A Place to Hang the Moon

 By Kate Albus

Junior Fiction

Reviewed by Julie-Altona branch

Place the E-audiobook on hold here

    My grandchildren and I enjoyed A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus as a read aloud.  There was never a good time to stop reading this junior fiction book and we didn't want the story to end.

    We fell in love with the three orphaned siblings, William, Edmond and Anna, who must evacuate London during World War II and live with billet families in the countryside.  Their love and loyalty for one another and their preposterous plan, finding a home that will want to keep them forever, gives them hope for a better future.  They experience discrimination and taunting from their foster siblings, but their love of books leads them to a local library where they find strength to endure.  

    This book reads like a classic.  I had to check the publishing date and saw that it was a new book published in 2021.  The author is brilliant with her expressive vocabulary and you will marvel at the way she draws the reader in to the lives of the three Pearce siblings.  

    One quote from the book, where the children are wondering why there are so many stories written about orphans: "I hadn't really thought about it," Mrs. Muller confessed.  "Perhaps they think children fancy the notion of living on their own, without adults to tell them what to do.  It's quite daft, if you think about it, isn't it?"

    We highly recommend this book for readers of all ages.