Young Adult Books Central
Rita Lorraine Hubbard

June, 2010

It's always difficult when a child is separated from his parents. But when the parent goes to war, fears and emotions can run very high.

Postcards From a War, by Vanita Oelschlager, is a touching book about a young boy whose mother has been deployed to the war overseas. The boy is plagued with sadness and fear for her safety, but his wise grandfather lovingly shares his own remedy for such anxiety. He shows the grandson postcards his own father sent him from the Phillipines, when he was only a child. The grandfather shows how his father's postcards kept the members of their family going strong until his father's safe return.

Author Vanita Oeschlager gifts her readers with a bitter-sweet view of military life, sharing actual postcards she received from her own father during WWII. Illustrator Mike Blanc adds rich colors to his realistic drawings, lending this special book a quiet, comforting overtone.

Oelschlager is Writer-In-Residence for the Literacy Program at The University of Akron. She has written several other books, including, A Tale of Two Daddies, which debuted in April, 2010.

For a wonderful story about military families, separation anxiety and family reunions, be sure to pick up a copy of Postcards From a War.

Bergers Book Reviews
Alice Berger

November, 2009

Matthew Brian Jackson’s mom is in the Air Force. She has gone off to fight in the war, and Matthew doesn't understand why she left. But his grandpa shares his own story of what it was like when his father went to fight in World War II.

Author Vanita Oelschlager shares her own father’s pictures, postcards, and letters in this beautiful fictional tribute to a man who proudly served his country. Postcards From a War shows kids what it’s like to live with an absent military parent, and how much those parents still care about their kids even though they’ve had to go away.

This story is told with the utmost respect for the US military, sharing the gratitude the author feels towards their service to our country. And while it doesn't explain why wars happen in the first place, it offers hope that someday today’s generation of kids may find a way to avoid it, and come to more peaceful solutions to the world’s problems.