Today, I’m happy to tell you more about Robbie Cheadle, who says the following about herself:
“Hello, my name is Robbie, short for Roberta. I am an author with six published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with my son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about my mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with my mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of my children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.”

This is the first book I’ve read by Robbie Cheadle. This Historical Fiction novel is written for a younger audience, being listed as Literature and Fiction for Children. However, I found the book interesting, even from an adult’s point of view.
The main character, Elsie, a pre-schooler, and her family live in Bungay, a rural village in Suffolk, England – where they have cows and chickens which provide for their family, because food and coal are rationed. So, their house is mostly cold, but somehow, she and her family deal with these things, including having to run and spend a cold night in the air raid shelter – something which few modern young readers would have faced. Nevertheless, one sees the difficulties which they as a family endure, but despite the hardships of war, life still has a few ups too, like Christmas and the traditional Boxing Day Fox Hunt. The children are often entertained by stories of “Jack Frost”, or the terrifying “Black Shuck” which haunts the countryside in East Anglia. I love how the author weaves poems and old limericks into her story, as well as providing further interest with some of the recipes from that time!
This fictionalised memoir is well-written, but some of the accounts and historical facts which I as an adult find interesting, younger readers might not enjoy such long poetic and descriptive passages. Nevertheless, this is just and opinion, and I enjoyed being taken back into the past and learning more, not only about rural life during WW2 but also many interesting landmarks to be found at St Mary’s Church and the surrounding countryside.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RW4N19DTKTLEG/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Thank you for visiting our blog today! If you like my review, you might want to obtain a copy of “When the Bombs Fell”. Feel free to comment and/or follow us!