Lily's Crossing (Historical Fiction)

Lily's Crossing was written by Patricia Reilly Giff and published by Delacorte Press in 1997. It is a historical fiction chapter book recommended for fifth grade and has received a Newbery Honor Award.


Lily Mollahan is a young girl that lives during World War II in the United States. Her family vacations at Rockaway Beach every year, but this year is different. Her father has to leave and help with the war, and her usual best friend at Rockaway leaves to be with family because her father is helping with the war as well.


Lily doesn't care much about the war at first. She just wants her father and best friend back, but eventually a new friend comes along and he changes how Lily views everything.

Lily's Crossing is a good source of literature because it lets children read about the point of view of someone their age during World War II. It also teaches kids more about World War II without the boring lessons from a textbook. There are references to historical events like D-Day and the Holocaust. The setting and language were both authentic for the period, and Giff avoided any contradictions that could be made with real history. There were also different points of view made. Other than Lily's, Giff gave perspectives on how Albert (a Hungarian refugee), Lily's Gram, and Lily's father saw the war. I highly recommend this book.

In Lily's Crossing, Lily and Albert become best friends even though they are from very different parts of the world. Where Albert is from, people are dying and being taken to concentration camps because of their heritage, and Lily is from America. Throughout the story, Lily sees how different Albert is and how much differently the war has affected him than her. After reading the story, have the students compare and contrast Lily and Albert's heritages along with their views of war by using a Bubble graph like the one I have linked below.

http://www.studenthandouts.com/01-Web-Pages/001-Pages/venn-diagram-compare-contrast-chart-bubble-map-graphic-organizer.htm

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3
Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.3
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).