The Village

by Dot May Dunn

It's 1939, and little Dot May Dun is playing with her brothers in the quiet lanes of their Derbyshire village. The grown-ups' talk of war means very little to Dot, but things are starting to change in the village, for good. When a prisoner of war camp is built close to Dot's village, and a Yankee base is stationed nearby, Dot makes friends with the most unlikely of soldiers. But her friendships are threatened when telegrams start to arrive in the village and the real impact of war bears heavily on this close-knit mining community. From little lives spring great tales. Dot's childhood memoir shares the universals of innocence, love, loss, and friendships. The Village will move and entertain in equal measures.

Genres: Nonfiction, Historical, Biography, British Literature, Memoir

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Dot May Dunn was born in Derbyshire, the daughter of a miner. In 1951 she joined the newly established NHS as a pre-nursing student at Leicester Royal Infirmary, eventually becoming a Research Fellow at St Bartholomew's London and the London Hospital Medical College. She has four nursing qualifications and 50 years on the 'coal face' behind her. She divides her time between England and France.

- from https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/authors/...

Reviews

[Claire O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

This simply written tale of WWII through the eyes of a child was both sweet and revealing. The lives of women in the 1940s was so hard - I felt exhausted just reading about the washing day routine! In fact that portrayal of the everyday life was as interesting as any of the stories specifically about the war. A real insight.

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heart-warming memoir but not enough detail or description. Really lovely tales of childhood - interesting to read from the perspective of a child. Will go on to read the others in the series!

[AJourneyWithoutMap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Around the Village Green: The Heart-Warming Memoir of a World War II Childhood by Dot May Dunn is a delightful, touching and heartwarming recollection of her childhood memories of World War II. Dot May Dunn who was born in Derbyshire, the daughter of a miner, is also the Sunday Times bestselling author of Twelve Babies on a Bike and Bread, Jam and a Borrowed Pram.

This fascinating, moving and uplifting recollection of the war contains fourteen insightful chapters:
-Time Begins
-The enemy is here October– December 1939
-Who lives, who dies April– August 1940
-The Military Camp September– December 1940
-Changing times April– October 1941
-They pass, they don’t stay with us May 1942
-The silent war of waiting, waiting in hunger October 1942– January 1943
-The Yanks are coming March– July 1943
-They came and they were like us, but they went, to where we knew not September 1943– March 1944
-We knew the face of one who died June 1944
-A thousand rats to die September 1944
-The enemy, my friend October– December 1944
-The Last of the Enemy January– February 1945
-A few return, too few March– May 1945

If you are fascinated about World War II or if you are keen to know more about it from the perspective of a woman who had seen it as a child, this book is a must-read.

[Aunty Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Around the Village Green: The Heart-Warming Memoir of a World War II Childhood is a charming book about life in a rural English village during the second World War. It is told from the perspective of Dot, a 4 or 5 year old at the beginning of the war and a sensible preteen by the cessation of hostilities. The prose is very simple as the POV is that of a child, but the narrative combines the joys of childhood with some of the harsh realities of wartime on the British populace, even outside the major city centres. Dot struggles to understand the wartime vocabulary and make sense of the world she now lives in. The book was initially a little slow to begin, but soon I was invested in the lives of Dot and her family. 3.5⭐️/5 rounded down, but I will definitely read further works by this author if I can find them at a reasonable price. (Currently the cost of ordering Dot May Dunn’s other books on line is prohibitive. I’ll have to keep an eye out for them second hand.)

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially does what it says on the tin: “the heart-warming memoir of a WWII childhood”.

Shows how those who stayed also endured, how the worst news was taken by some and the initiatives to get the population to help, such as the “recycle paper for rank” all played out during the war.

Although decades apart, when she’s describing going through the bushes and hedges to spy on the camp - the sun on her back and the described feeling of the grass on her are very similar to my childhood memories- minus the camps of course.

A lovely little easy reading book that leaves you with a smile on your face but melancholy inside.

[Mae Leveson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like other readers, I felt this book lacked detail in its descriptions. Written from the perspective of a child during the Second World War and set in a Derbyshire mining community where the young Dot grew up surrounded by friends, family and neighbours and experienced war from encounters with Italian prisoners and then the arrival of the Americans, unanimously referred to as Yankees. Covering six years of war in a book of a little over 200 pages resulted in rather a brief account of events and felt somewhat superficial, although the warmth of family and community made Dot’s story a heart-warming and enjoyable read.

[Koren · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading the reviews for this book, I think I must be the only one that didnt get a lot out of this book and for the most part it was really boring. Written as if a child was writing this, I didnt really get the feeling that they were going through a war, except for the fact that we are told many times that they didnt have much food and had to use ration coupons. If you want to find out more of what the war was about I would look for something different.

[Swapna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice memoir, but not engrossing as such. The author describes village life during the war and how they were affected. She was lucky not to have felt its overwhelming impacts like evacuation or lost any immediate family members in it.

She should have included some photographs of her family and friends, so that readers could put a face to the names. There should also have been a post script of what happened to her family in succeeding years.

[Amanda Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was wonderful. I love the strong sense of community during this time. The innocence of childhood but the fact that children are keenly aware of everything going on around them is so well represented in Dot May Dunn's writing. If you like reading about life in the 1940s during the war I think you will enjoy this sweet memoir written from a little girl's point of view.

[patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Around the Village Green opens on Christmas 1940 in England and ends in December 1945. Dot May Dunn's memories from childhood are the story. It is a child's view of the times in an English village. Dot's dad is a coal miner and so he does not have to enlist, he is home for the duration. I enjoyed the book , you can see Dot growing up in it's pages.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book from the perspective of a child during war-time. We see the changes in the world through her eyes and see her thought process on the information that she receives. This book shows a different take on war-time as we know it and how war affected the children and a small community in midlands UK.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was swallowed reading-wise) whole. Having previously devoured the other two books of Ms. Dunn, I was eager to read this one and, like the others, it did not disappoint. The author's memories are colorful and contain hope at a time when there was not much hope to spare. I like her style and her memories and conclusions.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dot May Dunn writes of her childhood in Derbyshire Village from 1939 to 1945. She goes from about four to nine or ten. She witnesses the devastation of World War 2 that is all around Europe and right in her own hometown. She writes about these tough years through a child's eyes. A well written read.

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10 - This memoir offers a unique perspective of WWII, told through the eyes of an innocent child living in a small village that is never under direct attack, but still feels the harsh effects of war. While not completely a fault due to it being a memoir, I did feel like the book could have had a more coherent overarching theme or message, as well as a more wrapped up ending.

[Carlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming memoir of a World War II childhood in a small English village written from a child innocent view. A heartbreaking and tumultuous time but a heart warming read. I loved the little drawings of the village and the home at the front of the book which took you right into the scene!

[Inge (Inge1990) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a childhood memory not so much about the war, but about friendship and changes.

The war is often only mentioned shortly in means of changes that happen to the village and words the children don't understand and try to figure out.

[eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was very cute and adorable, but didn't stay away from the difficult topics of war unlike some memoirs. it was interesting that dot still experienced & participated in war despite not being evacuated- def something to keep in mind

[Heather Copping · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real heartwarming story told through a young girls eyes of life in a Derbyshire village in the war years. I loved it.

[Julie Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I wanted to research what it was like growing up during the second world war. It was entertaining and informative and in some places very moving. Told through the eyes of a child.

[Sara G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting memoir about growing up in an English village during World War II. The author was a young child, and tells the story from a childish point of view. She gets into escapades with her brothers and their gang of friends, remembers her father working as a union activist in the local mines, befriends a German prisoner of war, and more interesting vignettes. It was a fun, quick read, although it didn't feel all that substantive.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book by Dot May Dunn I have read, Bread, Jam and a Borrowed Pram being the first, and I enjoy her memoir style of writing. This book begins in 1939 when Dot was a six year old school girl in the middle of England. She recounts both family and village life as WW2 begins and changes their lives. Her father, a coal miner, spent his time advocating better working conditions for himself and his co-workers which often caused him to be at odds with his family for his strong positions.
As the war progressed, German prisoners were held at a camp outside their village and Dot's family had opportunities to interact with them which is often hard for Dot's mother especially who was also unwell. I think Dot May Dunn captures well both the anxiety and the relief that children experience during war as different fears come to the surface, some very real and some only imagined. I look forward to reading her third book, Twelve Babies on a Bike

[Lorelei · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's 1939, and Dot May Dunn is playing with her brothers in the quiet lanes of their Derbyshire village. The grown-ups' talk of war means very little to Dot, but things are starting to change in the village, for good. When a prisoner of war camp is built close to Dot's village, and a Yankee base is stationed nearby, Dot makes friends with the most unlikely of soldiers. But her friendships are threatened when telegrams start to arrive in the village and the real impact of war bears heavily on this close-knit mining community. From little lives spring great tales. Dot's childhood memoir shares the universals of innocence, love, loss, and friendships.

[Eiain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but I did when I saw this book in the shop. I liked the cover, and something drew me in. I am glad I made that judgement, as this is a really nice story, and as stated, is very Heart-Warming. Growing up during the was as seen through the eyes of the author. I would recommend to all.

[Janet Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mum would have loved this book so I was sad the whole time I was reading it. A lovely, gentle read. Very informative and interesting. There's more of the same and I could have got the whole lot from the library for Mum. :'( She'd have read a book a night, she was such a voracious reader even at 86. Can highly recommend this one and now I'll be reading the Christmas one by the same author.

[Fairy-fay Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many books out there on WW2 that this was a refreshing alternative view - seeing war time through the eyes of little Dot as she and her gang of friends theorise and investigate, make friends and lose loved ones. Well written and thoroughly charming.

[Paula Bollard · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely heart warming book written through the eyes of young Dot. I read it over two days as it was so easy to read and so enjoyable. Can't wait to read the others.