VINNIE'S WAR

VINNIE'S WAR by David McRobbie   (LWH)

This is a fabulous book that was really easy to read. Set in London, at the start of World War II, the book tells the story of a homeless boy named Vinnie who makes a life with the owners of a pub and a refugee boy from Poland. Vinnie's life is crushed when the first bombings in London take place and he loses everything.  Now branded as a 'vaccie' (children evacuated from their own town) he must board a train to live with families in country towns. He meets Kathleen and her younger brother Joey and another boy his age called Dobbs. They are all sent to the same town and placed in different families, some nice, some not-so-nice for the duration of the war. 

They find that some of the townsfolk open their hearts to these children while other families and their children don't want the new-comers invading their town and way of life, and there are many difficult times. Settling into the families and school are challenging but they are happy to have their friendship with each other.  After uncovering a secret in the town they soon start to make new friends.




This story, although fiction, is based on the author's experience growing up in Glasgow during the war, and having to move away from his home to live in the country while the bombing raids are happening. Some of the experiences the children faced during this time are reflected in the story and I loved the old advertisements from that time which were scattered throughout the book.

About the author:  David McRobbie was born in Scotland. He has worked as a ship's engineer, a primary-school teacher, college lecturer, parliamentary researcher in Papua New Guinea, scriptwriter and producer of children's radio and television programs for the ABC. He is now a full-time writer and lives in Queensland.

David has written many best-selling books for children and young adults including the 'Wayne' books which were adapted into the successful ABC television series, 'The Wayne Manifesto', screened in 54 countries. See How They Run, Eugenie Sandler PI and Fergus McPhail have also been adapted for television. His young adult novel, Tyro, was shortlisted for the 2000 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award for Older Readers.