This beautiful book is based on the real-life story of Jacqueline Ober, the mother of the author, Pierre-Jacques Ober.

Jacqueline is only seven years old when war breaks out in Europe. It was a particularly cold winter that year, so cold crows fall from the sky. Even though at school they practised with gas masks she didn’t take the war too seriously. Then her father is sent to the Front and she and her mother are forced to leave for a farm far away from home and friends. Jacqueline is an only child and she is terribly lonely with no friends to play with. The family they live with at the farm have photos of their sons who have gone to fight but will not return.

When her father returns from the Front he brings with him a special gift for Jacqueline. It is a puppy. Jacqueline is so happy but they must wave Papa goodbye again.

One day they see hoardes of people walking past the farm. They say the Germans are coming.

This story is about Jacqueline’s life as she and her mother navigate life during the war. Her papa is captured and imprisoned in a faraway town. Their quest – to follow him. Fortunately, her papa eventually manages to escape and they all return to France where Jacqueline ultimately finds a sister in a most unexpected way and place.

The Obers use photographs of figurines in miniature sets to create the scenes for the story. This adds such a believable level to the story that I felt myself connecting to characters and really engaging emotionally. I found these images quite mesmerising. Any tale of war has confronting moments. That is life and what happened but these stories need to be shared.

This is such a clever book that tells Jacqueline’s story and shares history in a very engaging way.

Reviewed by Rowena Morcom
Age Guide 8+
Teachers’ Notes

French/Australian Pierre-Jacques Ober comes from a 30-year international career as an independent producer and director in film and television.

Pierre-Jacques and Jules Ober have turned their creative energy to books, using a unique method of story-telling that uses photographs of figurines in miniature sets to create ‘paper movies’.

Their first book, The Good Son, has been hailed as ‘having the power of a timeless fable’ by The New York Times and has won prestigious prizes and awards in the US and France. In Australia it has been shortlisted for the CBCA Picture Book of the Year and is the winner of the NSW Premier’s Young People’s History Prize.

Jules Ober has won the 2021 HiP Prize for best photography book for young people with the French version of Jacqueline – a soldier’s daughter. The book was part of a travelling exhibition where open photographic books will hang as art in galleries across French-speaking countries throughout 2022. Pierre-Jacques Ober was the co-creator.