My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York 1941 (Dear America Series)

by Mary Pope Osborne

2000

Status

Available

Publication

Scholastic Inc. (2000), Edition: 1st, 190 pages

Description

Thirteen-year-old Madeline's diaries for 1941 and 1942 reveal her experiences living on Long Island during World War II while her father is away in the Navy.

User reviews

LibraryThing member lnpowers

This book is a great way to introduce World War II to a middle reader. There is a Jewish German character in the book which touches on the hardship of Jews during the War along with discussion of the Japanese and what happened to Japanese Americans during the War.

This book could be used to develop

curriculum about American history or a project dealing with journal or diary writing.

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LibraryThing member ababe92

This is book is about a girl who is going through world war II and everything that changes around her. It really opens the readers perspective about what people in those times really went through. I would read this to my class when we are learning about world war II in class. I recommend it to

every teacher and young girl.

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LibraryThing member Maggie_Rum

This is an interesting book about the life of Madeline Beck,. who lived during WWII on Long Island.

LibraryThing member Mia_Catapang

It was very realistic. It seems that I traveled back to 1941 when I read the story.

LibraryThing member Ebinns

This book is appropriate for 4th-6th. The book is written in a form of a personal journal diary with words that would be appropriate for an older elementary grade level. This journal is about a girl Maddie who is living in Long Island , NY, while her father is off in the Pacific fighting. This

story takes you through the life of a teen during war time, love, family, and honor. Maddie help support those who are at war by organizing a club at school. Kids Fight for Freedom, the members collect materials that can be used for war purposes. Since living on the shore of the island there are military men keep watch for German U-boats along the shore. They often live in blackouts so they are not as easy to spot. Like most children who have a love one in war they dread a telegraph, Maddie and her mother received one say that her father had been injured at war. This was a hard time for Maddie but she didn't stop supporting the war. One night her and Johnny (her boyfriend) were waking along the beach at night, this was not allowed. That night they saw men in nazi uniforms who were pretending to be coast guard. They were up to no good so the two made anonymous phone call to the FBI and then men were shout before they could blow up local plant facilities. If it wasn't for their bravery things could have been really different. This story was written by an author who had a father at war.
Teacher could use this book to:
-Discuss what America went through especially for children during the war. Take the time to ask students if they have a love one at war. Children can share their stories.
-create a code like Maddie and Johnny did in groups. Have the children put it on the board and have them try to crack the code.

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LibraryThing member abbylibrarian

I'm still digging the Dear America audiobooks. This one is narrated by Claire Slemmer who does a nice job with voices and gives an authentic, 40s-sounding performance.

LibraryThing member BellaFoxx

When I first saw this book I thought it was a real diary from WWII, most people know about The Diary of a Young Girl, less people know about Normandy Diary of Marie-Louise Osmont:, The: 1940-1944. I’ve read both books, I like reading diaries, a personal look at history.

After downloading, I

realized it is historical, young adult fiction. It is based on the account of Nazi saboteurs that came ashore in Long Island, New York.

Ms. Osborne relies on news reports of the times and her own feelings as the daughter of a military man to keep her facts straight and the narrative believable.

This was a quick enjoyable read. I think a teenager would enjoy it more then I did. I find these books to be very similar to the books I read when I was a young teenager.

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LibraryThing member psychedelicmicrobus

Like the other books in the Dear America series, this is a fictional diary of a thirteen-year-old living through some of the most famous and difficult periods of history. Of course, she is not perfect and writes about all the difficult things that go along with growing up. I loved these books at

that age and would recommend them to any young girl.

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