The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Newbery Honor Award 

Newbery Chapter Book

The War That Saved My Life: Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker: 9781925355642: Amazon.com: Books

This book is about a girl with a club foot who is abused and terribly mistreated by her mother during World War II. Ada is able to escape her mother by joining her brother and other evacuee children who are sent away in anticipation of bombs dropped on London. Ada and her young brother, Jamie, are taken in by a woman named Susan who has problems of her own. Together, the three of them form a tight bond and begin to heal one another mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically. In the end, Ada and Jamie reunite with Susan and are then permanently taken in by her. 
I think this book would be most suitable for students in fourth to eighth grade, depending on their reading level and their ability to deal with difficult topics. It could be used within curriculum as a book that students read as a class and then complete a project or small assignments on. It would be a great way to incorporate history with language arts for students in middle school or late elementary. I would include this book in my classroom on a bookshelf that students are able to access and take books home. 

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