Truce: A Book Review

October 1, 2009 by Myscha Theriault

TRUCE

Jim Murphy and Scholastic have teamed up to provide an engaging historical Christmas narrative for intermediate level readers. Teachers of nine-twelve year olds looking to incorporate a real life holiday story with their studies of World War I may want to take a look. Read on.

Synopsis:

In Truce, Newbery honor author Jim Murphy tells the true tale of the 1914 Christmas miracle that occurred when troops on both sides openly defied their commanding officers and had a spontaneous holiday celebration with each other.

Illustration Commentary:

Illustrated with archival images, the publisher has taken the extra step to incorporate sepia tones. In my opinion this helps liven up the photos, as books illustrated with archival photos (and there was really no way out of it in this case) can come across as a bit drab if only black and white image are used.

A Prophetic Quote:

I found the most profound portion of the book to be at the very beginning with the following quote spoken by Winston Churchill to his wife Clementine, nearly a month to the day prior to the spontaneous Christmas truce. “What would happen, I wonder, if the armies suddenly and simultaneously went on strike and said some other method must be found of settling the dispute?”

Classroom Recommendations:

Truce is quite suitable for older classrooms who might already be studying that particular time in history. This would be a way to work in the holiday while staying on track curriculum wise. Includes a detailed timeline resource in the back of the book and references to other books, movies and web sites to build the theme.

Scheduled for release in October 2009. Truce is currently available on Amazon.Com.

Photo Credit: Scholastic.Com

About the author…. I am a self confirmed life hacker who has used frugal living and personal finance strategies to focus on early retirement, pursue personal business goals, and achieve debt free living.