Desert Danger: Tim Jackson, North Africa WWII

My Story: Boys

by Jim Eldridge

Tim Jackson, North Africa WWII I was lifting one of our mines when there was an explosion from the team to our right. I only heard it because there had been a momentary lull in the barrage from the big guns. We all looked, and saw that the man lifting the mines had handled one incorrectly and it had exploded. Luckily the charge in the mine wasn't big enough to kill him, but I could see that his leg had been blown off. He was thrashing around on the ground and screaming in agony. Then the big guns of our artillery opened up again. I turned back to my own mine-clearing and tried to shut the image of the wounded man out. I had to keep my hands steady and my nerves calm. I had to get this right.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical, Diary, Young Adult, World War II, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2005

About the author

Jim Eldridge is the author of many books for children, including titles in the My Story series, the Warpath books, and How to Handle Grown-Ups. He has had 250 TV scripts broadcast in the UK and internationally for children's and teen television, and is also the creator and writer of Radio 4's long-running comedy-drama series, King Street Junior.

Reviews

[Tommy]

RIP chalky and Ginger and uncle george

[Blake MacKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good but i forget some of the main characters names

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about the North Africa campaign, but I wish that some of the more outlandish aspects of it were explained in the historical note. There were a few typos in the text.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

One way to learn about history aside from learning in class is to read books about that certain event we want to know. The book is written in the form of a diary and I love the characters and how the writer portrayed the war but in not an excessive way.

[Molly]

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

[Abi Abzisstory]

A fantastic story of Tim Jackson who starts life before the war as an engineer and is enlisted to help in clearing mines. I really enjoyed this account, written in diary format, which portrayed the dangers of war without being too gruesome. I loved the characters. Another great book from the series!

[Lucas J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book!!! I learnt loads from it!!!!

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty solid story about an English teen being sent over to Egypt during World War 2.

[Kelliher 6/7 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jared
I think it was a good book it hade a good plot and story and it could have given us a idea to what it would had been like in the desert during ww 2.