Truce

Two-time Newbery Honor Book author Jim Murphy writes a stunning nonfiction masterpiece about a Christmas miracle on the Western Front during World War I.
On July 29th 1914, the world's peace was shattered as the artillery of the Austria-Hungary Empire began shelling the troops of the country to its south. What followed was like a row of falling dominoes as one European country after another rushed into war. Soon most of Europe was fighting in this calamitous war that could have been avoided. This was, of course, the First World War. But who could have guessed that on December 25 the troops would openly defy their commanding officers by stopping the fighting and having a spontaneous celebration of Christmas with their "enemies"? In what can only be described as a Christmas Miracle, this beautiful and heartrending narrative will remind everyone how brotherhood and love for one another reaches far beyond war and politics. Best Books for Young Adults, 2010 American Library Association Best Children's Books of the Year, 2010 Bank Street College of Education Booklist Editors Choice: Books for Youth, 2009 American Library Association Bulletin Blue Ribbons, 2009 Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Choices, 2010 Cooperative Children's Book Center Notable Books for a Global Society, 2010 Children's Literature Special Interest Group IRA Notable Children's Books, 2010 ALSC American Library Association * "Well organized and clearly written, this presentation vividly portrays the context and events of the Christmas Truce." -- Booklist, starred review* "Murphy takes readers through to the exhausting endgame that spawned the next war, but also he leaves kids with the provocative thought that war need not be inevitable, that the truce "offered reassurance that a kinder, humane spirit could prevail." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review Jim Murphy is the celebrated author of more than thirty-five books for young readers, most notably TRUCE: THE DAY THE SOLDIERS STOPPED FIGHTING and THE GREAT FIRE, a Newbery Honor Winner. His carefully researched, engaging, and elegantly written nonfiction has garnered the most prestigious awards in the field. He lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with his wife and their two sons. Best Books for Young Adults, 2010 American Library Association Best Children's Books of the Year, 2010 Bank Street College of Education Booklist Editors Choice: Books for Youth, 2009 American Library Association Bulletin Blue Ribbons, 2009 Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Choices, 2010 Cooperative Children's Book Center Notable Books for a Global Society, 2010 Children's Literature Special Interest Group IRA Notable Children's Books, 2010 ALSC American Library Association * "Well organized and clearly written, this presentation vividly portrays the context and events of the Christmas Truce." -- Booklist, starred review* "Murphy takes readers through to the exhausting endgame that spawned the next war, but also he leaves kids with the provocative thought that war need not be inevitable, that the truce "offered reassurance that a kinder, humane spirit could prevail." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review