Cold War on Maplewood Street

Winner of the 2016 The Tofte/Wright Children’s Literature Award for best new children's book by a Wisconsin Author!

It's been a few months since her adored brother Sam joined the navy, but Joanna still misses him desperately.  Sam broke his promise that he wouldn't leave her, like their father did, so she can't help feeling hurt and betrayed and she refuses to answer his letters. But then President Kennedy appears on TV to announce that the Russians are bringing nuclear weapons to Cuba. That's a direct threat to the United States! He insists that the Russians remove the weapons at once, and he sends ships to the area to stop Russian ships from bringing more weapons in.  What if Sam's ship is one of them?

Joanna is frightened, and she's not the only one.  Parents, teachers, newscasters and people in countries around the world are scared, too.   How Joanna learns to live with hope in the face of fear is at the heart of this story about what it means to grow up in a world full of uncertainty, both then and now.

Cold War on Maplewood Street (Putnam, 2015)

View the video trailer for this book, made by Emma & Michael Long .