Anna and the Swallow Man By: Gavriel Savit

amazon.com

All seven year old Anna knows on a Krakow morning is that her father has to leave for a few hours. He leaves her with a family friend.

And never returns.

Anna is left alone in 1939 Poland without anyone. She is scared and hungry and alone. That is when she meets the Swallow Man, a mysterious man who can speak to words. Something about the way that the Swallow Man can weave so many languages the way that her father could (and taught her to) gains Anna's trust. So she travels with him, learning the ways of the road, war, and meeting many people along the way.

The main thing that I liked about this book was how it has many extended metaphors that slowly dissolves into reality as Anna becomes less naive and begins to better understand the world.

The main thing that I did not like about this book was that it was very sad. This is by no means a feel good book of any sort! It also had a lot of considerably difficult vocabulary and a disappointing ending (I can't say anymore about that though.)

Overall I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.