Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming
I’m always on the lookout for historical fiction that really grabs me, and Boxes for Katje did just that. While reading it, I found myself tearing up over and over again. Based on a true story, Boxes for Katje takes place in the mid-1940′s in Holland, where many people were near-starving. Various organizations in the U.S. asked people to send care packages to families in Holland, and Candace Fleming’s mother did just that. Her box arrived at the home of a girl named Katje, and so begins the seed of this book. Filled with letters back and forth between Katje and Rosie, her U.S. friend, the care packages get bigger and grander each time, and the entire town benefits from the generosity of many Americans who sent provisions. I loved this book for its warmth and sincerity and feeling of hope during a bleak time in history. 5 stars!
Would also pair nicely with another World War II book called Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot by Margot Theis Raven.
tara
Colleen
Claire
