A Flag in the Window

A Flag in the Window, a 2014-15 Mamie Eisenhower Library Project Selection and a 2013 finalist in the San Diego Book Awards for Children's Fiction, is an authentic depiction of the American homefront during World War II. Many, if not most, examples of contemporary children's literature are imbued with postmodern sensibilities, regardless of the book's settings. My purpose was to accurately portray the spirit of 1940s America, not in a sugar-coated, sanitized ideal, but as it really was. The essence of an authentic children's historical novel, to my mind, is a story devoid of political and/or social revisions. I worked diligently to make sure that every historical fact in my work of fiction is accurate, and I was also meticulous in portraying the ideas and attitudes espoused in those days, along with the language the public used to convey those ideas. A Flag in the Window depicts a year in the life of a twelve-year-old boy living in Pasadena, California, during World War II. Billy Roarke is a student of the war who yearns for his father, a paratrooper stationed in England. This yearning leads to upheaval, and ultimately transformation, in the young boy's life. This book is about redemption, and the dramatic twists and turns the story takes to arrive at that redemption make A Flag in the Window entertaining and compelling, and a fine addition to American homefront literature.