The Button War - Revision history

Admin at 22:18, 27 April 2023

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{| class="infobox bordered" style="font-size:95%; width:25em;"
! style="font-size:120%; background:lightblue; text-align:center; padding:5px 0;" | Modern Age
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| style="padding:15px;" | [[File:ButtonWar.jpg|250px]] 
'''The Button War: A Tale of the Great War''' 
'''Author:''' [[Author::Avi]] 
'''[https://amzn.to/36uFgwl Buy at Amazon] | [https://bookshop.org/a/15682/9781536204896 BookShop.org] '''
'''Time Period:''' [[Time Period::Modern Age]] 
'''Time Frame:''' [[Time Frame::1914]] {{#set: Year Start=1914}}{{#set: Year End=1914}} 
'''Geographic Area:''' [[Geographic Area::Europe]] 
'''Country:''' [[Country::Poland]] {{#set: Continent=Europe}} 
'''Topics:''' [[World War I Booklist|WWI]] {{#set: Topic=WWI}} 
'''Genre:''' [[Genre::F|Fiction]] 
'''Reading Age:''' [[Reading Age::UMG|Upper Middle Grade]] {{#set: ReadAgeNum=3}} 
'''Format:''' [[Format::CB|Chapter Book]] 
'''Published:''' [[PubDate::2018]]
{{#set: BYL Level=Level 4}}
{{#set: History=World }} {{#set: History=European }}
|}

'''''[[World History|World History]]''' > [[Modern Age Booklist|Modern Age]] > [[World War I Booklist|WWI]]''

'''“Captures the ways that war can forever alter a child’s sense of order, morality, and security in the world. Strongly visual scenes . . . will long resonate in readers’ minds.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)'''

Twelve-year-old Patryk knows little of the world beyond his tiny Polish village; the Russians have occupied the land for as long as anyone can remember, but otherwise life is unremarkable. Patryk and his friends entertain themselves by coming up with dares — some more harmful than others — until the Germans drop a bomb on the schoolhouse and the Great War comes crashing in. As control of the village falls from one nation to another, Jurek, the ringleader of these friends, devises the best dare yet: whichever boy steals the finest military button will be king. But as sneaking buttons from uniforms hanging to dry progresses to looting the bodies of dead soldiers — and as Jurek’s obsession with being king escalates — Patryk begins to wonder whether their “button war” is still just a game. When devastation reaches their doorstep, the lines between the button war and the real war blur, especially for the increasingly callous Jurek. Renowned master of historical fiction, and award-winning author Avi delivers a stark, fierce account of the boys of one war-torn village who are determined to prove themselves with a simple dare that spins disastrously out of control — now out in paperback with a newly imagined cover.

==Emily's Review==
There aren't enough WWI stories in general, and even fewer for middle-grade readers, so when I discover them, I get excited. This story was quite sad and disturbing, but I was riveted from beginning to end. It felt realistic, there is no romanticizing of war in this story. When war came to Patryk's small Polish village, it devastated everything. I especially liked that the adults in the story, who were not very present, had no idea what was going on either. They knew that the invading armies on either side were bad for their village, but no one seemed to know what was going to happen. I think this is much more honest of a portrayal. Sometimes the adults don't have the answers.

The story revolves around a game - whichever boy steals the best button from the soldiers wins and becomes king. I think this book does a great job of showing the pointlessness of war, illustrated by the bully daring the other boys to do riskier and riskier things to collect the "best" button. Much like war, in the end, no one wins and everything is ruined.

==Other Similar Books==
Other suggestions on the subject of the '''World War I'''.

{{#ask: [[Category:Books]] [[Topic::WWI]]
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| ?Reading Age =
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[[Category:Books]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Button War}}

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 '''“Captures the ways that war can forever alter a child’s sense of order, morality, and security in the world. Strongly visual scenes . . . will long resonate in readers’ minds.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)'''
-Twelve-year-old Patryk knows little of the world beyond his tiny Polish village; the Russians have occupied the land for as long as anyone can remember, but otherwise life is unremarkable. Patryk and his friends entertain themselves by coming up with dares — some more harmful than others — until the Germans drop a bomb on the schoolhouse and the Great War comes crashing in. As control of the village falls from one nation to another, Jurek, the ringleader of these friends, devises the best dare yet: whichever boy steals the finest military button will be king. But as sneaking buttons from uniforms hanging to dry progresses to looting the bodies of dead soldiers — and as Jurek’s obsession with being king escalates — Patryk begins to wonder whether their “button war” is still just a game. When devastation reaches their doorstep, the lines between the button war and the real war blur, especially for the increasingly callous Jurek. Renowned master of historical fiction, and award-winning author Avi delivers a stark, fierce account of the boys of one war-torn village who are determined to prove themselves with a simple dare that spins disastrously out of control — now out in paperback with a newly imagined cover.
+Twelve-year-old Patryk knows little of the world beyond his tiny Polish village; the Russians have occupied the land for as long as anyone can remember, but otherwise life is unremarkable. Patryk and his friends entertain themselves by coming up with dares — some more harmful than others — until the Germans drop a bomb on the schoolhouse and the Great War comes crashing in. As control of the village falls from one nation to another, Jurek, the ringleader of these friends, devises the best dare yet: whichever boy steals the finest military button will be king.
 ==Emily's Review==
-There aren't enough WWI stories in general, and even fewer for middle-grade readers, so when I discover them, I get excited. This story was quite sad and disturbing, but I was riveted from beginning to end. It felt realistic, there is no romanticizing of war in this story. When war came to Patryk's small Polish village, it devastated everything. I especially liked that the adults in the story, who were not very present, had no idea what was going on either. They knew that the invading armies on either side were bad for their village, but no one seemed to know what was going to happen. I think this is much more honest of a portrayal. Sometimes the adults don't have the answers.
+There aren't enough [[World War I Booklist|WWI]] stories in general, and even fewer for middle-grade readers, so when I discover them, I get excited. This story was quite sad and disturbing, but I was riveted from beginning to end. It felt realistic, there is no romanticizing of war in this story. When war came to Patryk's small Polish village, it devastated everything. I especially liked that the adults in the story, who were not very present, had no idea what was going on either. They knew that the invading armies on either side were bad for their village, but no one seemed to know what was going to happen. I think this is much more honest of a portrayal. Sometimes the adults don't have the answers.
 The story revolves around a game - whichever boy steals the best button from the soldiers wins and becomes king. I think this book does a great job of showing the pointlessness of war, illustrated by the bully daring the other boys to do riskier and riskier things to collect the "best" button. Much like war, in the end, no one wins and everything is ruined.