The Enemy

Two enemy soldiers wait in their foxholes, worry about being killed, and ponder the reasons for war.

Cali's text talks frankly about the mentality of enemies in a way that most children would find scary and disturbing, including mentions of starving, poisoning, and killing. The text is preachy, and

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there is too much of it on the page.

Simple pen drawings colored in army green with strategic use of red to represent blood. Occasionally, photographs are used to enhance the illustrations. The stark, arty illustration style will be appreciated by parents, but will go over the head of most children, who are likely to desire more color and details.

This book is far too direct and disturbing for young children-- parents looking to read a book with an anti-war message should turn to Dr. Seuss's The Butter Battle Book. Not recommended.

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A soldier knows that he is doing the right thing, trying to defeat his enemy. At least he does, until he takes a chance and leaves his foxhole to try and sneak up on his enemy. Once there he sees that his 'enemy' is a lot like him.

Peace is an important thing to have in life. What is amazing is that everyone wants peace is some way, shape, or form. In "The Enemy A Book About Peace," the two soldiers are fighting against each other because they are told they have to. They book think each other is a monster because they is what

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is put into their heads while they are undergoing training. They both have to kill one another in order to maintain peace in their country. But, what is the most amazing to me is that they both think the same thing. They both want peace and not to kill one another. Both of the soldiers are the same which in a sense means that they are just like the enemy. Many people in our society want some of the same things. Just because they are different and diversity is a wide range thing in our country does not make others monsters or enemies in most cases.

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This is a short story about the life of one soldier living in a hole constantly scared of his enemy. Although he had never seen his enemy, he knew he too lived in a hole and was waiting for him to kill him if he tried to escape his hole. This soldier lived by his manual, telling him that his main

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duty is to shoot the enemy, and not be shot- otherwise, he would loose. He prevented eating in fear of being killed by an attack. The story continued with the enemy contemplating why they are even in a war; going hungry every night and living in a hole in fear of his life. He decided he'd go talk to the enemy one day. He hid behind a bush and made his way over to the enemy's hole. To his surprise, the enemy was out of his hole, but all of his valuable belongings were there. The soldier climbed into the enemy's hole and looked at the pictures he had of his family. He noticed he also had a manual except this manual had a picture of himself depicted as a monster that the enemy needed to kill! He decided to remain in the hole to watch out for it, and then eventually wanted to call a truce to end the fighting. Wouldn't you know it that the note in the bottle he sent throwing over to his previous hole, had another note in a bottle thrown over to his new hole at the same time. They both had been thinking the same throughout the entire experience.

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This book was about soilders at war in which they stayed in the holes through rain and until one day one of the men decided to go suprise the other to only find the other guy had went to do the same. This book wasn't a book for young children. The book left the end un finished

I am in love with this book! It is put into such a simplistic context yet is so deep. It takes me to thinking about wwl and wwll, and the trenches that men suffered in. Why do we fight when we know that other side is just as afraid and human as we are? I also love Serge Bloch art work, always have.

Looking into it I can see why someone would consider banning it from little kids but I can also see the reason to the story. I feel that it is for a little more of a mature audience but is still a kids book. It not only shows a great story and kind of shows a little bit of history and how peoples

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judgement was back in the day. It's valuable lesson for others to not repeat history again. In addition I found it interesting that this book was tucked in the parenting section instead of the kids section.

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Summary: This is the story of two soldiers who are each fighting from their foxholes. It presents the needs of war to dehumanize the enemy and how that effects a soldier. In the end, the two soldiers learn that they are more similar than different.
Genre: Picture Book
Personal Reflection: I really

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enjoyed the old style of illustration and the message is very impactful yet sweet and endearing.
Concept: This book could be used to talk about the war in Iraq on a personal level and have kids imagine what Iraw kids are going through.

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This book at first glance seems too simple with it's lack of color and words, but it's a surprisingly great addition to any classroom for teaching.

This picture book has very simple pictures, which convey the message the author is trying to send. I really liked the images, although they were minimal and only 2 or 3 colors, they were powerful. The book makes a strong political statement of anti-war and coming to peace with our enemies. A young

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reader may understand the concept of fighting is bad, and could see how it is applicable to their own life- do not fight with people who you do not like. This book tries to convey the idea that the enemy is also a person, just like the noble soldier who was taught that the enemy was a monster.

The story is told from one soldier's point of view and the hardships he faces physically and mentally. In attempt to end the war, the soldier sneaks up to the other soldier's hole, only to realize that the other soldier did the same to him. Now the soldiers have switched holes, and in the enemies hole the soldier sees pictures and realizes the enemy is a person just like him. The book has an open ending, where both soldiers have tossed messages in bottles to the other, but we do not know if they receive each other's message and if the war ends. The book suggests a peaceful ending to the war.

This is powerful, moving book that could be used to lead a discussion in a young classroom about the physical and emotional destruction that a war causes.

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This book is awesome! Two soldiers sit in their separate holes for what seems like forever. Every day they shoot at each other and convince themselves that the other is no man, but a monster with no family and no life, besides the hole. One soldier finally decides he will sneak into the other’s

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hole to kill him so this war can be over once and for all. When he reaches the hole, he finds that the soldier is not there and realizes that he must now be in his hole. As one soldier looks through the other’s belongings he realizes that he too is a man, with a family, and a life out side of the hole. After this discovery the book ends with the soldiers seeking peace with one another. The book does not give the reader the ending but it is suggested that this war between soldiers ends peacefully. I love everything about this story. Today, children see war through video games and think that it is so “cool.” Children need to see that in actuality it is miserable for soldiers to be away from their homes for so long and that fighting to death really does not solve a problem. This book does this in a perfectly light hearted way. I would maybe read this book on 9/11 or during another history lesson about war.

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This is one of my favorite children's books ever! In The Enemy, two soldiers in opposite foxholes have both been led to believe that the other one, their “enemy” is “not a human” and wants nothing more than to kill innocent people. Both men sneak out to the others foxhole’s to kill the

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other one, but when they get there, all they find are pictures of loved ones and lies their enemies’ bosses have told them. The two soldiers decide they are not actually enemies, and make peace. This book examines propaganda and the culture of blind patriotism and misinformation in a subtle way that appeals to children.

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I loved this book because it shows how pointless war is. In this story there are two men in two different holes they are fighting because they were told to. They were given a gun and a manual saying there enemy was a monster. But what they realize is that they were lied to. These both men have

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families and are not monsters. They were both given manuals saying they were enemy's when they were just normal people with kids and wife's. In the end they realize what is right and they both think it's time for this war to end and they do the right thing. This book gives you a lot to think about and I really liked it.

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This was an awesome book about enemies and propaganda. It reinforces the idea that even our enemies are humans, not the beasts others try to portray them as. I really loved this book.

The Enemy is a book for the generations. Everyone has grown up in the beginning, middle, end, or aftermath of war. It is in our world constantly and many young children do not understand. There is no easy way to explain war to a child or distinguish good from bad in certain situations. This book

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shows the child, and adult reader, the truth behind the brutality of war. The solider in the book hates being at war and just wants it to end, hes been taught to profile and kill without question. But in following this solider's story we see his brainwash and humanity in questioning the goals of war. This book also does not chose a "side". It shows the enemy and the solider as human beings with a family and loved one who has also been trained to profile and kill. This book may not explain war to children. But it teaches compassion and humanity showing children to look at the person and not always believe what is heard. A great, great book for young and curious minds.

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Theme is peace and how war is an impersonal, hypocritical, ignorant way to solve a problem.

The book portrays soldier in his hole waiting to kill the enemy. The enemy is a monster, but at the end you see the enemy is the same as the soldier- a human with a family. The illustrations are mostly black

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and white and penciled in.

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A simple book that addresses a very serious topic in a thoughtful way.

Italian author Davide Cali and French illustrator Serge Bloch join forces in this powerful picture-book examination of the subject of warfare, and the construction (and deconstruction) of the concept of 'the enemy.' Narrated by a soldier who is stuck alone in a foxhole, exchanging occasional fire

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with his enemy, also stuck alone in a foxhole, The Enemy uses a fairly simple, straightforward text, full of declarative sentences, to undermine the simplicity of distinctions such as "us" and "them," "human" and "beast," and most of all "enemy" and "friend." The soldier-narrator believes that he is essentially different from his enemy, mostly because his manual has told him so, informing him that his enemy is inhuman in his cruelty. But a late-night sortie to the enemy's foxhole shows him that this unknown opponent is strangely like him...

Originally published in France in 2007 as L'ennemi, and then translated into English in Australia that same year, The Enemy was recently reprinted in this new 2014 edition. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to read it, as I found it a powerful and moving exploration of the use of propaganda and misinformation in inciting wars and keeping them going. Although I don't believe that all sides of every war ever fought are exactly the same, and equally right, there is no question in my mind that the frequency with which we as a species resort to violent conflict to resolve disagreements would not be nearly so high if it wasn't so easy to convince us that our opponents were different from us in some essential way - to convince us that they weren't quite human like us. Davide Cali's text is deceptively simple, seemingly stating facts while simultaneously undermining those facts, while Serge Bloch's cartoon-style artwork captures both the absurdity and tragedy of the situations being described in the text. This is an advanced picture-book, one which addresses sophisticated ideas and disturbing realities, so I wouldn't recommend it to younger children, who are usually the audience for picture-books. Rather, I would recommend The Enemy to children eight or above, with the proviso that educators and parents should be ready to discuss it with concerned youngsters.

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This touched home for me because my dad was in the military, and all I wanted was peace during the war so he could be with his family I can only imagine what the soldiers feel being away from their family.