In Flanders Fields

by Norman Jorgensen, Brian Harrison-Lever (Illustrator)

Overview

An eloquent counterpoint to the senselessness and inhumanity of war, In Flanders Fields tells the story of a young homesick World War I soldier who risks his life to cross the no-man's-land and rescue a robin caught in the barbed wire that separates the opposing forces.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781925162608
Publisher:	Fremantle Press
Publication date:	01/01/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	36
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	9 Years

About the Author

With a career that started in television and film, Brian Harrison-Lever later lectured in design and drawing at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.AwardsChildren's Book Council of Australia Award (Notable Book 2008)Children's Book Council of Australia Award (Winner 2003)American SPCA Henry Burgh Children's Book Award (Winner 2003)Children's Book Council of Australia Crichton Award for New Illustrators (Shortlisted 2003)Western Australian Premier's Book Award (Shortlisted 2003) Norman was born in Broome in 1954, the eldest of four brothers, and lived in several country towns throughout Western Australia during his childhood. At the age of ten his family moved to Kalamunda, in the hills above Perth. Norman became an avid reader after being given The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton at age seven. He spends his spare time reading and watching old movies and enjoys travelling, woodworking and photography.AwardsChildren's Book Council of Australia Early Childhood (Shortlisted 2012)Aurealis Award (Shortlisted 2012)Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature (Shortlisted 2012)SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards (Shortlisted 2012)Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Books (Notable Book 2012)Western Australian Young Readers' Book Award (Shortlisted 2006, 2012)Western Australian Young Readers' Book Award (Winner 2009)Western Australian Premier's Book Award (Shortlisted 2002, 2004, 2008, 2012)American SPCA Henry Burgh Award (Honour Book 2004)Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year (Winner 2003)

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4 Up-Jorgensen and Harrison-Lever have set their picture book in the gray and bloody landscape of the World War I trenches. "Early on Christmas morning the guns stop firing. A deathly silence creeps over the pitted and ruined landscape." A soldier sees a robin trapped in barbed wire and decides to rescue it, protected from the German snipers only by his white silk scarf tied to his bayonet. The illustrations perfectly reinforce the somber tone of the story-the soldiers are drawn in gray tones with touches of khaki, against which the bird shines brightly, as does the momentary triumph of the human spirit. "And as he walks away, from the trenches behind him he can hear hoarse, lonely voices beginning to sing: "Stille nacht, heilige nacht-." Although the incident may be completely fictional, the book stands as a powerful story and could easily be paired with Linda Granfield's In Flanders Fields (Stoddart, 2000) and Michael Foreman's retelling of the 1914 Christmas Day cease-fire in War Game (Arcade, 1994).-Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

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