Lizzie and the Lost Baby by Cheryl Blackford

Lizzie and the Lost Baby by Cheryl Blackford ISBN-13: 9780544570993 Hardcover: 192 pages Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers Released: Jan. 12, 2016

Source: ARC review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Cheryl Blackford's debut novel is set in England during World War II and told from the dual perspectives of ten-year-old Lizzie, a homesick girl evacuated from bomb-blitzed Hull to the remote Yorkshire valley, and Elijah, a local gypsy boy. When Lizzie discovers an abandoned baby, will she be able to find the baby's parents? And if she does, can she and Elijah overcome prejudice and fear to return the baby to its rightful mother?


My Review:
Lizzie and the Lost Baby is middle grade fiction. The author grew up in the city of Hull, in England, and sets the story in an area that she's visited. This knowledge of the area helps to make the story feel realistic. The story is aimed at tweens (ages 9-12), so it's a quick read. It provided a look at what it was like for the children evacuated from the cities in WWII to protect them from bombing and what it was like to live with a stranger.

The main characters were Lizzie and her younger brother, who are evacuees, and Elijah, a gypsy boy. Each faced a moral dilemma relating to the "lost" child. Are they willing to expose secrets and stand up to adults to do the right thing? I liked the characters and the setting, and I found the story interesting. I think it's more a type of book that tweens would read once rather than become a repeatedly read favorite, but it's well-written and should appeal to tweens that are interested in history and other cultures (like the gypsies).


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.