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My Daddy Was a Soldier: A World War II Story
Jeannie misses her father, away fighting in the war. She and her mother plant a Victory Garden and write letters. But they worry too. Will he be alright? When will he come home?
Jeannie's story is set during the Second World War. Many things are different today, but the feelings of a child whose parent has gone away to war don't change. When originally published, the National Council for Social Studies named this a "Notable Book in Social Studes" and called it "a moving account of the responses and emotions of those left behind."
Jeannie's story is set during the Second World War. Many things are different today, but the feelings of a child whose parent has gone away to war don't change. When originally published, the National Council for Social Studies named this a "Notable Book in Social Studes" and called it "a moving account of the responses and emotions of those left behind."
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First published March 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 12, 2025
Beautiful penciled sketches bring this story to life!
A young girl tells what World War II was like at home while her father is gone in the Pacific arena. Metal drives, food rations, all the changes that took home during the war years.
Ages: 6 - 12
Content Considerations: nothing to note.
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A young girl tells what World War II was like at home while her father is gone in the Pacific arena. Metal drives, food rations, all the changes that took home during the war years.
Ages: 6 - 12
Content Considerations: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide Content Considerations, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
If you’re considering a book or looking for a new title to read, check out my highly categorized shelves, read my reviews and Friend or Follow me to spiff up your feed with clean, wholesome, living books.
I have an Instagram account that’s pretty bookishly unique too!
April 3, 2013
gr 3-6
1943 United States. Follows the story of 3rd grader Jeanie as she supports the war effort with victory gardens and scrap drives while she waits for her father, who is serving in the army, to come home. The story mentions various aspects of life on the homefront in WWII: rationing, sending packages/letters to her father, waiting for letters from him, along with air raid drills and blackouts.
1943 United States. Follows the story of 3rd grader Jeanie as she supports the war effort with victory gardens and scrap drives while she waits for her father, who is serving in the army, to come home. The story mentions various aspects of life on the homefront in WWII: rationing, sending packages/letters to her father, waiting for letters from him, along with air raid drills and blackouts.
August 10, 2016
I’m excited to read more of Deborah Kogan Ray’s work. My Daddy Was a Soldier reminded me, both with its touching and engaging story and the lovely illustrations, of another one of my favorite children’s book authors, Patricia Polacco. This was a nice portrayal of the struggles and fears of a small family while the father is away overseas during World War II; a wonderful book to share with children when covering this time in history.
March 21, 2010
from perspective of soldier's daughter during WWII. includes good WWII content like mom working, scrap drives, rationing, war dates, writing letters, V-E day, atomic bombs, black outs. has nice charcoal drawings.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews