The Wednesday Wars

By Gary D. Schmidt

Schmidt, Gary D. 2007. The Wednesday wars. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-618-72483-4.

SUMMARY
The story is of Holling Hoodhood, a student in Ms. Baker’s seventh grade class at Camillo Junior High. Holling is convinced that Ms. Baker hates him. On Wednesdays while half of the class leaves for catechism class and the other half for Hebrew School, he is left alone to spend the afternoon with his teacher, Ms. Baker. The afternoons are filled with cleaning erasers, extra worksheets, cleaning the cage of the classroom’s pet rats, and washing the class chalkboard, however; when an unfortunate incident occur involving chalk dust and mouth-watering cream puffs, Holling is faced with reading Shakespeare instead of chasing the class pet rats, which accidentally got away from Holling as he was cleaning their cage. The author has created a compelling work of historical fiction; incorporating just the right amount of growing up in the 60’s, politics, and the Vietnam War with Shakespeare, yellow tights, and sentence diagramming.

Every reader, both young and old, will be able to identify with each character in this story. The author does a marvelous job of bringing out each character’s personality and the patterns of their daily life appropriate for that time. Although the time is 1967, the behavior and mannerisms they all display are familiar and real within our own homes and schools. The story’s protagonist, Holling Hoodhood is your typical seventh grade boy, who loves baseball, doesn’t get along with his older sister, and would not be caught dead in “girl” tights.

The social fabric of the time is clearly made obvious throughout the book through the incorporation of not only a focus on life at school yet furthermore, also a focus on life at home. The book contains many references to the Vietnam War and the political views of that time yet as serious as these subjects are, the author does an amazing job of keeping the narration true to a youthful point of view. For instance, I especially could not stop from giggling as I am reading Ms. Baker’s and the student’s reactions to the atomic bomb drills they are required to perform at school. The plot is most definitely not overwhelmed by historical details. The historical references, which are presented, are naturally integrated into the story.

The story’s setting is the year 1967; news of the Vietnam War can be heard from television sets all across America as Walter Cronkite reports for CBS. Songs from the Monkees can be heard playing from the bedroom of Holling’s sister. This is the same sister, who comes to dinner with a flower painted her cheek and calls herself a “flower child” because she wants to “believe in a bigger cause”. The author creates a historical setting of the time by including the attitudes, values, and morals of the time from various perspectives; those against the war, those for the war, those who have lost a loved one in war, and those who live in hope. In between the seriousness, the author also ties into the story the attitudes, values, and morals on baseball, friendship, family, school testing, Shakespeare, and the value of money.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Newbery Honor Award, 2008
Cybils Finalist (Young Adult Fiction, 2007)
ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008
Judy Lopez Memorial Award, 2008
ALA Notable Children’s Book, 2008
IBBY Honour Book, 2010

EDITORIAL REVIEWS
"Schmidt...makes the implausible believable and the everyday momentous...a gentle, hopeful, moving story." --Booklist

"Schmidt rises above the novel's conventions to create memorable and believable characters." --Horn Book

"[An] entertaining and nuanced novel.... There are laugh-out-loud moments that leaven the many poignant ones." --School Library Journal

CONNECTIONS-Activities:
1) Have a discussion with students regarding which school year has been their most memorable thus far and why?

CONNECTIONS-Reading:1) Murray, Stuart. 2005. Vietnam War. New York: DK Pub.
2) Kadohata, Cynthia. 2007. Cracker!: the best dog in Vietnam. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.