Lumber Jills: The Unsung Heroines of World War II

by Alexandra Davis, Katie Hickey (Illustrator)

A true story of the female lumberjacks who helped save Great Britain's war effort.

In World War II, Great Britain needed lumber to make planes, ships, and even newspapers―but there weren't enough men to cut down the trees. Enter the fearless Lumber Jills! These young women may not have had much woodcutting experience, but they each had two hands willing to work and one stout heart, and they came together to do their part. Discover this lyrical story of home front heroism and female friendship.

Genres: Picture Books, History, Historical, World War II, Nonfiction, Childrens, Feminism

32 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2019

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was reading 'The Last Garden' by Julia Kelly, one of the story lines involved a land girl during WW II. That reminded me of this book. With the country at war, there was a demand for many things that men usually did the work to provide. The men who usually did the jobs like farming, cutting down trees, driving ambulances, etc were serving in the armed forces. In stepped thousands of women volunteers to fill the gap. The Lumber Jills were one of these groups. I loved the full-color illustrations in this book and the way women were empowered to step up and contribute to the war effort.

[Mid-Continent Public Library]

When I was reading The Last Garden in England, one of the story lines involved a land girl during WW II. That reminded me of this book. With the country at war, there was a demand for many things that men usually did the work to provide. The men who usually did the jobs like farming, cutting down trees, driving ambulances, etc were serving in the armed forces. In stepped thousands of women volunteers to fill the gap. The Lumber Jills were one of these groups. I loved the full-color illustrations in this book and the way women were empowered to step up and contribute to the war effort. *Review by Darla from Red Bridge*

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great account of the brave young British, American, and Canadian women who joined the little known WWII effort called the Women's Timber Corps. A group of over 4,000 girls worldwide cut down trees, drove trucks, trained horses, and became sawmill operators. Their work helped build telephone lines, bunker fences, crates, among other things that helped with the war effort. This story was a great reminder that there are always unsung heroes to be celebrated and that women are always ready and willing to do their part!

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book touches on the story of thousands of young women who volunteered to become lumber jills during World War II in Great Britain to help support the need of lumber for planes, ships, and other paper products while the male population were away fighting in the war.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pictures were fantastic and loved reading about these women but we had to read the jacket flap to really understand what we were reading about.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting cadence to the story but a good story to tell and learn about.

[Rcltigger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this story, but it just fell flat for me. I was so focused on the constant use of numbers ("Two loving parents smile and kiss their girl goodbye. Four sturdy brown boots running down the road. Sixteen train cars chugging up the tracks"), that I felt that it got in the way of the story; it just didn't work for me. However, at the end of Lumber Jills, there is a page that is entitled "About the Lumber Jills," which explains the history behind the Lumber Jills and how important they were to the war effort. I wish this was what the book had focused on; it would have made for a much more interesting read.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I pick this up because of the artwork, but the story doesn't make any sense. Numbers are used repeatedly throughout the story but in no pattern: 1, 2, 1; 1, 6, 2, 1; 1, 10, 47, 2, 1. There are occasional rhyming lines, but not regularly or in anything like a refrain throughout the story. It's not clear what parts of this young readers are supposed to connect to. The artwork is fantastic but I can't imagine what group or age group would find this useful. It has so little information inside the story itself that it only makes sense if the reader is already familiar with Land Girls, etc.

[Stephanie Croaning · Rating 2 out of 5]

The text felt clunky and awkward. I could never figure out if there was a rhyme scheme, and the repetition of numbers seemed to detract from the flow of the story, without adding anything to the narrative.

There is an interesting About in the back of the book that provides more information about Lumber Jills, who could be found in Britain, the United States, and Canada.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lumber Jills by Alexandra Davis (illustrated by Katie Hickey) is an early/beginning reader book about the British women that filled the lumberjacks’ place during WWII. The prose is lyrical in nature and simple enough for a very early reader. Each page is beautifully illustrated and my favorite part of this book.

While I wished the story contained more history, I am not the intended audience. This book is meant to show young girls (target age of 5-7) that they can do anything a boy can do. This is a valuable lesson and one young girls do not hear often enough.

I loved that the book also referenced numbers in several of the passages. When my granddaughter and I read it together, we counted along with the story. I also liked that this book invites the child to ask questions. Because the back page gave a little more history about Lumber Jills, I was able to answer questions that came up. Kudos to the author for giving the adult reader that information.

I recommend this book for an early reader because it shows women in a role other than a princess. I think we have plenty of those kinds of books already. I for one want all young girls to realize they can do anything and their gender should not stop them from fulfilling their dreams. By the way, my granddaughter enjoyed this book!

I received a free copy from the author at BEA in exchange for my honest opinion. For more of my reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may have read about women pilots, nurses, ambulance drivers, factory workers, etc. during World War 2 but women also worked in the forests - cutting down trees, piling them on to wagons, and sending them off to sawmills. This story focuses on the Lumber Jills of England but the author's note mentions that there were also Lumber Jills in American and Canada - a new spin on Rosie the Riveter.

The author makes it clear at the beginning of the book that while she loves informing others about this little known aspect of war life, her main purpose is to encourage. You may not think that cutting down a tree during war time was a big deal, but it was essential to the war effort. And with most of the men on the front, the women were the ones left to do the work. Never feel that your efforts are too small or too unimportant.

I do agree that the numbers were a bit distracting and didn't really serve a purpose. The on and off again rhyming was OK. But I liked the illustrations and the story.

[Jessica Furtado · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this picture book were a bit more informational. The author's note at the end gives a nice, concise history, but the story itself feels too abstract for children to follow. It is never really made clear to readers why the Lumber Jills work is necessary until the author's note give explanation. The rhythm of rhyming and repeated lines feels forced and out of place in this story. A more traditional non-fiction picture book format would have done the Lumber Jills better justice. The illustrations are lovely, and I am glad that the author chose to highlight these women and their important place in history. The overall execution just falls a bit flat.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this generalized peek into a little know historical detail. The women depicted in the book are fictional, though the women they represent were not. I liked how the author tried to encourage girls of today through the actions and attitudes of the girls of history. The art was delightful. While the format of the text was interesting, almost like a counting rhyme, it didn't make sense to me in places and the rhyme seemed inconsistent. Not sure older readers would want to read the text over and over, and not enough backmatter to keep them exploring. Closer to the mark for younger readers.

[Linda B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Green dominates this book's illustrations and brought home to me how important trees have always been to the earth and people. Learning how women gathered together to help in the war effort was well presented. How hard they worked was mentioned but not stressed. The willingness to work hard and keep each other on track was what I took away from the theme and I hope others will also. We do not often see books about "unsung" war heroes in quite this way.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a really cute story that educates kids about tough women in history! Most of the stories told about war are focused on the male soldiers, and when they talk about women, they talk about how they stayed home and cooked, cleaned, and raised kids. I liked that this book took a different angle and focused on women who did essential manual labor, emphasizing that women can be just as tough as men!

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

n World War II, Great Britain needed lumber to make planes, ships, and even newspapers—but there weren’t enough men to cut down the trees. Enter the fearless Lumber Jills! These young women may not have had much woodcutting experience, but they each had two hands willing to work and one stout heart, and they came together to do their part. Discover this lyrical story of home front heroism and female friendship.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great lumber story that showcases girls working as lumberjacks (during the 1940's). The illustrations are lovely and the text has lots of numbers and repetition. During storytime, the first and last phrases were "acted out" - One pair of woolen socks pulled up the knee ... two hands willing work and one stout heart. It was a fun way to read the book together. I did skill the the going to town pages to shorten the book.

2021 storytime theme: Lumberjacks

Reviewed from a library copy.

[clivey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are fun and the writing/story is decent. The author's note at the beginning an "About the Lumber Jills" page at the end were way more interesting than the story, however. I wished more of the inspiring facts could've been included in the story--especially since so much of it is repetition of one or two lines. I definitely want to read more about the Lumber Jills now.

[Juliana Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

'One pair of woolen socks pulled up to the knee'... is the refrain of this bouncy tale of the women who took over the lumberjack industry in America, Canada, and Great Britain during World War II. Fun to read and easy to follow their journey into the forest to harvest trees for the war effort. With 'two hands willing to work and one stout heart' each lumber Jill makes a difference!

[Kip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very poetic, abstract telling of the story of the Women's Timber Corps in the UK during WWII. I really enjoyed seeing this material told in such an nonstandard way -- it's a real departure from the usual plodding picture book nonfiction, and got some of the feeling of being in the Corps right into the vein. Unusual and well done.

[SL · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me to give this a low rating because I LOVE seeing more picture books focus on historical events that don't get their chance in the spotlight. I definitely enjoyed the illustrations but the writing was awkward for me. The last page that gives a historical note about Lumber Jills was concise and gave me a better narrative than the rest of the picture book tbh.

[Makenna Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book! The illustrations were cute, and not too dark. If I was reading this to younger kids, K-3, I would definitely have to go over a lot of the content and vocabulary because it was advanced. But, it definitely touched on women's experiences in ww2 and on female empowerment, so overall I liked it!

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this. I did enjoy the fact the choice of topic, the art, and the age at which it was targeted, but overall it fell short of what I was hoping for. Too much in the backmatter, not enough in the book.

[michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book and the educational value. While I don't think it was the most interesting read, the content was extremely fascinating. I had never heard of Lumber Jills before and am thankful that I got a small taste for what they did through this book.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

DARLING illustrations that tell the story of the young women in Britain, Canada and America who served their countries during WWII; and explains the importance of their contribution. “They were not judges by their size or strength but by their enthusiasm, resilience, and good humor.” Yes 👊🏻

[Olivia Gasca]

This is such a cool story for kids to read because it proves that woman can do anything that men can do. This is also a very educational book for kids to read because it is a real story from World War II. Not only is it educational but it is a great story!

[Christine Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recognizing this is an Easy Reader I still feel the author could have put more content into the story. There is a nice historical piece at the end that includes the fact there were women doing this work in Canada and U.S during WWII.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations, but unfortunately the text was lacking. It focused a lot on randomly counting things, sometimes rhymed, and was too repetitive with the "one pair of woolen socks pulled up to the knee" and "two hands willing to work/hold and one stout heart" showing up 7 times each.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations and appreciated learning about the Lumber Jills and their contribution to the Allied effort during WWII, but I wasn't a huge fan of the prose-like text.

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like many others, I wish this book had more information, not just in the author's note. I don't think my students would follow this story, or even understand it as a story. I'm not sure I got it...