Countdown by Deborah Wiles

Most of the historical fiction books that I read usually take place long ago. But this book takes place in October of 1962. The whole story takes place within several days of the Cuban Missile Crisis and Franny is afraid and worried. Her school is doing "duck and cover" drills and her grandfather keeps flashing back to his days in the war. I personally don't remember having duck and cover drills when I was in school but I can certainly relate to the relationship complexities with the girls in Franny's class. This book has a lot to offer in addition to an interesting story, there is music, news clippings and advertisements interspersed throughout to give the historical background of the time. This book isn't in our school library but a parishioner donated it to the sixth grade classroom and several students have already read it. I hope you let us know what you thought of Countdown.