''The Sky is Falling'' is a 1989

young adult novel Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

Kit Pearson Kathleen Margaret "Kit" Pearson (born April 30, 1947) is a Canadian writer and winner of numerous literature awards. Pearson wrote the linked novels ''The Sky Is Falling (Pearson novel), The Sky Is Falling'' (1989), ''Looking at the Moon'' (1991 ...

. It is the first novel in the ''Guests of War'' trilogy, which follows the lives of Norah and Gavin Stoakes after they are evacuated from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The novel won the

Canadian Library Association The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was a national, predominantly English-language association which represented 57,000 library workers across Canada. It also spoke for the interests of the 21 million Canadians who are members of libraries. C ...

Book of the Year Award for Children and the Geoffrey Bilson Award (for best Canadian work of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

written for youth).

Plot summary

Norah and Gavin Stoakes live in a peaceful English village until World War II causes them to be evacuated to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Norah, an independent ten-year-old, is angry with the evacuation and resents having to care for Gavin. Five-year-old Gavin does not understand the evacuation and is confused and frightened. When they arrive in Canada, Norah and Gavin are placed with Florence Ogilvie, a bossy and cold widow and her timid spinster daughter, Mary Ogilvie. The Ogilvies only wanted Gavin but were convinced to take Norah as well. Norah is acutely aware of their preference toward Gavin, rather than her. While Gavin quickly settles into his new home where he is spoilt and coddled by Mrs. Ogilvie, Norah cannot settle. She dislikes Mrs. Ogilvie, is bored in her strict new home, is unpopular at her new school, begins to wet the bed (something she was very angry at Gavin for doing on the boat trip there), and constantly worries about what is happening to her family in England. As weeks go by, Norah’s resentment of Mrs. Ogilvie increases. Although she begins to make new friends, her misery increases as she realizes she cannot return to England for much longer than she was originally told. After Mrs. Ogilvie and Norah have an argument, Norah decides to run away and return to England on her own. She originally leaves without Gavin but decides she cannot leave him to be spoilt by Mrs. Ogilvie in a foreign country. She takes him with her but they only get as far as the train station before Norah realizes her plan is impossible. They return to the Ogilvies, expecting punishment but find that Mrs. Ogilvie and Miss Ogilvie have been very worried. Mrs. Ogilvie apologizes for ignoring Norah in the past months and asks if they can begin again. Norah accepts the offer and attempts to try to live happily in Canada. Life begins to improve and Norah accepts Canada as her temporary home for the duration of the war.

Title meaning

The title of ''The Sky is Falling'' comes from a child's misinterpretation of

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

. Early in the novel, Norah and Gavin are listening to stories with other evacuees. The group hears the story of The Sky is Falling (Chicken Little), about a chicken who believed the sky was falling. A young evacuee states that is what was happening in England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sky Is Falling 1989 Canadian novels Children's historical novels Canadian children's novels Canadian young adult novels Novels set in Toronto Novels set during World War II Children's books set in Toronto Children's books set during World War II