cv^Rio/^
WALL by Eve Bunting illustrated
|7''
:..
by Ronald Himler
p I,
'".ALTERNATIVE lie
Dr.
Bouia^r, Colorad...
191 downloads
2106 Views
2MB Size
Report
This content was uploaded by our users and we assume good faith they have the permission to share this book. If you own the copyright to this book and it is wrongfully on our website, we offer a simple DMCA procedure to remove your content from our site. Start by pressing the button below!
Report copyright / DMCA form
cv^Rio/^
WALL by Eve Bunting illustrated
|7''
:..
by Ronald Himler
p I,
'".ALTERNATIVE lie
Dr.
Bouia^r, Colorado
THE WALL
Clarion Books a
Houghton
Mifflin
215 Park Avenue South,
Text copyright
©
Company imprint
New York, NY
10003
1990 by Eve Bunting
©
Illustrations copyright
1990 by Ronald Hmiler
All rights reserved.
For information about permission to reproduce
from
selections
Houghton
Mifflin
this
book, write to Permissions,
Company,
2 Park Street, Boston,
Printed in the
MA 02108.
USA
Library of Congress Calaloging-iti-Puhlication Data
Bunting, Eve, 1928-
The Wall / by Eve Bunting;
illustrated
Summary: A boy and
his father
Vietnam Veterans Memorial boy's grandfather,
in
[1.
come from
far
away
to visit the
Washington'and find the name of the
who was
ISBN 0-395-51588-2
by Ronald Himler.
cm.
p.
killed in the conflict.
PA ISBN 0-395-62977-2
Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Washington, D.C.) — Fiction.] I.
Himler, Ronald,
ill.
PZ7.B91527WAL
II.
Title.
1990
89-17429
[E]-dc20
CIP
AC
• HOR
1(1
9 S 7 6
THE WALL by Eve Bunting illustrated by Ronald Himler
Clarion Books
New
York
This
is
the wall,
my grandfather's wall. On
it
are the
names
of those killed in a war, long ago.
"Where
is
Grandpa's name?"
I
ask.
"We have to find it," Dad says. He and I have come a long way slowly, searching.
for this
and we walk
W'^
4
,>-«'<«?,
^*PI***^-
The wall and me.
is
black and shiny as a mirror. In
it I
can see Dad
i-
I
can see the bare trees behind us and the dark, flying
clouds.
A man He
in a wheelchair stares at the
names.
doesn't have legs.
I'm looking, and he sees
me
looking and
smiles.
"Hi, son."
"Hi."
His hat are medals
and
is
a soft,
on
his shirt
is
it.
squashed green and there
His pant
legs are folded
a soldier's shirt.
back
-^}\
A woman old as my grandma is hugging a man, old as my grandpa would
be.
They
are both crying.
"Sh," he whispers. "Sh!"
v.***-^^
Flowers and other things have been laid against the wall.
There are
little
flags,
an old teddy bear, and
letters,
weighted with stones so they won't blow away. Someone has
left a
rose with a droopy head.
"Have you found Grandpa yet?" "No," Dad
They
That's
Dad like
I
I
ask.
"There are so many names.
are listed under the years
killed. I've
and
says.
when
they were
found 1967."
when my grandpa
died.
runs his fingers along the rows of print do, too.
rows of
The
letters
side by side,
They're nice and even.
soldiers.
better printing than
march
I
can do. The wall
is
It's
warm.
Dad
is
searching and searching.
"Albert A. Jensen,
Charles Bronoski,
George Munoz," he mutters. His fingers stop moving. "Here he
"My
grandpa?"
I
is."
ask.
Dad nods. "Your grandpa." His voice blurs. "My dad. He was just my age when he was killed." Dad's rubbing the name, rubbing and rubbing as
wants to wipe the
way
He
it
lifts
away.
it
Maybe
so
I
can touch
it,
he
he just wants to remember
feels.
me
if
too.
We've brought paper. Dad puts ters
and rubs on
it
it
over the
let-
with a pencil so the paper
goes dark, and the letters show up white.
"You've got parts of other guys' names on there, too,"
I
tell
him.
/^j^
\
«%
Dad
looks at the paper. "Your grandpa won't mind."
"They were probably
friends of his anyway,"
I
say.
Dad nods. "Maybe so." A man and a boy walk past. "Can we go to the river now, Grandpa?" the boy asks. "Yes." The man takes the boy's hand. "But button your jacket.
It's
cold."
My A
r
dad stands very
bunch of big
path.
"Is this
them asks
is
with his head bent.
school uniforms
come down
with them. They are
all
the
carrying
little flags.
wall for the dead soldiers, Miss Gerber?" one of in a loud voice.
"The names all
girls in
Their teacher
more of those
still
are the
names of the dead. But the wall
of us," the teacher says.
is
for
Sf^
They make the time
Dad
a lot of noise just
and ask
a lot of questions
and
all
stands there with his head bowed, and
I
stand beside him.
The and
girls stick their flags in
leave.
Then
it's
quiet again.
the dirt in front of the wall
Dad puts
it
folds the
paper that has Grandpa's name on
in his wallet.
He
yucky ones they took
Dad
slides out a picture of
in school.
Mom
it
and
me, one of the
made me wear
a tie.
puts the picture on the grass below Grandpa's name.
I
It I
My
blows away. get
it
and put
face smiles
it
up
back and
at
pile
some
little
stones on top.
me from under the stones.
"Grandpa won't know who "I I
think he will,"
move
Dad
I
am,"
I
tell
Dad.
says.
closer to him. "It's sad here."
He puts his hand on my shoulder.
"I
know. But
of honor. I'm proud that your grandfather's wall." "I I
am, too."
am.
it's
name
is
a place
on
this
i
."s**,*.
But
I'd rather
river, telling I'd rather
me
have
my
»'<«•«* -**'
grandpa here, taking
me
my
cold.
to button
have him here.
jacket because
it's
to the
NOTE The Vietnam
Veterans Memorial honors the
men
and women of the armed forces of the United States
who served in the Vietnam War. On it are Hsted the names of those who gave their hves and those "missing in action."
The Memorial
is
located in Washington,
the long, black wall are
D.C.
On
more than 58,000 names.
cv^R!0/^
FPT>>$S.TS
* "A father and his young son have come to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to find the They share the sadness as well as the name of the grandfather the Httle boy never knew pride of having Grandpa's name there. This moving account is beautifully told trom a young
*
child's point
of view."
— The Horn Book Magazine, starred review
"Himler's intense, quiet watercolors capture the dignity of the setting
story reaches right to the heart of deep emotions
— ALA *
"(It) captures the
who
lost
loved ones
meaning of the memorial
A
sensitive
as
Bunting's
a quiet, respectful exposition."
to the
Booklist, starred
American people,
review
especially to those
and moving picture book."
— School An ALA Notable Book
Library Journal, starred
review
'
ISBN D-3TS-bBT77-2 90000
OmSTDTE l-iabl3
Jacket art copyright
©
1990 hy Ronald Himler
9
D
780395"629772