A masterful picture book excels at revealing a young child's experience during the year her father is away at war. Suzy's dad has to go to a place called Viet Nam. She imagines flying in the jungle-her favorite cartoon is set in a jungle-with her cat, Rascal. She is the youngest in a family determined to shelter her from things she's not ready to understand. Over the year there are many unsettling events. One of her dad's postcards says "Pray for me." He sends her a birthday card in winter, but her birthday is in summer. She accidentally sees a news report about Viet Nam. "Later I hide in the closet and cry." The postcards stop. Suzy's flights of imagination become darker, tainted by fear she can't express. It's only when her dad returns that she can finally speak that fear, if indirectly, when she tells him, "Rascal didn't think you were coming back." Suzanne Collins mines her own childhood memories, transforming them with tremendous skill into a story that is resonant and truthful and timeless and remarkably child-centered. James Proimos's illustrations are stylistically simple but wisely executed, full of sensitivity and power and poignancy, along with occasional moments of whimsy (that cat!). Honor Book, 2014 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 4-9)

NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Suzanne Collins has created a deeply moving autobiographical picture book about a father who must go off to the war in Vietnam -- and the daughter who stays behind.When young Suzy's father leaves for Vietnam, she struggles to understand what this means for her and her family. What is the jungle like? Will her father be safe? When will he return? The months slip by, marked by the passing of the familiar holidays and the postcards that her father sends. With each one, he feels more and more distant, until Suzy isn't sure she'd even recognize her father anymore.This heartfelt and accessible picture book by Suzanne Collins, the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of the Hunger Games series, is accompanied by James Proimos's sweet and funny illustrations. This picture book will speak to any child who has had to spend time away from a parent.