It is 1942 and the dark shadows of World War II are creeping closer to the Chicago home front. Six-year- old Annie sits crouched in a closet during a blackout drill, terrified that the airplanes will cross the Atlantic and bomb her home! More than anything else she wants a life-like doll "who could be my friend on scary nights like this." That Christmas she receives a baby doll as magical as the butterfly charm that a young Marine gives her before shipping out to the Pacific. She soon learns that Sugar Plum (she later re-names her Chabo) is no ordinary doll. When she looks at Chabo she seems to say, "If you don't play with me, I won't be real." But dolls can't really talk (or can they?)! As Annie struggles with the "bad facts" of war - rationing, newsreels of war-torn cities, gold star flags in the windows on her block, bombings in her grandma's hometown in Italy - she turns to Chabo for comfort. She even develops "doll talk" so they can have a conversation. Chabo takes part in neighborhood war games with her and Annie even adopts a "refugee doll" so Chabo can be part of the war effort. Chabo is introduced to Annie's schoolmate friend, Emile, "a war-guest," whose mom is fighting in the French Resistance. But when Annie is stricken with rheumatic fever, Chabo becomes part of her very soul. When Chabo later suffers a near fatal accident, Annie is challenged to develop "the faith that moves mountains" her grandma talks about. Annie's Doll pulses with life on the Chicago home front between 1942-1945, its sacrifices, loss of loved ones, fear, and courage. From listening to President Roosevelt's fireside chats on the tombstone radio, to stoking the coal burning furnace on a frigid night, to tedious Spam meals, the tension of D-Day, the street celebrations of V-E and V-J Day, it provides "time travel" to a bygone era The book also celebrates the creativity of play and the importance of imagination in the life of a little girl growing up in extraordinary times with an "extraordinary" doll. Annie's doll, Chabo, has a central role to the very end when she forms part of the wedding party of Annie's Royal Air Force pen pal and her favorite teacher. And when Emile returns to France, Annie cries and asks Chabo to promise never to leave her. Chabo has learned a lot in her short life as Annie's doll. But does she have enough "magic" to make a promise in her own little voice?

Six-year -old Annie is living a nightmare no one should have to endure alone. World War II is raging in Europe and in the Pacific, and though Annie is far from the front lines, she feels the horror of war on the home front: beloved neighbors are killed in action, her family hears of relatives suffering in Europe, and she sees war’s violence and destruction in weekly newsreels. Strict rationing and blackouts challenge her own daily life. Added to this, when Annie contracts rheumatic fever, she has “her own war to win” if she is to survive! But she has a constant companion – the chubby baby doll, a 1942 Christmas gift, --who helps her “fight” to get well and survive the heartaches of war. Everyone loves her doll, even her school-mate, Emile, a “war guest from France,” and her aviator pen-pal in the Royal Air Force. Inspired by her own recollections of World War II and the personal accounts of war veterans, Eiler has written a sobering reminder of the sacrifices of war as a tribute to The Greatest Generation, intended for children studying the war and adults alike. The doll opens a gateway to discussing difficult topics with children like hope and perseverance in the face of illness and crisis while the novel’s focus on magical play will interest doll and toy enthusiasts. In the novel’s “magical ending” Eiler offers a touch of whimsy. The war is over. The celebrations have ended. Not to be “outdone,” Annie’s doll makes her a promise the reader will hold dear – who said dolls can’t talk?

Explores the experiences of children living in the United States during World War II, including writing V-mail to soldiers, participating in air raid drills, planting Victory Gardens, buying stamps for war bonds, and gathering cooking grease and scrap metal for making bombs.

This book relays the factual details of the U.S. homefront during World War II. The narrative provides multiple accounts of the event, and readers learn details through the point of view of a female bomber plant worker, an African-American worker, and a Japanese-American business owner.

The first novel in the wonderful Factory Girls series. Perfect for fans of Nancy Revell and Ellie Dean. 'A brilliantly written and uplifting WWII story' Nancy Revell, author of the Shipyard Girls series ‘A delightful authentic-feeling saga’ Peterborough Telegraph ‘Highlights the strength of women during the toughest of times…Clarke’s love and respect for her family’s roots really shines through’ Culture Fly 'Beautifully written, the warmth shines from every page and the layers are as deep and rich as the coal seams the men work upon.' Frost Magazine _________________________________________ August 1941: As war sweeps across Britain and millions of men enlist to serve their country, it’s up to the women to fight the battle on the home front. Fran always thought she would marry her childhood sweetheart and lead a simple life in Massingham, the beloved pit village she has always called home. But with war taking so many men to the front line, the opening of a new factory in the north-east of England presents an opportunity for Fran to forge a new path. Against her father’s wishes and with best friends Sarah and Beth by her side, Fran signs up to join the ranks of women at the factory. It’s dangerous work but as the three friends risk life and limb for their country, they will discover that their lives are only just beginning… ___________________________________________ Look out for the next book in the series, Heroes on the Home Front, available now!

"Bombs, destruction and emotional devastation form the background for Aamie's childhood on the homefront in Germany during World War II. What might seem crushing to most little girls is just everyday life for her. In a neighborhood where the walls are plastered with posters proclaiming 'THE ENEMY IS ALWAYS LISTENING!' and people live by the secrets they keep, any revelation of her mother's sentiments against the Nazis is a danger to her family's very survival. Yet Aamie with her Greek Chorus of celluloid dolls takes it all in stride with an irrepressible tom-boy spirit."-- from back cover.

People who are considered “famous” can be found in many different fields. This book describes 472 museums, historic sites, and memorials about 409 people in 26 categories: Actors Explorers Playwrights Architects First Ladies Poets Artists/Sculptors Frontiersmen Presidents Athletes Journalists/Publishers Public Officials/ Author/Writers Medical Innovators Political Figures Aviators/Astronauts Military Figures Religious Leaders Business/Industrial/Financial Musicians/Singers/ Scientists/Engineers/ Figures Composers Inventors Educators Outlaws Social Activists Entertainers Patriotic Figures Socialites They include such people as Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Georgia O’Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe, Sinclair Lewis, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Will Rogers, Daniel Boone, Buffalo Bill Cody, William Randolph Hearst, Douglas MacArthur, Robert E. Lee, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Betsy Ross, Carl Sandburg, Jesse James, Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Webster, Billy Graham, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jane Addams, Frederick Douglass, Doris Duke, Helen Keller, Wilbur and Orville Wright, and all the Presidents, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Among the sites of the museums and other tributes are such places as the Katharine Hepburn Museum, Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio, Babe Ruth Museum, Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, Mark Twain House and Museum, Charles A. Lindberg Historic Site, Lincoln Memorial, Morgan Library and Museum, Kit Carson Home and Museum, Clara Barton National Historic Site, Stonewall Jackson’s Home, Marian Anderson Residence/Museum and Birthplace, Stephen Foster Memorial Museum, Tennessee Williams Birthplace/Home, Mount Vernon: George Washington’s Estate and Gardens, Roger Williams National Memorial, Rachel Carson Homestead, Rosa Parks Library and Museum, and Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. In addition to the chapters and directory, the book includes a geographical guide to the sites, selected bibliography, index, and 29 photographs.