My Grandpa’s War by David Volk | Books in Review

The narrator of David Volk’s children’s book My Grandpa’s War  (CreateSpace, 36 pp., $10, paper) is a ten-year-old girl who is nicknamed “Sarge” by her Vietnam veteran grandfather.

This is a sweet, positive book, which deals with the painful legacy of the Vietnam War in a personal way—the necessary amputation of grandpa’s leg due to war injuries he never overcame. At the end of the book, he is back out on the dance floor with grandma.

The author—who was drafted into the Army and served in the Vietnam War as a 101st Airborne Division combat photographer—tells us that Rick Eilert, the former Marine and the author of For Self and Country, was the model for the grandpa character.  Rick Eilert recently died at the age of 64 of a heart attack and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Jason Folkerts’ illustrations are effective and work well with the moving text of this children’s book. I recommend this book for elementary school library collections.

The author’s website is www.MyGrandpasWar.com He is donating a portion of book sales to veterans’ groups.

—David Willson




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