Doodlebug Alley

by Robert Swindells

It's World War II, and doodlebugs, the deadliest bombs yet, are raining down on London. No one is safe, no street intact. The war is tearing Sandy's family apart. Do they stand any chance in Doodlebug Alley?

Paperback

First published January 3, 2004

About the author

Robert Swindells was born in Bradford in 1939, the eldest of five children. He left the local Secondary Modern School at fifteen to work as a copy holder on the local newspaper. At seventeen he enlisted in the RAF and served for three years, two in Germany. On being discharged he worked as a clerk, engineer and printer until 1969 when he entered college to train as a teacher having obtained five 'O' levels at night-school. His first book 'When Darkness Comes' was written as a college thesis and published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1972. In 1980 he gave up teaching to write full time. He likes travelling and visits many schools each year, talking and reading stories to children. He is the secutatry of his local Peace Movement group. Brother in the Land is his first book for Oxford University Press. He is married with two grown-up daughters and lives in Bradford.

Author description taken from Brother in the Land.

Reviews

[Christopher Trend · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in World War 2. It’s a short book & quick to read. A lot of it seems rushed & doesn’t allow the story to build. I don’t like the last chapter at all for that reason. The illustrations are great & are the author’s own.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good take on the war from a child's perspective story. It is simple story that has all aspects of war how it affected those away and those at home. She was an interesting narrator and I enjoyed that her father's disappearance wasn't as cliche as it could have been.

[Kate Fearnley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it all in a single night! Really good read.