War as seen from the Eyes of a Child

The focus of this blog is Leonbergers but sometimes I post about books that are not about Leonbergers but that are books that I want to promote. I recently read a gripping book about life in England during World War II called “While the Bombs Fell” by Robbie Cheadle and Elsie Hancy Eaton. It is a book that is easy to read and appropriate for older children, young adults and adults alike. I bought the book on Amazon, I loved the book and I wrote a review for it.

As far as I know it exists only as a paperback on Amazon. Publisher : TSL Publications (August 3, 2018), ISBN-10 : 1912416433, ISBN-13 : 978-1912416431, 100 pages, Item Weight : 4.5 ounces, Dimensions : 5.83 x 0.23 x 8.27 inches, it cost $16.14 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.

The front cover features planes in the air dropping bombs as search lights are searching for the planes. There are a mother and a girl standing at the bottom down of the page representing the ground.
Front cover of While the Bombs Fell by Robbie Cheadle and Elsie Hancy Eaton. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the paperback version of the book.

Amazon’s Description of While the Bombs Fell

What was it like for children growing up in rural Suffolk during World War 2? Elsie and her family live in a small double-storey cottage in Bungay, Suffolk. Every night she lies awake listening anxiously for the sound of the German bomber planes. Often they come and the air raid siren sounds signalling that the family must leave their beds and venture out to the air raid shelter in the garden. Despite the war raging across the English channel, daily life continues with its highlights, such as Christmas and the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt, and its wary moments when Elsie learns the stories of Jack Frost and the ghostly and terrifying Black Shuck that haunts the coastline and countryside of East Anglia. Includes some authentic World War 2 recipes.

This is my five star review of the book “While the Bombs Fell” by Robbie Cheadle and Elsie Hancy Eaton.

It is a short, gripping, beautifully written and easy to read book about the experiences of a little girl growing up in England during World War II.

The Life of little Elsie during World War II

This book tells the story of little Elise who lives with her family on a small farm in Bungay, Suffolk, England during World War II. Food and other products are rationed, there are shortages, lack of heating and electricity, and people struggle economically. At the same time the bombs are falling and there’s always the fear that you will be hit. The book tells us about the fear, about family life, the human connections, the animals, the daily life and various holiday celebrations, all from the perspective of a child. The book reads more like memoir than a novel, but it feels very real.

I grew up in Sweden, live in the US, and that is what I know. Therefore, I did not know much about the culture and how people live, or rather used to live, in WWII England. Therefore, by reading this book, I learned a lot about England, or the England of the past. It is obvious that the author is intimately familiar with past English culture and how it was living in England during this time. Elsie’s world was very different from what I know, and the times were very difficult, and you saw it all through Elsie’s eyes. Therefore, the book is very engaging. It is a reminder that life was very challenging for a lot of people during World War II.

I also really enjoyed reading about what they ate, the recipes, and the rose hips, the rosehip jam, and there were recipes at the end of the book. In Sweden rosehip and rosehip soup was a healthy staple food so I definitely recognized that. I remember rosehip soup with fondness. This book brings you into another world, it is very engaging, interesting, and eye opening, as well as an easy read. I highly recommend this beautiful little book.

The back cover is dark green and has a description of the book, as well as author names and title.
Back cover of While the Bombs Fell Robbie Cheadle and Elsie Hancy Eaton.

About Robbie Cheadle

I don’t have any information about Elsie Hancy Eaton. However, below is the information about Robbie Cheadle.

South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated four poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

Robbie’s blog includes recipes, fondant and cake artwork, poetry, and book reviews.

Click here to visit is her Goodreads page

Click here to visit her TSL Publications Page.

Click here to visit is her Twitter account.

Click here to visit is her Facebook account.

These are her published books on Amazon.

My Other Reviews for Robbie Cheadle’s Books

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

39 thoughts on “War as seen from the Eyes of a Child”

  9. Hi Thomas
    We have something in common, I grew up in Sweden as well – but just after the war. And then I lived in Finland and for quite a while in Canada.
    Anyway, thanks for this review. I’ll have a look at this book
    Klausbernd 🙂

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      1. Hi Thomas
        Yes, the ‘normal’ people were much more well off in Sweden, but in Finland, people weren’t poor. A big problem was alcohol. As I had huge problems speaking and understanding Finnish, I was mostly together with Finland Swedes. They were the ruling or upper class. My girlfriend was a student of the Åbo Akademi, the Swedish-speaking university in Turku. Later, I went for a short time to Arctic Finland. That was different. Seen from a Middle European perspective, it was poor. But the people didn’t see it like this.
        Happy Eastern
        Klausbernd 🙂

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        1. That is very interesting. Betyder det att du talar Svenska? I lived in northern Sweden when I grew up and we typically visited Vasa, Jakobstad or further north (Happaranda, Lappland). Thank you Klausbernd and Happy Easter to you.

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  11. Thanks for sharing the great review of While the Bombs Fell. That would have been a terrifying time to be in England. In the United States we’ve been lucky that war has touched us so little on the mainland. It’s great to hear that there are also shared some of the good things that happened in those times and going back to vintage recipes is always interesting.

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