Kate Albus

I can't remember the last time a book made me cry with joy. What a lovely, lovely story! A Place to Hang the Moon made me remember why I fell in love with books and reading as a young child.

The unique personalities of all three children were so well rounded out I felt as though I knew all of them. I found myself thinking "I bet William is going to grow up to be a fine man and a wonderful dad some day." and "I'll bet Edmund grows up to be a teacher." The three orphans are all book lovers and avid readers and there are plenty of references to the children's literature that I read as a child. As evacuees during the Blitz they're outsiders in the small country village they evacuate to, and to find a place that feels like 'home' to them they gravitate to the library. There they find and befriend the librarian, Mrs. Muller, herself an outsider for being married to a German man. I can't say more without spoiling the story...just that this was a breath of fresh air in the manner of the old-school Newbery winners of the 50's and 60's.

Well developed characters - 1 star
Literary children - 1 star
Hero/Librarian! - YES! 3 stars!… (more)

It's 1944. Dory Byrnes lives in New York City with her brothers Fish and Pike. Her mother is dead, and her Pops has gone to war, so the three siblings are supposed to look out for each other and listen to Fish, who's 17. 12-year-old Dory finds this hard at times, and the siblings get in a few scrapes, which leads to their new landlord reporting them to Child Protective Services. The siblings are afraid that they'll be sent to orphanages, until Dory makes a discovery. She learns that the third, fourth, and fifth floors of Caputo's, the restaurant where Pops arranged for the kids to get a meal once a week, are closed off, accessible only by an ancient dumbwaiter that nobody has used in upwards of thirty years. When Dory sneaks in one night, she's hoping to find treasure. Instead, she finds an abandoned hotel, which becomes the Byrnes kids' sanctuary. But when the letters from Pops stop coming, they start to wonder what will become of them.

There are lots of books about World War II for kids, but few about the US home front. This one is delightfully Old New York, with all the character and bustle of the city. I did think it glossed over the difficulties of getting in and out of the abandoned hotel, but on the other hand, what kid wouldn't love finding a secret hideout and outsmarting mean adults like Dory did? There's also lots of complicated growing-up emotions that are portrayed so very well. This book isn't quite as heartwarming as A Place to Hang the Moon, but it's all kinds of charming.… (more)

Three children are left adrift with no home when their unloving grandmother dies. They saw her as unfeeling and cold, and they were correct. She didn't leave any instructions or plans for her grandchildren in her will. She did leave money, but no security. There was an uncle present at the gathering after the funeral, but that is the last he is mentioned.

Not only are they without anyone to care for them, but WWII hit England with a terror of bombs. It was difficult to find safe houses for one child let alone three children who wanted to stay together. Through their sheer determination, they remained together.

Their experiences were at times caring, but mainly cruel. They experienced a host of nasty occurrences, and were not loved until they found a wonderful librarian who wanted and loved them.… (more)