written by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by Brian Floca
A heartwarming war story? Maybe an oxymoron, but Deborah Hopkinson accomplished it with Billy and the Rebel, based on a true story. The Battle of Gettysburg is known for the horrifying bloodshed and Abraham Lincoln’s speech dedicating the Soldiers National Cemetery. Yet on a Gettysburg area farm, Billy Bayly and his mother Harriet looked into the face of a young Rebel soldier who came to their door, saw a trembling and harmless human being, trusted him and offered him safety. In return, the new friend may have saved Billy’s life when Billy made an unwise comment to a retreating Rebel soldier. This book hasn’t garnered awards like other books written by Hopkinson or illustrated by Floca, but it’s a winner in its own quiet way. For a young reader learning about the Civil War, it provides welcome relief from the usual nightmarish accounts.
Ruth Kirk, Author for Children 