Unabridged Audiobook
First off, I loved that the preface told the reader that the dog would make it through the book. Thank you! Bonus star just for that! Overall, this is a book about finding strength during hard and scary times while also learning to look for (or create!) moments of happiness. This is based on a true story of a girl whose father was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked; their house was destroyed in the attack and the family was shot at while they fled to safety. (The dog was added by the author and was a great asset to the story!) I thought the author did a fantastic job of walking the line of telling the facts and history of war while keeping it safe enough for kids to read/listen to. There are big themes included such as the mother falling into a deep depression and the girls needing to take care of themselves. Racism against the American Japanese is briefly touched on. I listened to the audiobook and both narrators did a good job. I played this audiobook for my 4-7th grade kids. They loved it and asked to listen again.
~~tag-text~~