The best in children’s literature, selected by Jim Whiting.
Jenny Moss
Jenny Moss is a former NASA engineer. She earned a master’s degree in literature and taught writing as an adjunct at University of Houston-Clear Lake. Winnie’s War is her first novel. She lives with her two teenagers in Houston, Texas.
A debut novel set against the backdrop of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918.
Life in Winnie’s sleepy town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just fine for her. Although her troubled mother’s distant behavior has always worried Winnie, she’s plenty busy caring for her younger sisters, going to school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and avoiding her testy grandmother. Plus, her sweetheart Nolan is always there to make her smile when she’s feeling low.
But when the Spanish Influenza claims its first victim, lives are suddenly at stake, and Winnie has never felt so helpless. She must find a way to save the people she loves most, even if doing so means putting her own life at risk.
Winnie’s take-charge attitude will empower and inspire readers, as Jenny Moss’s lyrical writing beautifully captures the big-time worries of a small-town girl.
Winnie’s War
Walker Books for Young Readers, 2009
Middle grade historical fiction
Recommended ages: 10-14 years old
192 pages
Price: $12.74 on Amazon; it can also be found at Barnes and Noble
Why would Winnie’s War appeal to grandparents?
WINNIE’S WAR is set in a small town in Texas during the 1918 influenza pandemic. The story is about a twelve-year-old girl, Winnie Grace, who seeks to understand her withdrawn mother, to hide from her grandmother, and to keep her family safe from the influenza. I believe it would appeal to grandparents because one of the central plotlines focuses on Winnie’s growing understanding of not only her mother, but her grandmother too.
Link to reviews: http://www.walkeryoungreaders.com/books/catalog.php?key=798&display=reviews
Link to website: http://www.jenny-moss.com
For more information about Jim, please see www.jimwhiting.com. To inquire about availability of specific titles or to send a comment, write him at jimruns3@gmail.com.