{"id":28426,"date":"2016-02-26T13:51:57","date_gmt":"2016-02-26T17:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=28426"},"modified":"2016-02-26T13:51:57","modified_gmt":"2016-02-26T17:51:57","slug":"review-of-tucky-jo-and-little-heart-by-patricia-polacco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=28426","title":{"rendered":"Review of Tucky Jo and Little Heart, by Patricia Polacco"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tucky_jo_large\"<\/a>Tucky Jo and Little Heart<\/em><\/p>\n

by Patricia Polacco<\/p>\n

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2015. 48 pages.<\/p>\n

This is another of Patricia Polacco\u2019s tear-jerker touching true stories. This one\u2019s about war, so it\u2019s more for school-age kids, even though it is a richly illustrated picture book.<\/p>\n

The story is told in the words of a man who fought as a youngster in World War II. It\u2019s not completely grammatical, but it gives the flavor of his words with phrases like \u201cfaster than a scared jackrabbit\u201d and \u201chit the eye out of a gnat.\u201d<\/p>\n

When stationed in the jungle, \u201cKentucky Jo\u201d meets a little village girl, who tells him about a plant to put on his bug bites. He gets to know the girl, brings her food and toys, and eventually his troop adopts the whole village \u2013 until they have to be evacuated.<\/p>\n

Well, the tearjerker part brings us to the present \u2013 when that little girl again shows up in Tucky Jo\u2019s life when he\u2019s an old man needing medical care.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good Patricia Polacco tells us this is a true story, or we wouldn\u2019t believe things had turned out so beautifully!<\/p>\n

Although this is a story of war, and we do hear that Little Heart\u2019s mother was killed by soldiers and her father and brother taken away, the author doesn\u2019t dwell on gory details. Instead, she focuses on the heartwarming part of this little girl and her village in the jungle, providing a bright spot in the middle of war.<\/p>\n

And in its lovely way, the book shows the lasting impact of love and good deeds.<\/p>\n

PatriciaPolacco.com<\/a>
\nKIDS.SimonandSchuster.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/tucky_jo.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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