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Berties War
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$ 6.63
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| Retail Value |
$ 7.99 |
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$ 1.36 (17%) |
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| Item Number |
510893 |
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Item Description...
Overview
No matter how hard she tries to do the right thing, Bertie keeps tumbling into embarrassing, and sometimes dangerous, situations. Her father has too many rules and her know-it-all sister won't stop teasing her. But what makes her really afraid are those Communist missiles pointed right at the United States. As Bertie starts seventh grade in the fall of 1962, news of these missiles throws the nation into a panic and Bertie suddenly feels completely out of control. Can Bertie confront an ugly truth about herself and face her fears once and for all?
Publishers Description
Everything has been going wrong for Bertie lately.No matter how hard she tries to do and say the right thing, Bertie keeps tumbling into embarrassing--and sometimes dangerous--situations. Her stern father has too many rules, her know-it-all sister won't stop teasing her, and her mischievous younger brother keeps getting into trouble. But what makes her really afraid are those Communist missiles pointed right at the U.S. As Bertie starts seventh grade in the fall of 1962, news of these missiles throws the nation into a panic and Bertie suddenly feels completely out of control. Can Bertie confront an ugly truth about herself and face her fears--once and for all? |
Item Specifications...
Pages 192
Dimensions: Length: 7.9" Width: 5.2" Height: 0.6"
Weight: 0.4 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date Apr 1, 2009
Publisher Kregel Publications
ISBN 0825424321
EAN 9780825424328
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Availability 7 units.
Availability accurate as of May 24, 2012 06:18.
Usually ships within one to two business days from La Vergne, TN.
Orders shipping to an address other than a confirmed Credit Card / Paypal Billing address may incur and additional processing delay.
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Product Categories | 1 | Books > Subjects > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > United States > Fiction > General [374 similar products] |
| 2 | Books > Subjects > Teens > History & Historical Fiction > Historical Fiction [1200 similar products] |
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | Bertie's War...Every child's internal struggle! Jan 19, 2010 |
Bertie's War by Barbara Tifft Blakey takes the reader on a short trip back in time to the turbulent 60's where Communists and bomb shelters loomed large on everyone's radar. For twelve year old Roberta, or "Bertie", it is a reality that stifles her with fear. But, at age twelve, pretty much everything seems to strike fear into Bertie's heart.
For most of Bertie's life, she has used "pretend" as a way to escape her anxieties, retreating into her imagination to places that are safe and where she can control the outcome. However, as she is maturing, as she is caught in the in-between place of childhood and young adult, she is finding less comfort in her private world of pretend. Or, maybe, the world and its implications are becoming so big, they are encroaching on her ability to be a child. Either idea is something Bertie really doesn't want to contemplate.
Thus the reader finds himself in the trenches of the mind of a twelve year old, a mind with quite a fertile imagination, at an age most of us adults wish to never revisit. Yet, author Barbara Tifft Blakey takes us there with care and tenderness, with honesty and and humor. The lessons learned at such an impressionable age will last a life time for Bertie and help younger readers to see that there is a bigger picture in each situation, that their insecurities, although normal, should not be allowed to define them or have the last say in their character.
My eleven year old could certainly relate to the power of pretend from Berite's perspective; in fact, reading about Bertie sometimes made me think my daughter must have been secretly observed. Yet the times inwhich Bertie lived were a little closer to what I remember and what I can relate to growing up in the early 70's when my dad kept a large container of non-perishables in the garage "in case the Russians attacked". Bomb shelters and Communists were made much more of in the media in my day than the threat of Islam and Jihad are in the politically correct world at present. Still, the dilemma of how much to let the big problems facing our nation affect the oft bigger problems of sorting out life when your twelve can be overwhelming at any point in history.
Besides missiles in Cuba, Bertie worries about having the approval of her father who is frequently stern and aloof. Trying to win an elusive nod of approval from him becomes almost an obsession. Trying to stay out of the woodshed (where consequences are meted out) is a close second. If Bertie can just do everything right...then everything will be alright...right?
Seems like a simple equation for peace and happiness but that all unravels in many ways as the reader walks through and processes life a la Bertie. The war that sat at the doorstep of our nation back in the early 60's will eventually become a minor character as the war within Bertie breaks out on multiple fronts.
Bertie's War is an excellent Coming of Age story that reveals the depth of complexities within the seemingly simple things of life. Without preaching, it explores matters of the heart while assuming, and eventually healing, with matters of faith. | | | | Bertie's War Jun 5, 2009 |
| This book is wonderful! The main character is a young lady we can all relate to on some level from our own tumultuous adolescent years. The reality of life during the cold war stretches across the generations to bring meaning to the current state of world affairs; the internal struggle to control her own little corner of the world in order to feel safe is a common thread to us all. The truth revealed about the heart of Bertie is one we can all do well to learn from. I highly recommend this book for both the young and the old! | | | | A Story for Our Time May 3, 2009 |
Young Roberta (Bertie) is afraid. Sure, she has the normal fears of a twelve-year-old girl: wanting her father's approval, afraid that people will laugh at her, and even a fear of storms. But the terror that overshadows her whole life lately is her fear of the "dirty Commmies," who have set up a few missiles 90 miles off the coast of Florida--on a little island named Cuba. Bertie knows she's not safe way out West in Washington State. The artillery practice from the nearby Ft. Lewis army base rattles not only the windows of her home but Bertie's nerves, as well. How will she survive? Will a bomb shelter in her grandma's basement really keep the dreaded radiation from killing her and her family?
Set during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Bertie's War is a gripping, well-written story of a young girl's coming of age and of her coming to grips with her fears--both real and imagined. The surprising twist at the end--the reason behind her fears--is excellently presented and right on the mark.
Today, as our world is once again thrust into "fear" mode, it's good to see books that show a real character with real character flaws, who works through them in a believable way. Highly recommended!
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