Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief

Wood splinters and Mama screams and the nearest soldier seizes her roughly by the arms. My sister pokes her bruised face out from beneath the table and shouts, 'Run, Sasha! Run!'

So I run. I run like a rabbit.

It's spring, 1942. The sky is blue, the air is warm and sweet with the scent of flowers.

And then everything is gone.

The flowers, the proud geese, the pretty wooden houses, the friendly neighbours. Only Sasha remains.

But one small boy, alone in war-torn Russia, cannot survive.

One small boy without a family cannot survive.

One small boy without his home cannot survive.

What that small boy needs is an army.

From the award-winning author of We Are Wolves comes the story of a young boy who becomes a soldier at six, fighting in the only way he can -- with love. But is love ever enough when the world is at war?

Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief is a historical novel for middle-grade readers set during WWII. Young Sasha lies in a hospital in Berlin, recovering after the end of the war. His recollections take the reader back to 1942, where a six-year-old Sasha lives in a picturesque village in rural Russia. After German soldiers burn his village to the ground he escapes into the forest alone, where he is taken in by a company of Red Army soldiers. Sasha becomes their mascot and helper, accompanying them first to Stalingrad and then to Berlin. Sasha is sweet and loving and remains remarkably untraumatised by the war raging around him. All the Red Army soldiers he encounters are gentle and kind to him-the story is so positive it could serve as the propaganda Sasha reads in the newspapers he scavenges. The novel is told from a young child's perspective but even so is often simplistic and sentimental, without, for example, the depth and pathos of books by Morris Gleitzman or Jackie French. Nevertheless, Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief is a fascinating tale that shines a light on a lesser-known side of WWII. The flashbacks create tension and structure to keep the reader engaged, while the real-life basis will intrigue younger readers interested in history. Fay Helfenbaum is a freelance writer and editor and was a bookseller for five years.

Katrina Nannestad is an award-winning Australian author. Her books include the CBCA-shortlisted We Are Wolves, The Girl Who Brought Mischief, the Travelling Bookshop series, the Girl, the Dog and the Writer series, the Olive of Groves series, the Red Dirt Diaries series, the Lottie Perkins series, and the forthcoming historical novel Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief. Katrina grew up in country New South Wales, in a neighbourhood stuffed full of happy children. Her adult years have been spent raising boys, teaching, daydreaming and pursuing her love of stories. Katrina celebrates family, friendship and belonging in her writing. She also loves creating stories that bring joy or hope to other people's lives. Katrina now lives on a hillside in central Victoria with her husband, a silly whippet called Olive and a mob of kangaroos. www.katrinanannestad.com

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