A Year of Borrowed Men by Michelle Barker

A Year of Borrowed Men is based on the experiences of the author's mother during World War II in Germany. At the time, Michelle Barker's mother Gerda, was a young girl. Her father was forced to fight for the Germany army, leaving her mother to care for five children and no one to run the farm. At age thirteen, Gerda's only brother was too young to run the farm. Because many German farms were in this same situation, prisoners of war were sent to the farms to help run them. They were expected to be treated as prisoners of war. However, Gerda's mother believed in treating the prisoners of war kindly. They were well-fed and befriended by her family. The prisoners were housed in the family's barn which was cold and damp.

At the end of the war, Gerda and her mother and sisters were forced to leave their family farm which was located in the German village of Beelkow. The area was taken over by Poland and native Germans were expelled from the land. Gerda's family settled in the village of Ermsleben, in what had become East Germany. Eventually Gerda escaped from East Germany in 1953 and travelled to Canada. Gerda's father and brother did not survive the war.

Discussion

Although A Year of Borrowed Men has received many nominations for awards, some reviewers have taken issue with how Barker has presented the events that her mother Gerda experienced during the war. The main objections regarding the subject matter of the picture book are that it portrays the French prisoners of war as well-fed and happy, Germans as "suffering" and that the story is without much context, that while the events in the story were occurring, Jews, Catholics and those who opposed the Nazis were being exterminated across Europe.

The author's family farm in Germany

It is true that the story is without much context, but this is a picture book for very young children told from the perspective of a young girl. It's theme is primarily that of friendship and how friendship is possible in the worst of circumstances - even during a war as horrific as World War II. During World War II, not all Germans were Nazis - a fact many people are unwilling to recognize -  not all Germans wished for war nor wanted to fight for Germany and many saw fathers, brothers and uncles conscripted into fighting. Ultimately, the author's mother lost her father and brother in a war the family did not support. Not being Jewish does not invalidate their suffering nor their loss. At the end of the story, the family loses their animals, but Barker makes no note of the family having to leave their farm. It isn't even explicitly mentioned in a short note at the back.

 A Year of Borrowed Men is done in the style of the picture books created from the Little House on the Prairie novels with pencil crayon and watercolour illustrations in a soft tone, that convey a somewhat soothing and idyllic setting. The style of illustrations are entirely appropriate for a children's picture book. It does not appear the illustrator was deliberately attempting to portray the French prisoners as well-fed. Instead this was merely her style of illustration.

It's possible a more detailed Author's Note, setting the context for the story may have been helpful,  but unless this book is read by older children, it's not likely to help very young readers whose parents may not want to share such information at this point. Perhaps Gerda's story would have been better told as a piece of historical fiction written for older children where the context of events transpiring outside the world of the family farm could have been treated. Otherwise, treat this as a short story about the possibilities of friendship in the most unlikeliest of circumstances.

The author's website has more information and pictures related to the story in A Year of Borrowed Men.

Book Details:

A Year of Borrowed Men by Michelle Barker
Toronto: Pajama Press      2015