Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, second grade has been hard on Tomie. Normal, everyday activities such as Tomie's first music lesson and Miss Leah's dance classes go on as usual. But now, his class has to go to the spooky furnace room for an air raid drill. And at home, his family hangs thick black curtains on the windows so that the enemy won't see the house's light.

Tomie's mother is there to comfort and explain the confusion, and Tomie feels better. He even goes Christmas shopping with Dad as usual at Upham's Department Store. But the day-to-day effects of the war are always there. ...

With his usual sensitivity and humor, Tomie dePaola recounts a difficult period at the Newbery Honor-winning address of 26 Fairmount Avenue. Young readers feeling anxiety about the world at large will find great comfort in Tomie's warm recollections.

From the dust jacket