When the Horses Ride By: Children in the Times of War

by Eloise Greenfield, Jan Spivey Gilchrist (Illustrator)

Presents a collection of poems about children around the world, focusing on the children's perceptions of war and how the turmoil of war affects their lives.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Cultural

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2006

About the author

Greenfield was born Eloise Little in Parmele, North Carolina, and grew up in Washington, D.C., during the Great Depression in the Langston Terrace housing project, which provided a warm childhood experience for her.[1] She was the second oldest of five children of Weston W. Little and his wife Lessie Blanche (née Jones) Little (1906–1986). A shy and studious child, she loved music and took piano lessons.[2][3] Greenfield experienced racism first-hand in the segregated southern U.S., especially when she visited her grandparents in North Carolina and Virginia.[4] She graduated from Cardozo Senior High School in 1946 and attended Miner Teachers College until 1949. In her third year, however, she found that she was too shy to be a teacher and dropped out.[5]

Greenfield began work in the civil service at the U.S. Patent Office. In 1950, she married World War II veteran Robert J. Greenfield, a long-time friend. She began writing poetry and songs in the 1950s while working at the Patent Office, finally succeeding in getting her first poem published in the Hartford Times in 1962 after many years of writing and submitting poetry and stories.[6] After joining the District of Columbia Black Writers Workshop in 1971, she began to write books for children. She has published more than 40 children's books, including picture books, novels, poetry and biographies. She says that she seeks to "choose and order words that children will celebrate".[5][7]

Dismayed by the depiction of blacks and black communities in popular media, Greenfield has focused her work on realistic but positive portrayals of African-American communities, families and friendships.[1] These relationships are emphasized in Sister (1974) a young girl copes with the death of a parent with the help of other family members, Me and Nessie (1975) about best friends, My Daddy and I (1991) and Big Friend, Little Friend (1991) about mentoring.[5] Her first book, Bubbles (1972), "sets the tone for much of Greenfield's later work: Realistic portrayals of loving African American parents working hard to provide for their families, and the children who face life's challenges with a positive outlook."[1] In She Come Bringing Me that Little Baby Girl (1974), a boy deals with feelings of envy and learns to share his parents' love when his baby sister arrives. The poignant Alesia (1981) concerns the bravery of a girl handicapped by a childhood accident. Night on Neighborhood Street (1991) is a collection of poems depicting everyday life in an urban community. One of her best-known books, Honey I Love, first published in 1978, is a collection of poems for people of all ages concerning the daily lives and loving relationships of children and families. Her semi-autobiographical book Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir (1979) describes her happy childhood in a neighborhood with strong positive relationships.[5] In the introduction to that book, she explains her interest in biography:

People are a part of their time. They are affected, during the time that they live by the things that happen in their world. Big things and small things. A war, an invention such as radio or television, a birthday party, a kiss. All of these help to shape the present and the future. If we could know more about our ancestors, about the experiences they had when they were children, and after they had grown up, too, we would know much more about what has shaped us and our world.[8]

In 1971, Greenfield began work for the District of Columbia Black Writers' Workshop, as co-director of adult fiction and then, in 1973, as director of children's literature. That group's goal was to encourage the writing and publishing of African-American literature. She was writer-in-residence at the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 1985-86 and taught creative writing in schools under grants from the Commission. She has also lectured and given free workshops on writing of African-American children's

Reviews

[Britany · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book consists of poems by children that come from different cultures, Native American, African American, and races form other parts of the world. Throughout the book, there is a sad tone carried throughout, and in each poem, it appears the children are missing an important element because of the war, family, friends, or their quality of life. The reader sees war from different perspectives and gets a sense of the sorrow and heartbreak that children go through during a time of war.
While I was reading this book and the poems inside I felt sad and sorry for anyone going through this problem. It wasn’t just in the poems that I felt sad about but, it was because of the illustrations as well. There is so much expression in the faces of the children, and they all appear so vulnerable except for the last poem in the book. On the last page there is an image of every child in the book, and the poem on that page is titled “Still,” and it essentially says that although there are difficult times now, they are all surrounded by people who love them, and they will always be there to protect them. This is a must read because it gives multiple perspectives and it brings to light issues that children have faced over time.

[Cambrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical fiction picture book displays different wars in a poetic POV of children. It displays themes of hardship and innocence, without directly mentioning which war was which. y favorite part was the ending, in which the book showed that children try to have fun and be happy no matter where they are. I would use this in my classroom to show my students the different feelings and experiences of children in war.

[Claire Newell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a great job of telling the story of the war in the united states through poetry. depending on the student I think it would be hard for them to truly understand the meaning of the book without some sort of context of what it is about. Would be a good book to have for a read-aloud for students learning about the war, and already have some context on it. definitely at 4th grade or higher reading level.

[T Crockett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really put off by the illustrations. They were a strange mix of black and white photos that had been colored over and glued onto other illustrations. The illustrations made me feel the way I do when I look at clowns. I know they are intended for children but there's something discordant and creepy about them. I know these images were meant to give context to the poems, but they felt creepy.

[Andrea Wickenhagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Still we plan and we pray. We are surrounded by love. Taking us through the danger days. We give to the world still. Our wonder, our wisdom, our laughter, our hope. We are the children, we are the children….still.” The last poem in the book leaves us with this thought. The impact that war brings to our countries and to our lives is so negative and it surround us. Yet children still hold on to hope, they remain optimistic and continue to dream of days where there wont be violence or fighting. Compiled of different poems of a variety of children’s feelings and experiences in a time of war. This is an incredible book that includes all different cultures around the world, and pictures of different people as they dream of a time of peace. Sharing their diversity and their experience as they grow up with the negativity and troubles surrounding them during war. However, in the end the message is the same war affects us all in the same exact way. Yet as children, we don’t think of why they are fighting, or what the purpose of war may be, instead we just hope that our fathers will come home soon, and laughter will fill the air again erasing the negative impacts of war. This book is inspiring, and makes you reflect back on the feelings you associated with war as a child as well as now. The illustrations within the book are remarkable each page is done differently and it completes the fell you get from the book that each story is unique and personal, yet in the end they are all sharing the same feeling. This book is an inspiration; it covers all of the different wars through out history from the wars of Ancient China, displacement of Native Americans during U.S western expansion, American Civil War, World War I and II, to the most recent war in Iraq. It forces you to listen to the voices of children as they express the feelings war brings to their lives and to their cultures world wide.

[Jordan Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a collection of poems from a child's perspective. It talks about how fathers leave, horses ride by, dreams and toys all have to do with war. The book gives hope to children that they can see the good in war. "Wherever we are, we search for a place to be unafraid. Wherever we are." I loved this quote because I feel like students could relate to it. I thought the author did an exceptional job of covering each fear a child may have during war. The pictures were very easy to look at because they were pencil drawn almost. The colors almost looked like watercolors. The illustrations went well with the idea of the poems. I also loved the quote in the beginning "Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly." This book would be great to introduce war to students. Students may not understand all the emotions that come with war, so this book could introduce them to those emotions and let them know it is okay to feel those. As long as they hold on to their dreams truly anything is possible. Student's would enjoy this book and feel the emotions as they read the poems.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eloise Greenfield's poems in this collection are deceptively simple. She has captured both the clarity of thought and the incomprehension of war that children have. The poems and almost-collage illustrations span many peoples and many wars. This book is a marvelous introduction to the subject of war or to enrich a curriculum including the study of a particular war. I wish this were required reading for all members of our Congress.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eloise Greenfield presents poetry that covers wars from ancient times through modern and ends with a plea for children to "remain unafraid" and "give to the world/still/our wonder." The poetry, perfectly complemented by Jan Spivey Gilchrist's collage artwork, would also work well for language arts or social studies.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Still"