Carol Ann and her friend Pete are growing up in the 1950s when polio was on everyone's mind. The children are afraid that any muddy water or dirt might give them the dreaded paralyzing disease. Carol Ann finds a mischievous beagle puppy belonging to a grumpy old neighbor who was crippled by polio and walks with crutches.

I was interested in the historical events surrounding the polio vaccine, and hearing how ordinary people reacted to the news of a way to prevent polio. Dr. Jonas Salk, who pioneered the vaccine research, was a hero to many, and saved countless lives. The best thing about this book is that it is based on real people and real events. Real characters such as Uncle Charlie really did know Dr. Salk and had a connection to the creation of the polio vaccine. I loved the added interest of the photographs of Carol Ann's family included at the back of the book, along with historic information about Dr. Salk and his research.

Another good thing about this book is all the wonderful details about living in 1950s America: the habits and manners of everyday people, how much things cost, and what sort of music, games, and activities young people enjoyed. There is even a glossary of 1950s slang at the back of the book, along with a recipe for cookies that the mother in the story bakes.

But despite the interesting historic information, I couldn't enjoy reading this book. The writing has a problem of "telling" instead of "showing" that made it difficult to engage with the characters. There are also a lot of story points that are repeated again and again, making the repetition of the same story material boring and annoying.

The characters tend to narrate what they are doing and then make observations about their feelings or reactions to what is going on. Things like "I am so scared!" "This is really cool." "I like to eat cookies." "It's fun to listen to music on the radio."
It's extremely annoying, and I had to skim through some of that.

There is not much going on in the plot until the end. They play games with the neighbor kids. They go to school. They eat cookies. They listen to rock and roll, and watch television in black and white. They play with the puppy, and spy on the grumpy neighbor man. The problem is not that there is nothing happening; the problem is that all that nothing is described in painstaking detail, and then repeated when the character narrates it in the dialogue describing it all again to themselves or to other characters. It's too long! It's much too long.

I don't mind a simple children's story with wholesome activities and sweet characters who never do anything shocking, but keep it short. Don't go on for ten pages about the shopping trip where they bought soap and peanuts. I don't need to know what type of clothing everyone is wearing in every scene. I mean, a couple of references to clothing can be great to create the setting and show the types of styles from that era, but thirty descriptions of clothes are too many.

One thing I did like was the inclusion of Bible verses and references to asking God for courage. The underlying message is hopeful and full of faith.

The writing needs some help, but the basic story line is good, and the historic material is good. This book was okay, but not great.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book form the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.