Another day
Another verse novel
This is one I have wanted to read
Since I first saw the cover in
Sevenoaks Bookshop

Digging For Victory
By Cathy Faulkner
With stunning cover art
By Harry Goldhawk
Is a brilliant middle grade
Historical fiction
Told in verse

I devoured this story
In one sitting
I instantly loved Bonnie
The young girl
At the heart of the tale
Living on a farm
With her mother and father
While her brother is off
With the RAF
Fighting in the Second World War
Keen to do their duty
On the Home Front
Bonnie’s parents accept
A stranger into their home
A mysterious Mr Fisher

With the arrival of the quiet man
Billeted at her farmhouse
Bonnie faces problems at school
Among her closest friends
No one understands who he is
And why he is not away
Fighting in the war
Bonnie is isolated for her
Connections to an assumed ‘shirker’

Everyone
Home and away
Has a part to play
In the war

“Grandfather serving in the trenches
Ralph fighting in the skies
Mother and Father keeping the soldiers fed
Carol finding rags to make dyes
They’re all cogs
In this big war machine
(even me with my digging
So Mother says)
But what part does Mr Fisher play?”

As Bonnie sets out to
Solve the mystery of Mr Fisher
And get her friends back
Through her day to day life
Young readers learn about
Life on the home front
The different roles
Played by men, women
And children
In the war effort

From The Land Girls
And The Home Guard
To the farmers and
The teachers
From growing food
Digging Victory Gardens
Knitting socks
And collecting rags

We learn about Shirkers
And Conchies
Conscientious Objectors

As someone with a keen interest
In historical fiction and
World War Two stories
I am always excited to find
A book that looks at the war
In a new way
Through a lens I have not seen before
Cathy Faulkner does this perfectly

Focusing on a young girl
Who wants to know
What she can do
To play her part
To serve her country
To earn a medal
To be a hero

And a military man
Who plays his part
At home
In secret
With great courage

What Bonnie learns
While investigating Mr Fisher
Is never to judge a person
By appearances and
What it truly means to be a hero

“And like a light coming on in my head
I see everything clearly

Mr Fisher’s quiet ways
His faraway looks
His sadness
His sense of duty

Mr Fisher doesn’t want a badge
A medal
Admiration
Or praise

He isn’t out
To make things better for himself
He’s grieving
But doesn’t want others to

Surely that makes Mr Fisher
The very best kind of hero”

I love Bonnie’s journey
Getting to know Mr Fisher
Learning about his war role
Learning about his life
Learning from him
About physics and how
Physics is useful to a hero

I love how digging in the garden
Sowing and growing
Helps Bonnie and Mr Fisher
This aspect of the story
Is a celebration of the comfort
To be found in the garden
The healing power of nature

I love how
Digging For Victory
Shows the strains of war
On those left behind
But also it shows
How the war brought
People and communities together

“We each play our part in this, don’t we?”

I really do not want to give too much away
About the main dramatic events in this story
I just urge you to read this
Brilliant and beautiful book
I know that you will love
Digging For Victory
Just as much as I do
I am still smiling when I think about
Bonnie’s adventure