Countdown

It's not just that Ms. Wiles so evidently has done her homework, and so clearly recalls personal feelings of that time; it is her absolute gift for recounting those dreadful tween feelings, of change, insecurity, and peer pressure, with that hideous Missile Crisis as a backdrop!

I first "discovered" her when I picked up EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS. That one helped me through the death of a close friend, and I never put it down till I was finished. Then, as now, I cried, I laughed, and I felt as if I had just had some sort of magical catharsis happen to me, through a children's book! I am a children's librarian, so I believe EVERYONE should read children's books--they are so life-facilitating, and one never outgrows them--but if you are only going to read ONE children's book this year, COUNTDOWN is the one.

I feel as if I have waited a very long time for this book; after I voraciously read, and made sure our library owned, everything Ms. Wiles has published, I could not bear that there were no more. Trite as this sounds, it was so worth the wait. Now, I have to settle down to anticipation of Book Two of this trilogy!

Give this book to the discerning upper-elementary/tween reader. That child will see himself/herself in every chapter. My fifth birthday was the day JFK was killed, so most of these echoes are very dim for me, yet I also saw myself.

Ms. Wiles, you are a gift to every reader and librarian everywhere.

It's 1962 and 11 year-old Franny Chapman is having problems. Her best friend seems to be edging away from her, she's worried her older sister Jo Ellen might be a communist, and her perfect younger brother Drew is obsessed with being an astronaut and constantly reads his favorite book, "Our Friend the Atom." Her mom is stressed out, her father is a pilot at Andrews Air Force Base, and her Uncle Otts (who lives with them) is losing his mind. On top of all this are tensions between the USA and the USSR and the escalating Cuban Missile Crisis. With regular air raid drills and nuclear missiles aimed at the country, suddenly the atom doesn't seem so friendly anymore.

I was blown away by the format of this book which is interspersed with information from around 1962 such as advertisements for bomb shelters, Bert the Turtle "duck and cover" posters, b&w photos, news broadcasts, songs and speeches, and essays on notable people - adding a wonderful element of history to the narrative. Unfortunately, it took me well over 100 pages to feel much of an interest in the story. Franny is likeable enough but we're given such a short view of her life that I never felt much of a connection - and I personally find the first-person present-tense narrative rather annoying. I'm not sure my 11 year old daughter will even have the patience to keep reading long enough to be drawn in, which is unfortunate because the ending is actually kind of nice. It also does a very good job at portraying the fear people felt at the Cuban Missile Crisis. Reading the book description I had the impression it might be something like Gary Schmidt's excellent [[ASIN:054723760X The Wednesday Wars]], but it never reaches that level (although it's probably unfair to saddle any book with such high expectations as that outstanding book delivers).

Countdown follows the main character, Franny, as she faces life in 1962 during a turbulent time in US history. Franny's life is filled with interesting characters. Uncle Otts is still living a war in his mind and keeps the family a bit on edge with his antics. Franny's sister is going off to college and seems to have completely disappeared from the family. Franny's dad is currently in the military and is always off on various missions, which keeps her mom a bit tense. Then, there's Franny's school friends, who provide her with lots of adventure, but also the feuding that comes with growing up with friends. While Franny is trying to discover how to make her way through her own life, she's also having to cope with the inherent fear that has developed in the world due to President Kennedy's announcement that Russia is sending nuclear missiles to Cuba. The threat of a bomb is always on Franny's mind, and her school doesn't help to relieve this fear with their constant reminders of duck and cover drills. How will Franny learn to heal the conflicts that she has with her friends? How will she and her family come together during this turbulent time? Will the United States ever be filled with peace instead of the constant thoughts and fears of war?

In Countdown, Deborah Wiles masterfully weaves a documentary novel that both takes us into the lives of one American family but also helps us to see the fearful history that took place during this time. As I read, I felt as if I had boarded a time machine and traveled back to the sixties. I felt the constant fear because as I read I was presented with music, news reports, presidential announcements, and advertisements that brought the thoughts of nuclear attack back to the front of my mind. Just as I was living Franny's life with her and enjoying her moments and adventures with her friends and family, an announcement or a duck and cover drill would take place. I was never able to escape the fear of attack, and this made the novel so much more real. At the same time, I was also reminded through these same photographs and music of how the rest of the United States was trying to move on with their day-to-day lives and how there were other major events taking place at the exact same time. This is a must-read novel. It brings back a time in history that has much relevance to the fears and issues we face today. What might you learn from this novel? What might you experience as you take this journey with Franny?

Riveting and engrossing book about being an eleven-year-old American girl in 1962. There are so many interesting layers to this book! Deborah Wiles starts with fantastic characters that so represent the the times but she does such a good job that you empathize instead of seeing them as stereotypes. Franny Chapman is the typical middle child suffering through 5th grade. She feels invisible to her family and always thinks she is in trouble, an afterthought, and a failure. Wiles does a great job painting her family - dad a pilot stationed at Andrews Air Force base, her mom the dutiful military wife (complete with bridge-playing luncheons and gold-painted decks of cards), older sister who starts college but has a hope chest filled with tableclothes, napkins, etc. (yep a trouseau for some time in the future when she gets married even though she has no boyfriend), a great-uncle who is perhaps suffering from the beginnings of Alzheimer's and obsesses about building a fallout shelter, and a younger brother who carries around Disney's "Our Friend the Atom" book and wants to be an astronaut.

The setting is perfect American suburbia - they all walk to the neighborhood school, friends are those that live in the subdivision, they ride bikes, love McDonald's (it is brand new) and watch The Wonderful World of Disney, listen to 45s on record players, and want penny loafers instead of Buster Browns. Add to this backdrop the Cuban Missile Crisis and how it impacted kids and you have a wonderful story.

Wiles does so much more though by interspersing historical notes and snipits into the story. The book opens with black and white pictures of a mushroom cloud, civil defense posters, the moon, and Koufax, as well as quotes by Kennedy and Khrushchev, James Meredith, Koufax, and the moon. The book is a wonderful history lesson about a incredible turbulent time in our social history. Wiles writes engaging prose and these historical notes seem more like hypertext links than excerpts from social studies texts, and will appeal to young readers who are use to blended information resources.

Wiles manages to capture the uncertainty of the times and paces it well with the uncertainty that Franny faces in her life as she tries to navigate the social strata of 5th grade. It was a very interesting and fascinating read. Can't wait to hear what kids think of this book.

Until reading Countdown, I never really considered the Cuban Missile Crisis, or how petrifying an experience that must have been for the Nation. I came of age during the first Gulf War, when danger was something seen on the television in green, grainy night-cam, and happening far, far away: Sad for other people, but not for me. "They can't get us here." That was the sentiment that kept any sense of panic at bay. But with Deborah Wiles' terrifying and heartfelt account of those tense days in 1962, I'm now quite certain that, had I been a child during those times, as was the fate of the book's main character Franny, I would have crumpled like a wet piece of paper. THIS is the way that history should be taught.

Franny is, well, a "square". With her plastic headbands, clunky Buster-Brown shoes, and notoriously whacked out uncle, friends don't come easily, and the ones she has are fairly toxic. But popularity is low on Franny's lists of concerns. Her older sister Jo Ellen is acting strangely, disappearing without reason and receiving mysterious letters from someone named Ebenezer. Her father is constantly away from home, flying planes for the military. Her mother is distant. Her little brother is overly perfect, showing her up at everything. Her Uncle Otts who lives with her family is a shattered man after his time in World War I, obsessed with the threat of Communism and the notion that the spies may be among us. It's quite a scene when he begins ripping up the front yard to build the family a bomb shelter. And oh yeah, the Russians are amassing a nuclear arsenal on Cuba, capable of wiping out any city in North America at the push of a button. There are bomb drills at recess, and the students are forced to endure nerve-jangling informational films on what to do in the event of an attack: "Duck and cover!" Indeed.

Wiles was herself a nine year old girl during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the authority she infuses into this story springs from the pages. In addition to the narrative, which in itself is so truthful that anyone will be able to identify with Franny's anguish, Wiles weaves in snippets from the era: pictures of the Kennedys, Bob Dylan, Fidel Castro, real cartoon pamphlets that were handed out at schools, illustrating how to use your collar to protect your neck from nuclear fallout (really?), excerpts from the President's televised addresses to his frightened people, school report-style biographies of the military Generals of the day, maps, birds-eye photos of the missiles sitting on the beaches of Cuba. This historical data, fascinating and graphic, comes as interruptions to the plot, much as the real crisis came as an interruption, a total stand-still to the lives of the people who lived it; A radio in the living room, blasting the news that annihilation could drop from the sky at any moment, blotting out dinner conversation.

A book written with the level authenticity and detail that can be found in Countdown brings so much more to the depiction of an era than a textbook could ever hope to. The eye-crossingly dull facts of history are given a pulse by the characters who endured them. What would a factual account of the Bay of Pigs mean to a child? Nothing. But Franny watching her mother cry in the kitchen; Franny gathered around the television with her family, watching a hollow-eyed Kennedy prepare the country for the worst, Franny sitting alone in her room, penning a letter to the Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev, explaining that she and her family are good people who just want to live; Franny just trying deal with all the typical trappings of youth with forces she can't control or understand laying on top of her like a brick house? The first-person account is a gift to history: a teleporting widow to by-gone times. If Deborah Wiles were to write a book like Countdown for every stage of history, we might actually learn something from the lessons of the past.

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK! I happened upon this book at my local library. I brought my children there for a storytime and I picked up COUNTDOWN while I waited simply because it was the nearest book. The first few pages were so engaging I signed it out. By the time I was done it felt like 11 year old Franny was my best friend. I told all my book loving friends and family to read it. Now I have bought myself a copy to read over and over, and for my girls to read when they are old enough.

Countdown by Deborah Wiles
I have always enjoyed reading books about American History, yet very few history books make it into my "to-read" pile. I was excited when I won a copy of Countdown on goodreads as it allowed me to read a bit more about the history of the United States.

Before starting this book, I knew very little about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Throughout the story I found myself getting more familiar with the topic. The author conveyed the historical information in a way that made it feel like a conversation instead of a lecture. She did this by delivering the facts through the main character; a twelve year old. The details about this past event were seamlessly woven into the story between talks of the daily woes of a seventh grader. This style allowed the author to successfully convey the information she needed about the Missile Crisis and the main characters life in an interesting way.

The young age of the narrator did concern me at first. The intended audience for this book--ages nine to twelve--is much younger than the YA books I usually read. I wondered if I would be able to relate to a character whose daily concerns involved things such as who to play with in the playground. In the end, these types of issues took up little of the story. Instead much of the plot focused on larger issues. I found I could relate to issues such as dealing with family dynamics. The author's ability to put me in the character's shoes quickly eased any concerns I had about the age difference between the protagonist and myself.

I was interested to find out that this book is the first in a trilogy. I am very curious to see what topics the remaining two books cover. I am hoping that the author chooses to focus on two historical events for the subjects of the remaining books. Her ability to make history entertaining has me excited for these releases.

Review: This book is one I would love to see any middle school aged student reading. It is a great book that many will find entertaining. The authors ability to keep the story interesting while still informing made for an enjoyable story. I can't wait to see what topics Wiles tackles next!

I held this book up to the noses of the children's bookgroup I run. "Does anyone know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was?" I asked. My point blank question was met with pointedly blank stares. I tried a little word association on them. "Duck and cover? Bunkers? Castro? Bay of Pigs?" Nope. It's funny, but when you think of what parts of American history sort of get bypassed in school, the Cuban Missile Crisis is definitely one of them. To be fair, children's literature has kind of let them down. The Crisis will sometimes get a passing glance in most historical fiction as a kind of side note. It took a writer like Deborah Wiles to drag it front and center for one and all to see. Countdown doesn't just show you 1962. It plunges you headlong into that year, bombarding you with the songs, styles, images, and bold angry statements. Reading Countdown is like taking an immersion course in early 60s history with an expert who knows her stuff.

It starts out as just one small problem, and then billows out from there. It's 1962 and twelve-year-old Franny Chapman is frustrated to find that her teacher will not call on her to read aloud in class. It's infuriating! Still, that little problem feels like small potatoes after the bomb drill in school that day. And that problem pales in the face of her Uncle Otts and his mental breakdown at home. Add in her best friend's strange and mean behavior, her sister's secret activities, and the fact that the whole country might be going to war with the Russians soon over some missiles in Cuba . . . well it's hard enough to be twelve as it is. Franny's got a lot on her mind these days. The country? It feels the same way. Documentary media and biographies spot the text, putting the story in context.

The thing I like about Deborah Wiles is how good she is at putting you in a character's shoes. You may not agree with everything Franny thinks, says, and does but you empathize with her. You understand her. And when injustice is wrought against Franny you feel it in your gut. Whether it's her teacher skipping her in class when everyone's reading (a plot point that is elegantly tied up by the end) or her best friend stealing something that isn't hers, you feel for Franny. Heck, you'd push that no good, snide Margie in the girl's bathroom TOO if you had a chance. Rotten little thief. You see? I'm still in the book!

It's remarkable to think that this title started life as a picture book in 1996 (not that we aren't shockingly lacking in picture books about the Cuban Missile Crisis too). The book is so rich that imagining a pared down version of it feel faintly sacrilegious. That's partly because Wiles has a way with language. She knows how to put unspeakable emotions into words. You know when a toddler stumbles and then tries to decide if they're going to cry or not? Wiles makes it clear that the tween version of that consists of insults kids give to one another in the form of advice. As Franny says at one point, "I don't answer Margie. I try to decide if she has hurt my feelings." Her descriptions are also top of the charts as well. "Our kitchen is pink. Pink refrigerator, pink stove, pink walls, pink sink. The room looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto-Bismol." And then there are the sentences that will be perfect for bookgroups discussing this title across the country. "Over four million Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians perished. The middle initial S in Harry S Truman's name stood for nothing." You could probably read the book several times before you realized that most of it was written in the present tense too.

And accurate to the times? Brother, I don't know the last time I saw a mom smoke in a book where that looked normal. It was normal in the early 60s after all. Details of the time period don't boldly announce themselves but just sit there, giving the book the right atmosphere. After a while, I found that there was never a moment when I doubted Wiles's research. She's meticulous. The bibliography and websites are superb. Exactly the kind of thing you would want in a book like this. You grow to trust Wiles so much that when a clap of thunder shocks Franny's family on the night President Kennedy talks to America about the crises you honestly believe that the author researched the weather reports of Washington D.C. for that exact date and time.

The media in this book poses a bit of a conundrum, though. Don't get me wrong. It's brilliant. The periodic breaks in the book are filled with photographs and ephemera. Some kids will skip these entirely to get to the plot and some kids will pore over the selections, disregarding the story. Most, though, will read both and gain a fuller knowledge of Franny's world as a result. It's entrancing, particularly when you notice that the text is also broken up with some biographies of famous figures at the time. These biographies sound as if Franny has written them for a report, but they're fun and urbane with meaningful asides printed in bold type. You don't get the sense that you're reading boring old facts with these portions. The book is beautifully broken up without ever losing momentum too. At the start it goes media, text, bio, text, media, etc. and you're right there along with it.

Yet the media isn't without some problems. As one librarian pointed out to me, periodically images are accompanied by unidentified song lyrics throughout the text. In the first section, for example, you can read "You'll Never Walk Alone", printed on top of a photo of an exploded bomb and later "Hold Your Head Up High" above an image of Bert the Turtle right before he ducks and covers. "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" accompanies both the moon (with Kennedy's statement that "we choose to go" there) and some unrelated quotes. "You'll Never Walk Alone" repeats under a photograph of children hiding under their desks. Now as an adult reading this book, I understand that these quotes are from Carousel and are often meant to be ironic. Later the song is "Que Sera Sera" and the lines "the future's not ours to see" and "What will be will be" appear. But there is nothing to indicate that these are songs at all. If you were to inspect the backmatter you'd notice that there's a section crediting "Lyrics" but how many children will put two and two together? A lot of kids will read these lyrics straight through, without irony, which changes the entire meaning of the words. The quotes make perfect sense within the context of their songs. Without that context, child readers are left behind. Interestingly, these quotes are also from some pretty unhip songs (though "The Locomotion" does make an appearance). It's hard to say how they relate to Franny. Certainly her class has been singing, "You'll Never Walk Alone" at school, but how do the other songs apply to her? Strange that the songs she actually mentions in the story (like "Runaway") are never quoted. You'd expect a little more crossover.

The book is the first of a trilogy, I believe. This is good news for all of us. I, for one, want to keep going wherever Franny may lead me. Of course, there is the question of whether or not the book stands on its own. For the most part all the loose ends are tied up at the finish. There is the question of Franny's older sister to answer, though. You never really learn what it is that she's up to (my husband was hoping that The Highlander School would be mentioned, since it would tie everything up so beautifully). Much like the song lyrics in the mixed media portions, adults will probably have a good idea, but kids for the most part will be left baffled. However, I think the subsequent novels in this series will answer that question effectively. So I don't fret over not knowing quite yet.

There are plenty of books out there where kids find their relatives obsessed with digging some fallout shelters. [[ASIN:0440238382 House of the Red Fish]]. [[ASIN:0440419352 Gemini Summer]]. [[ASIN:0618563172 The Wonder Kid]]. [[ASIN:0375841172 The Loud Silence of Francine Green]]. Francine Green, for the record, is probably the book this title reminded me of the most, though it was more concerned with the Red Scare than the Missile Crisis. And few of these books really nail the paranoia of the time period. Kids today have plenty to fear, if they want to. They can be scared of terrorist attacks or epidemics or war even. When I was a kid in the 80s I spent my own nights worrying about what my President might do with the bomb. Franny may be a child of the 60s but she's dealing with issues that any generation can relate to and understand. So while it may be the most early-1960s children's novel I've ever read, I'm going to stamp the word "timeless" all over this puppy. Memorable and interesting, all at once.

Ages 10 and up.

Your book club will have lots to comment on when you read this novel. The pictures and song lyrics bring such authenticity to the work.

This is a wonderful book for use with teaching about the Cold War. It really gives students the perspective of being a child during that time in our history.