Bibliography:
Lisle, Janet Taylor. 2000. The Art of Keeping Cool. New York. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-689-83787-9
Plot Summary:
It is March of 1942, and in the small town of Sachem’s Head, the streets are lined with children and adults trying to get a glimpse of the “big guns.” It is three months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and America is at war fighting the Nazis and the Japanese. The young narrator Robert, and his dreamy artist and cousin Elliott, are among the crowd. The small, vulnerable coastal city next to Fort Brooks is on alert. Citizens use black-out curtains at night and paint the top half of their headlights black so as not to allow enemies to view the goings on of the Fort. Everyone is taking their patriotism very seriously, and soon the eccentric German artist, Abel Hoffman, who lives in the woods, becomes a target of the townspeople’s xenophobia. Elliott, who has befriended the artist and spends his afternoons painting with the once-famous German impressionist soon finds himself the target of FBI questioning. When Abel finds himself the victim of a beating and is no longer able to go into town without enduring jeers, racist comments, and things being thrown at him, Elliott begins to run errands for the artist. This relationship angers young Robert who has moved with his mother and sister from their farm in Ohio to a cottage near his father’s family. Robert’s father is in the Canadian Royal Air Force flying fighter jets in the war, and when he hears news that his father’s plane went down and is missing, Robert uses Abel’s mysteriousness as a scapegoat to answer questions for the FBI. Meanwhile, Robert is trying to solve the mystery of why his grandmother and grandfather will never speak of his father. After prodding his cousin, Robert finds out that his grandfather shot his father in the leg after trying to leave their house to pursue his dreams. The relationship between Robert and Elliott has softened after the sharing of this history, and Elliott convinces Robert to come to Abel’s to see his latest work. At this meeting, Abel shares the details of his horrible treatment in Nazi Germany. When the boys begin to leave, Abel makes them take his latest masterpiece. Robert can tell that the atmosphere of his small town is not unlike that of the intolerant Nazi Germany that Abel escaped from. Abel is soon arrested for having detailed drawings of the Fort and guns in his possession. These drawings are actually Elliott’s, but no one will believe the young boy. Robert goes to the police station to plea for the release of Abel, and at that time they find out that Abel’s boat home in the woods has been torched. Everyone runs to the woods, Abel in the lead, and when he sees his precious paintings once again being burned as they were in Germany, he walks into the flames. After his tragic death, no one in the town will speak of Abel, his innocence being obvious after a search of his home recovered nothing except liquor bottles hidden in the floorboards. When Robert’s dad returns home, the family returns to their Ohio farm, taking Elliott with them. Robert has a successful college career, and is headed on the path to medical school, ironically like his hot-tempered grandfather. And Elliott finds success at an art school in Chicago, and still keeps the priceless painting of Abel Hoffman.
This book is the winner of the Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award, and does a nice job bringing to life the feelings and events of World War II, as seen through the eyes of a young boy experiencing the emotions of having a father fighting in the war as he comes to know himself and makes some important decisions about right and wrong along the way.
Critical Analysis:
The most important element of a historical fiction novel is its authenticity. The historical fiction novel should be able to reveal elements of the time period being depicted without reading like a history book. The author has done a fine job telling the story through the eyes of a young boy using his encounters with his surroundings to unveil the particulars of the time period. For example, when Robert and Elliott are listening to Abel’s (the German artist) story of his treatment in Nazi Germany, the reader learns of the regime’s intolerance of modern art, “One night, in the town square, a huge bonfire is lit for the enjoyment of the people. The fuel is books, furniture, musical manuscripts, Parisian hats, paintings, photographs, and masses of indistinguishable junk. In the fire, the painter catches sight of a pile of his canvases just beginning to ignite.” (p. 150). The author has Abel speak in the third person, creating an image of the artist looking outside in. In Abel’s short, urgent sentences we see that he has separated himself from the events of Nazi Germany, and the reader feels the foreshadowing, like a black veil about to come down on the innocent artist who has already been persecuted by one group of people. This is a major turning point for the narrator, Robert, who we see making the connection between the injustices of Nazi Germany and the small town he lives in. This subtle style of expertly paralleling the horrors of Nazi Germany to a small town’s prejudice, makes the tragedies of that time strike a chord with modern readers and makes Janet Taylor Lisle’s book worthy of the prestigious Scott O’Dell award.
The setting of this story unfolds through young Robert’s experiences. The setting is during the time of WWII and the reader learns of nuances of the time such as gas rationing cards, victory gardens, and women entering the workforce in masses for the first time. The family builds a bomb shelter, and air sirens go off from time to time. Details of the war are learned as Robert follows the happenings intently as his father fights in the war, “We already knew how the Germans had invaded all of Europe, and how they were bombing England to pieces, which was pretty frightening when I thought about my father being there. Sometime in April, reports began to come in of German U-boats, submarines that is, being sighted off our coast.” (p. 19). These details become interesting in the context of Robert’s life and not cumbersome like most history books.
This book is an excellent choice, especially for the fifth through seventh grade age group. Teachers could use this book as a supplement or even the basis for teaching WWII history. This novel will give young readers characters they can identify with, and the history of the time will therefore come alive and strike the curiosity of readers who may otherwise feel like a war that happened over fifty years ago is ancient history.
Review Excerpts:
From Publishers Weekly
PW said, "This wrenching WWII novel traces the relationship between two 13-year-old American boys and a German-born Expressionist painter reputed to be a spy. The intimate first-person narrative brings universal themes of prejudice and loss to a personal level." Ages 10-14. (May)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7-Despite a misleading title (the word "cool" does not conjure up the 1940s), this is a well-drawn story that is part coming-of-age, part mystery. Robert and his mother have come to live with his grandparents on the Rhode Island coast in 1942, soon after his father has gone off to fight in the war. The coastal residents are getting ready for war and a German painter, living like a hermit on the outskirts of town, has raised suspicions of being a spy. To complicate matters, Robert's cousin Elliott, also an artist, is at odds with their grandfather, an imposing patriarch prone to anger. As the summer unfolds, the tension mounts. Robert and his mother wait anxiously for word from the front; Elliott grows more unhappy at home as he befriends the painter; the town turns against the outsider with tragic consequences; and Robert finally learns why his father has been estranged from his family. The focus is clearly on the men of the household, and cursory treatment is given to the women's feelings and thoughts. Although women in such situations are indeed often overshadowed by their husbands or fathers, the emotional depth of this story is undercut by their portrayals. Still this is a heartfelt story about family dynamics and the harmful power of prejudice and hatred.
Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA
Reviews accessed at:
Connections:
Lisle, Janet Taylor. 2005. The Crying Rocks. Simon Pulse. ISBN 0689853203.
Lisle, Janet Taylor. 1996. The Gold Dust Letters. Harper Trophy. ISBN 0380725169.
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