Take Cover – Deborah Hopkinson
Scholastic Press, 2026
As World War II began, in anticipation of German attacks on Britain, many London families sent their children to rural locations where they believed bombing would be less likely. Deborah Hopkinson, (see reviews here and here and here and here) a prolific author of both novels and non-fiction, tells this story from the perspective of the children themselves. Each one has a different background entering the evacuation program, and a different experience finding shelter with strangers. An artful combination of realism, historical accuracy, and a bit of fantasy set this novel apart, allowing several points of entry for young readers.
By the time Charlie Sawyer’s grandad sends him to safety, his life already seems anything but safe. Charlie’s mother is hospitalized with tuberculosis, leaving him anxious and sad. When he is sent to live with the Turners, he finds that his usefulness to them as a farmhand is the predominant motive for taking him in. When he determines to leave and return to London, he is approached by Lucie Meadows, a girl who had accompanied Charlie and his friends on their train journey from the city. Preternaturally calm and focused, Lucie’s attitude contrasts with Charlie’s, but they share a common loss. Lucie’s mother has seemingly disappeared and she needs to solve the mystery of where she has gone and when she may come back to her daughter.
Theater is another component of the novel; not just the theater of war, but the actual London theaters that have been shuttered for the duration. Some of these venues house ghosts, including a World War soldier, whose monologues alternate with Charlie’s first person narration. The dramatic nature of the book’s events, the stress confronting its characters, would propel the plot without the ghost story. Hopkinson includes it not as a facile hook to engage reader; there is nothing lurid or melodramatic about the invisible soldier, who pragmatically states that “…I could be an understudy! (Except most people can’t see me.) So I try to be useful in other ways.” One of those ways is his function as a bridge from one war and another, and the generations who lived through both, or heard about the earlier global conflict.
There is a convincing cast of secondary characters, who are distinct individuals, but also bring out the solidarity of the both children and adults affected by events outside of their control. Charlie has a Jewish friend, Daniel, who is fortunate to have found a real refuge with his compassionate protectors. Charlie understands that Daniel’s parents are trapped under Nazi occupation and may never return. Hopkinson’s books are notable for their accuracy. Take Cover includes additional historical background, lists of sources, and a clear explanation of which characters are fictional and which are based on real people from the time period.
Understatement in the light of tragedy, and tragedy narrowly escaped, applies as well to the resolution. Everything is plausible, yet might have turned out differently, reflecting the reality of life itself, and the way that Hopkinson has distilled that truth into an intelligent work of literature for middle-grade readers.