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Diana's White House Garden by Elisa Carbone Book Review

Diana's White House Garden by Elisa Carbone
Illustrations by Jen Hill
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 3, 2016

World War II is in full force across the seas. It's 1943, President Roosevelt is in office, and Diana's father, Harry Hopkins, is his chief advisor. And Diana wants to be part of the war effort. After some well-intentioned missteps (her quarantine sign on her father's office door was not well-received), the President requests her help with his newest plan for the country's survival: Victory Gardens!

I don't know why it never occurred to me that the White House had a victory garden, in fact it makes perfect sense, but it is just a nugget of information that I either learned and forgot or never learned at all. This book is a lovely example of fictionalized informational books for a younger audience. It carefully explains the realities of war in a way that young children will be able to understand and possibly even identify with. The author includes some interesting info in the backmatter as well, for readers who are intrigued. Jen Hill's illustrations are beautiful and engaging, pulling in design elements from the 1940s, while also satisfying a modern audience.