skyisfallingThe Sky is Falling, by Kit Pearson • Viking Kestrel, 1989

Norah Stoakes doesn’t mind the war. In fact, she can’t understand how anyone can bear to be sent away from it, and thrives on the “bright edge” it gives her world.

But then Norah’s parents decide that it’s time to send her and her younger brother Gavin away from the action to Toronto. And so Norah and her brother travel across the sea, eventually landing in a strange house, with Mrs Olgilvie, an older woman who seems to prefer Gavin to his sister, and her daughter, a sad, shy woman who’s rumored to have a tragic past. Norah doesn’t fit in anywhere; the kids at school think she’s a snob and the Ogilvies seem taken aback by her fractious ways.

Norah is a strong and sympathetic character, and Pearson (as usual) deftly captures both Norah’s limited worldview and the larger picture that Norah must grow to see. I particularly enjoyed Norah’s relationship with Gavin, which defied stereotype and overly-sweet convention and instead conveyed the full complexity of sibling rivalries and affections.

I would recommend this book for 3rd – 6th graders who are interested in historical fiction, particularly about World War II (such as Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars) as well as books about children who are wrestling with finding their identity and achieving a balance between finding independence and relying  on adults for boundaries and comfort (see Kit Pearson’s Handful of Time).