Countdown (1) (The Sixties Trilogy)

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.

I originally posted this as a 3-star review because I had not finished the book...because I bought the Kindle version and it is a disaster on the Kindle. It is nearly impossible to see the graphic material. You are not allowed to change font size as you normally can in your Kindle, and the print is very very small (I don't even have bad eyes). The graphics work better in landscape mode on a phone or tablet but the font size is still an issue and cannot be changed (zooming creates a different issue). It's basically unreadable on a Kindle device. I did, however, manage to read it on my iPad, locked horizontally, using the Kindle app.Now that I have read it, I enjoyed the book itself. You will particularly enjoy it if you were born between the early 50's and late 60's. It will make you say: "My family did that! I didn't know everyone did that!"

Franny is a hilarious and yet serious 5th grader who is among the millions of children worried about atomic bombs and communists. She has a quirky family and lives near Andrews Air Force base. She has a crush and a frienemy like many 11 year old girls do. She wants to please her teacher and enjoys reading out loud during social studies. Speaking of which, I may try reading this novel out loud to my own middle school social studies classes when we get to our 1960s unit in the spring. I think they may be able to relate to Franny even though times have changed a bit.

I lived during this period and it brought back so many memories- friends, arguments, sisters, playing outdoors, the MUSIC, and of course, the times of fear. I remember duck and cover as a grade schooler also. I think all 5th gr and up should read this book. Wonderful history lesson relearned for me.

I bought this for my middle school children in the hope that it would bring history to life for them. As it happened, the purchase was timely (although a big before the recent events in Cuba). I devoured it, remembering things from my childhood. As a true mash-up of genres sprinkling 1st person narrative with news reports and actual photos from this era, I believe it would keep virtually anyone engaged. Regrettably, we haven't moved much past a fear of doomsday scenarios as a culture, so there is a sad relevance here.It is on the list for my children to read, and that will prove to be the first test. I'm looking forward to reading the other two in the series.

OMG I found this first (3) book to be wonderful. I related to the child growing up and laughed out loud - fast read...could relate to the music, family dinners (TV to sit downs), and who didn't have a crazy aunt or uncle in the family ?

Her trilogy of which I have read two out of three are enriching and captivating. She writes from a different perspective than mine; NYC liberal, and I have gained not only more knowledge of the 60s era but an eye-opening broader perspective from different parts of the country about US history. A definite read and tool to use in the classroom, or frankly, just enjoyment purposes too!

I was hesitant to read Countdown as I thought it sounded a little too contrived, but I was very wrong. I could relate to the young teen protagonist who was just beginning to understand all of the frightening events happening in the world in the early 60's. I could feel how the events were upsetting her sense of her world being safe and happy for all. I also loved the references to the music of the time. I sang the songs in my head as I read. I recommended my students log on to Pandora as they read it, so they could hear the songs and connect the lyrics to the events in the story. The news headlines and photos make the events more real.

Livre en anglais qui contient une foule de document visuels (publicités, images extraites de films et publicités, archives d'actualités, dessins... ainsi que des extraits de discours et de manuels scolaires de l'époque. On peut les regarder en tant que tels, mais aussi pour les collages qui créent du sens par la juxtaposition. Le roman lui-même est excellent, puisqu'il concerne une famille moyenne prise dans les Sixties, entre "événements" au Vietnam, révolution culturelle, et confrontation aux limites du rêve américain. Le récit se centre sur la crise des missiles de Cuba et se passe entièrement à l'automne 1962. Niveau de lecture: collège pour jeunes anglophones, en extraits pour lycéens/étudiants/DNL.

A simple but well nourished plot sees the heroine navigate the waters of life at home in the context of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Her trials and tribulations are doted with historical events which make the story entertaining and informative. Plenty of well presented document allow the young reader to learn and enjoy themselves at the same time.