Giff, Patricia Reilly. Lily’s Crossing. New York: Random House, 1997. ISBN 978-0385321426
As troops were storming the beaches of Normandy towards the end of WWII, Lily’s Crossing occurs during that same summer. Lily, just like any other student, is counting down the last “agonizing” days of school until she can spend the summer at Rockaway beach in New York fishing and hanging out with her dad. Her “nagging” Gram has to go too, but despite the superficial tumultuous relationship Lily and Gram have, they end up bonding after her dad ends up leaving for the war the day the summer vacation begins. In the meantime, her best friend Margaret, who lives in Rockaway beach, has to leave when she gets there as well since her family had to move to Detroit where her dad would make parts for warplanes. She does, however, end up becoming friends with Albert, a Hungarian refugee, who escaped from the Nazis with his younger sister, who had to remain in France due to severe illness.
AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPTS
1998 Newbery Honor Book
ALA Notable Children's Book
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book
From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL- “History is brought to life through Giff's well chosen details and descriptions.”
From BOOKLIST- “With wry comedy and intense feeling, and without intrusive historical detail, Giff gets across a strong sense of what it was like on the home front during World War II.”
From PUBLISHERS’ WEEKLY ‘"…the WWII homefront novel, about Lily's growing friendship with a Hungarian refugee, "has all the ingredients that best reward readers."’
CONNECTIONS
Read other books from Patricia Reilly Giff:
· NORY RYAN’S SONG. ISBN 978-0439316743
· MAGGIE’S DOOR. ISBN 978-0385326582
· WATER STREET. ISBN 978-0385730686
Use the book in conjunction with the following historical fiction books about other young people during the same time period reflected in Lily’s Crossing:
· LILY’S CROSSING
o Subject: Lily’s life in America and a new friend who is a Hungarian refugee and the way their lives were affected by WWII.
· Holm, Anne. I AM DAVID. ISBN 978-0152051600
o Subject: A 12 year old boy’s escape from a Eastern European prison camp.
· Lowry, Lois. NUMBER THE STARS. ISBN 978-0395510605
o Subject: The evacuation of Danish Jews during WWII and a young girl hidden in plain sight with a non-Jewish family in order
to spare her life.
Images:
www.amazon.com
As troops were storming the beaches of Normandy towards the end of WWII, Lily’s Crossing occurs during that same summer. Lily, just like any other student, is counting down the last “agonizing” days of school until she can spend the summer at Rockaway beach in New York fishing and hanging out with her dad. Her “nagging” Gram has to go too, but despite the superficial tumultuous relationship Lily and Gram have, they end up bonding after her dad ends up leaving for the war the day the summer vacation begins. In the meantime, her best friend Margaret, who lives in Rockaway beach, has to leave when she gets there as well since her family had to move to Detroit where her dad would make parts for warplanes. She does, however, end up becoming friends with Albert, a Hungarian refugee, who escaped from the Nazis with his younger sister, who had to remain in France due to severe illness.
AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPTS
1998 Newbery Honor Book
ALA Notable Children's Book
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book
From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL- “History is brought to life through Giff's well chosen details and descriptions.”
From BOOKLIST- “With wry comedy and intense feeling, and without intrusive historical detail, Giff gets across a strong sense of what it was like on the home front during World War II.”
From PUBLISHERS’ WEEKLY ‘"…the WWII homefront novel, about Lily's growing friendship with a Hungarian refugee, "has all the ingredients that best reward readers."’
CONNECTIONS
Read other books from Patricia Reilly Giff:
· NORY RYAN’S SONG. ISBN 978-0439316743
· MAGGIE’S DOOR. ISBN 978-0385326582
· WATER STREET. ISBN 978-0385730686
Use the book in conjunction with the following historical fiction books about other young people during the same time period reflected in Lily’s Crossing:
· LILY’S CROSSING
o Subject: Lily’s life in America and a new friend who is a Hungarian refugee and the way their lives were affected by WWII.
· Holm, Anne. I AM DAVID. ISBN 978-0152051600
o Subject: A 12 year old boy’s escape from a Eastern European prison camp.
· Lowry, Lois. NUMBER THE STARS. ISBN 978-0395510605
o Subject: The evacuation of Danish Jews during WWII and a young girl hidden in plain sight with a non-Jewish family in order
to spare her life.
Images:
www.amazon.com