Carrie's War: Introduced by Michael Morpurgo - 'A touching, utterly convincing book' Jacqueline Wilson

A wonderful children's classic and a book that can be enjoyed by older readers too, Nina Bawden's 'Carrie's War' focuses on twelve-year-old Carrie, who, with her younger brother, Nick, arrives as an evacuee in a small coal-mining town in Wales. At the train station in Wales, Carrie meets Albert Sandwich, a tall, bespectacled teenager, who helps her with her luggage and accompanies her and Nick to the town hall where they are collected by their host families. Carrie and Nick are to stay with a Miss Evans and they go off to her home leaving an oblivious Albert behind sitting quietly on his suitcase reading a book. When Carrie and Nick arrive at Miss Evan's home, the kind and timid Miss Evans warns the two children that her brother, Samuel, is strict Chapel and that they must behave themselves at all times; and when Nick meets Mr Evans, a tall, thin, cross man and one who bullies his much-younger sister, he dislikes him immediately and refers to him as an ogre. Carrie, however, tries to make the best of the situation and, over time, sees a more vulnerable side to Mr Evans, but he makes the two children feel very uncomfortable at times, especially when they pay a visit to Mrs Gotobed, Mr Evan's estranged and ailing sister who lives at Druid's Bottom, and are welcomed by the kind and beautiful Hepzibah Green, who takes care of Mrs Gotobed and works as cook and housekeeper. At Druid's Bottom, Carrie is delighted to become reacquainted with Albert Sandwich, who has been billeted there and both she and Nick look forward to spending time with Hepzibah, who not only makes them welcome and feeds them wonderful food, but enthrals them with her stories and legends. However, when something happens which significantly changes life for those at Druid's Bottom, Carrie has to decide where her loyalties lie and, in doing so, worries that she has damaged her burgeoning friendship with Albert, but to say more would spoil the story for those who have yet to read the book.A wonderful and perceptively portrayed story where the author, who was herself evacuated during the Second World War to rural Wales, writes very convincingly of the experiences of a young girl entering adolescence and of her younger brother - indeed all of the characters were well-portrayed and it was interesting to see how the characters' personalities evolved over the course of the story. I very much enjoyed the descriptions of Hepzibah's cosy, welcoming kitchen and the meals she cooked in it, especially when compared with the more austere atmosphere in the lifeless and chilly atmosphere at the Evans' home, where "the cold air came up from the polished linoleum like air off an ice rink". With some wonderfully evocative descriptions of wartime rural Wales and with a family mystery at the heart of the story, this little book (which I first read as a child many years ago and enjoyed it just as much all these years later) is an entertaining and rewarding read and one I would recommend highly for children - and older readers too.5 Stars.

Carrie’s War by Nina Bawden is a children’s historical classic and just perfect for ages eight and above.As a child I read Carrie’s War and watched the BBC series of it. I loved it then and I love it now. I had a desire to become reacquainted with the characters so purchased a copy.The story is set in the Welsh hills as eleven year old Carrie and her younger brother are evacuated from London. The novel is written in the third person from the point of view of Carrie. The reader hears about her fears and insecurities, her desire to please and her love for others.As the story opens, Carrie is an adult but still carrying guilt from thirty years ago. The reader is intrigued as the guilt weighs so heavy, it is dragging her down.The atmosphere of evacuation through a child’s eyes is perfectly captured. The scenery is comprehensively described, enabling the reader to ‘walk’ through the novel.There is an eclectic mix of characters from the very stern Mr Evans to Hepzibah with her natural remedies. All are well drawn and welcoming.Reading Carrie’s War as an adult is a pure delight. It takes me back to my childhood memories, and then further back to a simpler but more fearful time of uncertainty due to war.If you have never read Carrie’s War, this time of lockdown is the perfect time to grab a copy. If you read Carrie’s War as a child, why not read again and ignite some memories?

I read this book at school as a kid, so I bought it and read it again. It opens with Carrie as an adult showing her kids where she had stayed, along with her younger brother, during WW2 decades earlier. Then it tells the story of Carrie and younger brother Nick, originally from London, being evacuated far out to Wales during the war in the mid-1940s. There is only a year and a half between Carrie and younger brother Nick but you would think there was a bigger difference than that because Nick is quite immature and naïve, and Carrie is closer to adolescence than him. He is quite flamboyant and sensitive too so I dare say he could have grown up to be gay, although you probably didn't talk about that even 30-odd years after the war. Auntie Lou, one of their foster carers (if you could call them that) is lovely but her domineering and devoutly religious older brother Mr Evans is a grumpy, tyrannical old grouch, so Nick is understandably homesick at first. But they settle in and live there for about 10 or 11 months, and Mr Evans does have a good side underneath it all, and all they have to do is keep out of his way as much as possible and not piss him off. The reader finds out more about them as the story unfolds, including the adults' other sister Dilys (Mrs Gotobed), an eccentric old lady whose deceased in-laws Mr Evans did not like, hence their estrangement. The kids meet her when they visit Druid's Bottom, where she lives in a cosy cottage with a warm kitchen, along with seemingly mysterious and enchanting carer Hepbzibah, who also happens to be the foster carer of Albert Sandwich, a friend the kids made earlier; a little bit of romance blossoms between him and Carrie along the way. Also living with them is Mister Johnny, a distant relative of Mrs Gotobed's deceased husband, who suffers from both autism and dwarfism. Mr Evans's son Frederick turns up for a bit, and despite having such a strict father and upbringing is quite the troublesome sort. When Mrs Gotobed passes away the future of the residents at Druid's Bottom is thrown into disarray, what with Mr Evans's resentments. Then something terrible happens that Carrie blames herself for and holds it burning inside her for decades to come. I'm not going to say any more than that, obvs cos' I don't want to spoil it for anybody. Toward the end I felt kind of sad for the kids leaving Auntie Lou's but in the end it's for the best, when Auntie Lou finally escapes her controlling brother and they probably can't go to Druid's Bottom anymore. The ending is deeply moving... wait and see.

Bought this for my grandaughter as she is studying 2nd world war history at school. However have read this and it is a well written novel very suitable for the 9-11 age range. It gives them details of what life was like in Britain in war time but in novel form.

Have read this book before but loaned it out. Can't remember who it was but need to keep a copy for myself.