When my father, Odysseus, and his men sailed off to the Trojan War, they were confident their gods favored a quick victory. Instead, the siege of Troy lasted ten years. After Troy fell, the survivors made their way home to Sparta, Mycenae, Pylos, and elsewhere in the ancient Peloponnese. Neither my father nor any of his troops arrived home with the rest. We waited for years as the news grew worse. Odysseus was dead, we were told,or imprisoned, or, worst yet, he had married another woman and abandoned my mother Penelope, my brother Telemachus, and me.


If he is alive somewhere, his thoughts may wander to Penelope and Telemachus, but he won’t be thinking of me. I am the daughter he doesn’t know exists. Odysseus went off to the Trojan War when his son, Telemachus, was barely old enough to walk. His wife, Penelope, was a teenage bride, and is now a young wife, mother, and queen who has to try to rule Ithaca without him.


I was born seven months after he left. I am a hero’s daughter and a princess of his realm, but I have lived my entire life without a father. I’m nineteen now, and still waiting.


All over the world, and throughout history children grow up as I have. This website will focus on the children of those men and women who have gone off to fight America's wars, and provide information and resources for all who care about military families and want to help.

Friday, December 3, 2010

A Military Child's Life on the Page

As an author, I know how valuable writing can be for exploring experiences and feelings. I’ve been looking for poems and stories written by military children, but so far I haven’t found anything in print, although there’s a good website for this at A Backpack Journalist. I was glad to see a storybook of poems for young children, though, not just because they are important in and of themeselves but might inspire some new poets among the children themselves. The book is Military Life: Stories and Poems for Children, illustrated by Quinette Cook, with contributions by a number of authors.

This collection focuses on many different aspects of military life--moving, to a new town, making new friends, deployment, homecoming, and the like. The titles give a sense of the range.

Just Like You! by Julie LaBelle
My Space by Donna Portelli
Best Friends by Judy Hissong
My Daddy Jumps Today by Michelle Tonsmeire
Mama's Been Called Up by Charlene Kochensparger
Saying Goodbye by Peggie Brott
The Good Day by Alison Buckholtz
Holding Mom's Kite by Jennifer Jesseph
When Mommy Comes Home by Amy Houts
When Daddy Comes Home by Amy Houts
Love Letters by Karen Pavlicin
It's Five O'Clock by Cindy Shaw
Good Night by Christy Lyon
Unfortunately the images on the website are not high enough resolution to read the pages, so I can’t offer an opinion about their quality or tone, but it’s a $12.95 paperback of around 50 pages, so it seems worth a try if you have a child in mind who might benefit from seeing and hearing his or her experience reflected on the printed page. It’s available from major wholesalers and retailers, www.MilitaryFamilyBooks.com, and Amazon.com.To order direct, please call 651-357-8770.

To learn more, check out http://www.elvaresa.com/pressML.html
Posted by About AART at 6:46 AM

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