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"It's the same every night now. Bombs and more bombs, and they're getting closer. A house got hit in Sandringham Road last night. That's one over from Summerfield. Sometimes I feel frightened and sometimes it makes me angry. The Germans don't seem to care who they might kill. What's going through the minds of the pilots when they drop their bombs? Havent' they got wives and families? So how can they try to kill other people's children?"
Edie Benson[2]

Blitz: The Diary of Edie Benson was the third book in Scholastic UK's My Story. It was written by Vince Cross, his first in the series. The book was first published in April 2001. It was reissued in May 2008, October 2014, and January 2020. The book was also included in the book compilation War Stories. It was followed by My Tudor Queen.

Eleven-year-old Edie Benson lives with her family in Lewisham, London during the The Blitz.

Dedication[]

"For my grandparents: Ella May and Bertie, Isobel and William."

Book description[]

"Friday 30th August, 1940
Last night was very still and clear. As Dad went out for the evening shift, he looked up and said grimly, "If they're ever going to come, it'll be on a night like this."
And sure enough, the first air-raid warning came at a few minutes past nine. Mum was out at the ARP post, and Shirl, Tom, and I were huddled together in the shelter with Chamerlain.
Shirl's teeth were chattering already. "Cor blimey!" she said. "What's it going to be like in the middle of winter? I've got no feeling in my toes at all." I could see Tom was about to open his mouth and say something clever when we heard the first explosion, and then two more following close on the first one...
"

"It's 1940 and with London under fire Edie and her little brother are evacuated to Wales. Miles from home and missing her family, Edie is determined to be strong, but when life in the countryside proves tougher than in the capital she is torn between obeying her parents and protecting her brother..."

""I don't want to leave you and dad," I wept. "I couldn't bear it if anything happened."
It's 1940, and Edie is being evacuated to Wales along with her brother, Tom. Far from home and missing her family, Edie is determined to be strong, but life in the countryside proves to be much tougher than it was in London. Should Edie stick it out as her parents would want, or do something to protect her little brother?
"

""I don't want to leave you and Dad," I wept. "I couldn't bear it if anything happened."
It's 1940 and Edie is being evacuated to Wales along with her brother, Tom. Far from home and missing her family, Edie is determined to be strong, but life in the countryside proves to be much tougher than it was in London.
Should Edie stick it out as her parents would want, or do something to protect her little brother?
"

"Dydd Gwener, Awst 30, 1940
Neithiwr, roedd pob man yn llonydd ac yn glir. Wrth iddo gychwyn am ei shifft nos, edrychodd Dad i fyny i'r awyr a dweud, yn ddifrifol, 'Os ydyn nhw am ddod, noson fel heno fydd hi.'
Ac yn siŵr i chi, fe ganodd y rhybudd cyntaf ychydig funudau wedi naw. Roedd Mam allan, yn safle'r ARP, a Shirl, Tom a finna yn swatio yn y cwt mochel efo Chamberlain.
Cyn pen dim, roedd dannedd Shirl yn clecian 'Nefi wen!' meddai. 'Sut le fydd yma ganol gaea? Alla i ddim teimlo bodiau 'nhraed o gwhwl.'
Mi allwn i weld fod Tom ar fin agor ei geg i ddweud rhywbeth clyfar pan glywson ni'r ffrwydrad cyntaf, ac yna ddau ffrwydrad arall ar ei gwt...
"

Plot[]

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Postscript[]

Historical Note[]

Characters[]

Main article: List of Blitz characters

Author[]

Main article: Vince Cross

Vince Cross is a children's author, audio producer, and composer. He has previously worked as a teacher, session musician, manager at a recording studio among other jobs. Cross is the author of five books in My Story, including Civil War, Zulu War, Princess of Egypt, and Berlin Olympics, and Hero at Dunkirk in My True Story. He has said that Edie from Blitz is his "personal favourite" character of his My Story titles.[3]

Editions[]

Blitz-audio
  • Narrator: Carol Drinkwater
  • Publisher: Scholastic UK
  • Published: December 5, 2013[13]
  • Running time: 2 hours and 41 minutes

Notes[]

  • The portrait on the cover of the first edition was licensed from Popperfoto.[14]
  • The second edition was illustrated by Richard Jones, whom illustrated many of the My Story books.
  • The cover of the fourth edition was illustrated by Euan Cook.[15]

References[]

See also[]


My Story
Original

The Hunger | Voyage on the Great Titanic | The Crystal Palace | Blitz | My Tudor Queen | Twentieth-Century Girl
The Great Plague | The '45 Rising | Civil War | Trafalgar | The Trenches | Battle of Britain | Mill Girl | Transported
Armada | Crimea | Bloody Tower | Indian Mutiny | Zulu War | Mayflower | Agincourt | Suffragette | Waterloo | Slave Girl
Flying Ace | Anne Boleyn and Me | D-Day | Victorian Workhouse | Spy Smuggler | Desert Danger | War Nurse
U-Boat Hunter | The Queen's Spies

1st relaunch

Princess of Egypt | Pompeii | Road to War | Roman Invasion | Viking Blood | Highway Girl | Sophie's Secret War
The Storm to Come | The Sweep's Boy | The Fall of the Blade | Pyramid of Secrets | Factory Girl | Dodger!
No Way Back | Wartime Princess | London Stories | Berlin Olympics | Lady Jane Grey | Nowhere to Run

2nd relaunch

Codename Céline

3rd relaunch

Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan | Ignatius Sancho | Princess Sophia Duleep Singh | Mary Prince

My Royal Story

Victoria | Anastasia | Cleopatra | Marie Antoinette | Elizabeth | Mary, Queen of Scots | Henry VIII's Wives

My True Story

What If They Find Us? | Hero at Dunkirk | Standing Alone | Give Us the Vote!

External links[]

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