“Across the Blue Pacific: A World War II Story”
by Robert Andrew Parker, illustrated by Louise Borden.
Houghton Mifflin Books, New York, 2006, 32 pages, Grades 2-4.
One hundred years ago in August, the Great War (World War I) erupted in Europe. It was to be one of the most destructive events in human history. Twenty seven years later, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Waves of bombers and torpedo planes sunk dozens of ships and caused thousands of causalities, starting World War II for the United States. After four brutal years of warfare, Japan, and its ally, Germany were defeated.
Frequently, war seems something that happens in “other” countries and far-away nations. But the effects of war directly impact everyone. Louise Borden has written a perceptive book about how a fourth-grade American girl learns what war does to a typical town and its citizens. The name of this poignant book is “Across the Blue Pacific: A World War II Story.”
Molly Crenshaw begins the fourth grade in September 1944. The United States has been fighting World War II in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The tide has turned in favor of the United States and her allies. But the war is far from over.
Molly’s next-door neighbor is Ted Walker. Recently graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Ted has been assigned to the submarine U.S.S. Albacore. When visiting his widowed mother before shipping out, Ted builds a snow man with Molly and her brother Sam. After this, Ted shows Molly how to polish her Sunday shoes until they have a perfect, gleaming shine.
Ted is so handsome in his uniform and so personable that all the children on the street want to be Ted Walker. When Ted’s leave is over, on a dark and dreary day, Mrs. Walker drives him to his military post.
Molly and her classmates decide to write to soldiers and sailors deployed overseas. Molly knows who she is going to write to. She is going to write and tell that attractive Navy officer, Ted Walker, everything that is going on in their hometown. At the end of each letter, she draws a picture of Mrs. Walker’s little dog, Buttons. The class proudly follows the victories of the United States from the cozy and safe classroom. The war seems so far away. If they didn’t know soldiers and sailors fighting in the conflict, it seems like it might not be actually happening.
Then one day, things change. When Molly comes home from school, cars are lining Mrs. Walker’s driveway. A terrible dread permeates the air. What has happened?
What do Molly and Sam learn about Ted’s final submarine tour of duty? How does this change the way everyone sees the war? What is the high price of war, and why should it only be entered into when all other options have failed? To find out the answers to these questions, go to the library and check out this well-written book, “Across the Blue Pacific: A World War II Story,” by Louise Borden.
Recently, wars seem to be exploding throughout the Middle East and Ukraine. Louise Borden raises some important questions that need to be answered before entering a war. Can this war be avoided? Does the cost in human lives justify entering the conflict? What happens when people have to fight a war? And finally, why does war bring out the highest qualities and most sorrowful aspects of human existence? This is simply an outstanding book describing what happens to nations and individuals when they are fighting a war; highly recommended.
