100 Days and 99 Nights

June 1, 2008
Gr 3-5-Esmerelda Swishback McCarther has spent most of her seven years living in four different countries on four different continents with her military family. Arriving back in the United States, she and her brother begin school in a suburb of Washington, DC. Unfortunately, her father must leave for a tour of duty100 days and 99 nights. Saddened and fearful for him, Esme gives him the precious remnant square from her "blankie" to take with him. While he is away, she struggles to remain dutiful and strong, traits that her family values. Madison authentically portrays the stresses experienced not only at home but also in the classrooms of children whose loved ones are away at war. When Esme and her friend Martina spearhead a project to help the troops by collecting scrap metal, the entire community becomes involved and the news reaches her father, who proclaims Esme a hero. This is a light yet realistic novel about a reality well known to many American families. All branches of the armed forces are featured in some capacity although Esme's father is a sergeant in the Army."D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2008
Living on the army base in Alexandria, Virginia, seven-year-old Esme is mad-sad when her father, a sergeant, is called to the front. As she countsoff the 100 days of his tour of duty, her bedzoo of stuffed animals, from aardvark to zebra, comforts her. One at a time she tells their stories, remembers how she got them, and talks about life missing Dad. In this moving debut novel, wordplay is part ofevery chapter. Esme hears her fathers playful, loving voice (Rhinoceros. Of courserous.) and remembers what hetaught her: rules are fun-de-mental not only in the army but also when you make pancakes (Dad is the finest flipper from Fiji to France). WhenDad announces thathe must leave, Esme recallsit was scary silent except for the angry hiss of butter skiing across the skillet. To be patriotic, Esme bikes to conserve gas and organizes a scrap-metal drive, but theres no glorification of war. Rather, this isa mix ofhilarious language and one childs terror that there could be bad news. Illustrations not seen.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2008
Esme survives her father's military deployment by helping her mother and remembering her father's rules (e.g., "The first person that hits is always wrong"). She deals with the changes in her home routine and counts the days until her father returns. Esme's first-person narration is not convincingly childlike, but it does draw readers into the protagonist's very difficult situation.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)