Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room flat. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
So begins a new adventure for Ada, and for Miss Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take in the two children.
The War That Saved My Life
By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Text Publishing Compnay
2016
Wartime Evacuations
This is the account of what it was like to be an evacuee by John Allpress, who was evacuated when he was 10 years old in 1939.
Imperial War Museums. (2012, March 9). A Family in Wartime: Evacuation [video].
What is a Club Foot?
Ada was born with a clubfoot. meaning it was twisted out of shape or position. In clubfoot, the tissues connecting the muscles to the bone (tendons) are shorter than usual. Clubfoot is a fairly common birth defect and can be mild or severe.
Having a clubfoot makes it harder to walk normally, so doctors generally recommend treating it soon after birth. (from Mayoclinic.com)
Where They Went
Ada and Jaime are sent to Kent, a county in the southeast of England famous for its coastal cliffs. After Ada sees a sea for the first time, she asks Susan what she was looking upon. Susan explains that it is the English Channel. Kent is the county outlined in red on this map:
Cain, Brenda. (2015, November 10). The War That Saved My Life [video].