Kirkus Reviews QR Code
HERO OVER HERE by Kathleen V. Kudlinski

HERO OVER HERE

By

Pub Date: May 1st, 1990
Publisher: Viking

The author of several ""Women of Our Time"" biographies contributes to the new ""Once Upon America"" series. While his older brother Everett hums ""Over There"" and joins their father fighting in WW I overseas, ten-year-old Theodore fights battles ""over here,"" at home. With the 1918 flu epidemic claiming lives all over town, Theodore is the only one available to nurse his sick mother and sister. Helped by supportive, if stereotyped, neighbors, he dutifully rises to the occasion, gives up his dream of escaping to a cowboy's life in Montana, becomes a universally acknowledged hero--and is rewarded by getting to Montana after all. Events here are contrived, with little mention of what surely would have dismayed such a manly fourth-grader: that the cleaning, cooking, and caring he must do would have been considered ""women's work."" Nonetheless, a worthwhile lesson that ""you can do anything you set your mind to,"" with believable details about the period. Historical note.