A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus

Rating: My bookshelf

Reading level: Late Elementary

Three orphans are evacuated from London during WWII bombings; they hope their evacuation hosts might make suitable new parents.

The book is not explicitly Christian (there is mention of cursory prayer, a nativity play), nevertheless there are strong themes that align with Christian values. (See things I like).

Possible Concerns:

Lying. A statement about how fibs are ok when it comes to reading books. The premise of the whole story is that the children are somewhat lying about their lack of guardians back in London. They often need to avoid truth when things come up about their family.
Death. The children are orphans, and there are moments when they grapple with having no parents, or when there is mention of their grandmother being dead. Some of the references to death are a bit comical (e.g., when Edmund thinks about how the grandmother will be unable to do various things that people suggest she will do.)
Animal treatment/gore. The boys are made to kill rats by beating them, and the imagery is strong (one boy throws up). I have seen several other reviewers up the age-recommendation or reduce their rating because of this nauseating scene.
Name calling. “Stupid” is used several times. A slang term “vaccies” is applied to the evacuated children. The children call a mean teacher “carbuncle”—not the good kind. Their dead grandmother is one called a cow.
Obesity. Someone is called fat.
Pranks. A boy puts a snake in another’s bed.
Body Humor/Sexual Content. A story about a woman named Godiva is told; apparently she rode through a town naked in protest. Several references to throwing up, & one of a squishy diaper.
Nazis, war, bombings. There are references to people being a Nazi, to bombs and bomb shelters, the younger children occasionally panic at the thought of being blown up, etc.
Punching. The older brother punches a bully who is hurting his younger brother. To be honest, I’m not sure whether to put this as things I like or as a possible concern, as the act seems very appropriate and necessary to save his brother from serious harm. I know that a tendency to violence is not admirable, but in this particular case the older brother did a rather noble thing that is against his character.
Emphasis on Father Christmas (Santa). A Christmas chapter has a lot of talk of whether Father Christmas will find the children, and at one point a miracle is attributed to him (not to God.)
Brief reference to the devil. When the children prepare a belated birthday party, the supportive guardian says “paper rationing can go to the devil for today.”
Spookiness. There is a graveyard scene that feels a bit spooky. Also a reference to zombies.
Romance. A girl is interested in one of the brothers; he is wildly comfortable with her attention.

Things I like:

Family sticks together. A brother insists that he and his siblings will stay together.
Standing up for what is right. A brother takes care of his siblings, the children fight for their adult friend.
Seeing the heart of a person. A brother is praised for his boldness, despite the difficulty it causes. A woman who married a German is associated with the Nazi regime; the children look past this to her heart.

You can also learn more about A Place to Hang the Moon at ChristianParentReviews.com. Also check out this Goodreads post by Books for Christian Girls.