Eight-year-old Allison is afraid to walk to school, a simple act made dangerous by “the Troubles” that wrack Northern Ireland. Accompanied by her mother and uncle, she crosses “Protestant territory” to get to her Catholic school. With her lucky marble clutched tightly, Allison fights through the spitting mob, her torn coat button flying. To her surprise, a Protestant child returns the article, and Allison hands her the cherished marble, concluding that children’s friendships would overcome religious differences “if the grownups would let us.” Bunting describes intolerance’s complexity, painting Allison’s uncle as a lovable family man but bigoted; Allison fears his direct involvement with a man’s severe beating, causing her to ask herself, “But are we a bad lot, too?” Dooling’s oils exude a grittiness that often results in jarring, unfocused perspectives that convey the turmoil. Having lived personally through this tumultuous period, Bunting includes an author’s note for background. This work slowly examines religious intolerance’s impact on one individual, providing no easy resolutions. (Picture book. 7-10)
