes the events whilst trying to deal with them as a child might. Struggling to cope with the responsibility of looking after her brother is a recurring theme: Two young writers have been named the winners of Poppyscotland’s learning competition, My Secret War Diary. - Liam McNamee

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Extracts such as this demonstrate the effectiveness of this book in being able to draw the reader into Flossie’s life, feel empathy towards her and at the same time, perhaps gain a sense of what it would have felt like to have to put your baby brother into a gas suit. As a primary teacher, I would be very happy if a book had this effect. A small point of criticism is, rain in January. New York does get a fair bit of snow during the winter. So unless it was unreasonably mild, Maddy and her friend should have been walking through snow, not riding their bikes everywhere with a bit of a nippy wind. Two young writers have been named the winners of Poppyscotland’s learning competition, My Secret War Diary. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments A fascinating diary account of the Second World War, as seen through the eyes of a young girl. Flossie is just nine years old when, in 1939, Britain declares war on Germany and her father leaves the family home to join the army. Flossie is left to bring up her baby brother and to face a whole host of new experiences on her own. Her diary becomes an outlet for relaying all the news from at home and abroad. From the first evacuees arriving to her sweetheart's being killed in Normandy in 1944, Flossie has to endure much hardship. But her own special blend of courage, humour and fighting spirit sees her through to the Armistice, when she can welcome her dad home at last. About This Edition ISBN:

My Secret War Diary, by Flossie Albright - LoveReading4Kids

Partly autobiographical, this is first of the internationally acclaimed trilogy by Judith Kerr telling the unforgettable story of a Jewish family fleeing from Germany at the start of the Second World War Tying neatly in with the primary curriculum, this is the perfect book for enthusing nine plus children to learn more about this fascinating period in our history. -- Independent Bookshop Week supplement - The Guardian LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives.

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The powerful new novel from the master storyteller - inspired by the true story of one man who might have stopped World War II. But Maddie is honestly super annoying in this diary. She's using her father's military service for social clout and has a pretty inflated sense of importance. The good work she's doing seems more about drawing attention to herself than really helping the war effort. Ultimately, though, she realizes this about herself and does change. While Maddie is not a particularly likable narrator, her self-absorption feels true to life. This is an autobiography through a journal during the time of WWII. This book follows the life of Flossie Albright. Her father is in the War during WWII. She writes a diary about her life and notes that she gets from her father. This book follows different events that happen throughout the war and getting a view of it from a kid. This shows different groups that were formed during the time, such as a group for girls joining to help the war, women starting more jobs as well as another event. Such as groups leaving Germany.

My Secret War by Mary Pope Osborne | Open Library My Secret War by Mary Pope Osborne | Open Library

Provide any other suggestions that would be useful regarding literary content, reading level, and other ways in which the book might be integrated: Caption: Illustration from My Secret Diary by Marcia Williams showing star motifs. Photo source: Lisa LacyNine-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas. When Erik strikes up an unlikely friendship with German Radar operator, Hans, the pair soon become involved in a race against time to help destroy the Nazi warship, Tirpitz. This is a historical fiction diary, in that it is written about an actual time and place in history but from the viewpoint of a fictional character. Many of the events in the book did actually happen, however the character of Flossie and her family and friends are fictional. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - Tying neatly in with the primary curriculum, this is the perfect book for enthusing nine plus children to learn more about this fascinating period in our history. -- Independent Bookshop Week supplement * The Guardian *

My Secret War Diary, by Flossie Albright: My History of…

This book is great! It is very informative and gives readers a thorough insight of how it is to live in the Second World War. That is what happened to Anna in 1933. She was nine years old when it began, too busy with her schoolwork and toboganning to take much notice of political posters, but out of them glared the face of Adolf Hitler, the man who would soon change the whole of Europe – starting with her own small life. Marcia Williams began to develop her distinctive comic-book style at an early age: "When I was about ten and wrote home to my family from boarding school," she says, "I never wrote normal letters. I tried to tell my family about what I was doing in a way that was more fun. Also, my parents didn't let me read comic books, so I decided to create my own."

Maddie clearly undergoes a transformation as the book progresses, and I thought the book did a nice job of handling her budding relationship with Johnny. It felt very true to early dating experiences when you're not sure how the other person feels about you. They were super cute together. The story is compelling and is a great way to learn about the War. However, there are a few negatives: Across the country, hundreds of people are working tirelessly to prepare for Remembrance. Here are just a few of their stories.