On The Wings of Heroes
Author: Richard Peck
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Level: 10+ years
SUMMARY
This story begins with a description of an era when neighbors spent time playing games, telling stories, and pulling pranks on one another. Then their quiet world is shattered by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Davy Bowman's beloved older brother enlists and soon begins flying B-17s over Germany.
Much of the novel is devoted to a description of what it was like on the home-front during World War II. Davy and his best friend, Scooter, experience food rationing, milkweed collecting, scrap metal drives, black-outs, and substitute teachers. Every aspect of their lives is overshadowed by the fear of being attacked and worry about loved ones who are stationed far away.
CRITIQUE
Although this book includes some mature subject matter, it was a delightful book to read. Mr. Peck has a wonderful sense of humor and weaves his tale in such a way that you find yourself laughing and crying at the same time. In this tender historical novel, he has created some endearing characters and a realistic portrayal of the American home-front during World War II. Although Davy's heroes are obviously his father and his brother, this book invites readers to appreciate the heroism and sacrifice of those on the home front as well.
On the Wings of Heroes is the first book I have ever read by Richard Peck and I look forward to reading others. I would highly recommend this book.
RATINGS
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude: Mild
Frightening/Suspenseful: Mild
Profanity: Mild
Sex: Mild
Substance Use: Mild
Mature Themes: Mild
Violence: Moderate
SPECIFIC CONTENT
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude:
-Boys on Halloween night come out to "soap your windows, shave your cat, pull siding off your house, do something nasty down your mailbox, knock over pumpkins."
-Davy is threatened by the school bully who tells him "at noon you'll be picking up your teeth all over the school yard...and you'll wonder where your nose went."
-Class bullies terrorize the students and the teacher.
-Older boys, including Davy's Cubmaster, steal the paper that Davy and Scooter have collected for the paper drive.
Frightening/Suspenseful:
-Mrs. Hiser, Davy's neighbor, tells a ghost story about a man who is searching for his missing hand. Mr. Hiser plays a practical joke on her and reaches out to her with a wooden arm with a hook on it.
-Miss Mossman, Davy's teacher, tells them of the dangers of the Germans dropping incendiary bombs that could "burn you to a crisp."
-An explosion leaves Davy and Scooter thinking they are being bombed. In actuality, it is buckshot out of a gun hailing down on the roof.
Profanity:
-Words used include 'brat,' 'bozos,' and 'dadburn.'
Sex:
-Mentions a good-looking girl wearing a "real low-cut prom dress."
Substance Use:
-Mention of a still used for making corn liquor.
-Mention of a factory worker being on her "cigarette break."
Mature Themes:
-War
-Death
Violence:
-An elderly neighbor tells gruesome stories. She describes the exploding Hisenberg: "passengers burning alive staggered on fleshless feet through its melting steel skeleton." Or again, a nephew who "skidded on his sled...shot under an International Harvester truck and scalped himself." Another story involves a man having his arm ripped off by a cornpicker.
-A snake is "dead in the road with a red smear where a car had run over its head."
-Janis, one of the class bullies, gets her hand caught in a rat trap when she attempts to steal the teacher's pocketbook.
-Beverly, another class bully, knifes the tire on the teacher's Chevy.
-Davy's dad wrings the necks of two chickens.
-Chicago mobsters hit Davy's father in the side of the head with a monkey wrench.
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