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The Hamilton County Reads Children's pick for 2010. I love this story, but why do they keep picking books that make me what to cry? I have to read this to a group of children!
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Blueberries for the Queen
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In 1942 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, living in exile after theNazi invasion of her country, spent the summer in Lee, Massachusetts,with her daughter and granddaughters. The following is based on a truestory....
It’s summertime in New England during World War II, and a boy namedWilliam likes to imagine at bedtime that he is a brave knight fightinggreat battles to end the war. But in the morning he is always justWilliam again, not big enough to contribute to the war effort like therest of his family.
Then a real queen moves in just down the road: Queen Wilhelmina of theNetherlands. William’s parents explain that the queen has been forced out of her country because of the war. Now William has his chance to do something. It may not be “war work” -- it’s more like peace work -- but that makes all the difference.
Susan Jeffers’s dramatic illustrations portray the compelling contrastbetween William’simagination and the real events in the story, which are based on anactual incident in John Paterson’s childhood. Visually stunning, with anevocative, poignant telling, this is the picture-book art form at itsfinest.
It’s summertime in New England during World War II, and a boy namedWilliam likes to imagine at bedtime that he is a brave knight fightinggreat battles to end the war. But in the morning he is always justWilliam again, not big enough to contribute to the war effort like therest of his family.
Then a real queen moves in just down the road: Queen Wilhelmina of theNetherlands. William’s parents explain that the queen has been forced out of her country because of the war. Now William has his chance to do something. It may not be “war work” -- it’s more like peace work -- but that makes all the difference.
Susan Jeffers’s dramatic illustrations portray the compelling contrastbetween William’simagination and the real events in the story, which are based on anactual incident in John Paterson’s childhood. Visually stunning, with anevocative, poignant telling, this is the picture-book art form at itsfinest.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1,2004
This edition
- Format
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32 pages, Hardcover
- Published
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January 1, 2004 by HarperCollins Publishers
- ISBN
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9780066239422
- ASIN
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0066239427
- Language
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English
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Rating(3.8 / 5.0, 31 votes)
5 stars
5(16%)
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3 stars
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31 reviews All reviews
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Oh! Why do siblings always have to be portrayed in such a fashion. This would have received at least four stars if the brothers had gotten along and the older brother had not teased the younger so.
A little boy is too young to help with the War efforts (WW2) until he comes up with an idea while picking blueberries with his dad one day.
Ages: 4 - 8
Cleanliness: brothers fight; an older brother teases and laughs at the younger brother. The word “stupid” is used.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
A little boy is too young to help with the War efforts (WW2) until he comes up with an idea while picking blueberries with his dad one day.
Ages: 4 - 8
Cleanliness: brothers fight; an older brother teases and laughs at the younger brother. The word “stupid” is used.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
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good kids book.
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From the cover I was expecting a medieval story. It is medieval in parts, but these parts exist in young William's imagination. It is 1942 in rural America. William is an ordinary boy growing up on a farm. His family are involved in the war effort. The war is mentioned and certainly a part of the story but it doesn't hit young readers over the head with the miseries of war. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands is forced into exile and turns up near William's home. William and his brother Roger are very keen to catch a glimpse of the Queen. William decides to try and take some blueberries to the Queen, as blueberries make your mouth rejoice. An unusual tale perhaps but it is based on the real life childhood of John Paterson, the real William of the story, who took blueberries to the Queen.
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I hope this was based on a true story. I really liked it. Gave kids a chance to dream and to become adventurous.
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This is a very charming story.
A little boy, with an active imagination, wants to help with the war effort (WWII), but finds he's just too small to help the way his older brother and parents do. Then, one day, rumors spread that a real queen has rented a house down the road. The older brother teases his little brother about never having seen a real queen. Eventually, the little boy picks fresh blueberries and takes them to the queen, but will she see him personally? A wonderful, wonderful story about small ways to bring peace, community and caring together in times of conflict.
My 4-year old LOVED it and took it to bed with her. The illustrations are fantastic (one of the reasons I was drawn to it!). But, the thing that makes this a truly fabulous story . . it's based on a true story!! It even includes a picture and brief history of the real little boy who took blueberries to the Queen (of the Netherlands).
A lovely addition to the "must-read" for kids, especially if you want to teach them about peace!
A little boy, with an active imagination, wants to help with the war effort (WWII), but finds he's just too small to help the way his older brother and parents do. Then, one day, rumors spread that a real queen has rented a house down the road. The older brother teases his little brother about never having seen a real queen. Eventually, the little boy picks fresh blueberries and takes them to the queen, but will she see him personally? A wonderful, wonderful story about small ways to bring peace, community and caring together in times of conflict.
My 4-year old LOVED it and took it to bed with her. The illustrations are fantastic (one of the reasons I was drawn to it!). But, the thing that makes this a truly fabulous story . . it's based on a true story!! It even includes a picture and brief history of the real little boy who took blueberries to the Queen (of the Netherlands).
A lovely addition to the "must-read" for kids, especially if you want to teach them about peace!
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A wonderful story based on a real life incident.
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I don't know how to rate this. We found this at the library, just looking around, and glancing through it I could see the boys imagination working overtime so I decided it was coming home with us. (Julia has a vivid imagination and we like to read stories which parallel that at times.)
Anyway, there is more story than with most simple picture books so that's one plus for us. We still read plenty of simple picture books, don't get me wrong, but we're stepping it up a notch at the same time.
My daughter is 5 years old and I kind of think this may work better for maybe 6-8 year olds? I truly loved the fact that this is based on a real event in history - those tend to be some of my favorite kids books and I had no idea that this was so until I reached the end of the book. (Imagine the aweome story someone had to tell others for life!) (No queens ever come to Middletown, Delaware.) :-(
Julia was into it, she didn't lose interest and the illustrations are okay, nothing special to me or her.
I'd maybe recommend it for boys or girls from a mature 4 to about maybe 8 with very active imaginations. A healthy interest in queens wouldn't hurt either.
Anyway, there is more story than with most simple picture books so that's one plus for us. We still read plenty of simple picture books, don't get me wrong, but we're stepping it up a notch at the same time.
My daughter is 5 years old and I kind of think this may work better for maybe 6-8 year olds? I truly loved the fact that this is based on a real event in history - those tend to be some of my favorite kids books and I had no idea that this was so until I reached the end of the book. (Imagine the aweome story someone had to tell others for life!) (No queens ever come to Middletown, Delaware.) :-(
Julia was into it, she didn't lose interest and the illustrations are okay, nothing special to me or her.
I'd maybe recommend it for boys or girls from a mature 4 to about maybe 8 with very active imaginations. A healthy interest in queens wouldn't hurt either.
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