Rhode Island Children's Book Award     Student Comments

Boxes for Katje
by
Candace Fleming
Grades 3-6

If you like historical fiction then keep on reading! Boxes for Katje is about a small Dutch town of Olst, Holland right after World War II. A girl,

Katje and her family are trying to survive the terrible time. One day a package arrives for Katje and it is packed with some basic things the USA

had a lot of but they had very little. The package was from Rosie, an American girl who was helping support Olst. The packages keep arriving and

Katje shares the contents with all her neighbors.

Holland had the worst winter in 100 years but Rosie's packages helped the people survive by sending coast, sweater, hats, gloves and other things.

I liked the story. Rosie helped Katje but made a friend as well. Katje survived because of Rosie's boxes and made a friend. I would recommend this

book to anyone who likes an easy-read historic fiction yet entertaining book. If you read Boxes for Katje, I hope you enjoy it.

Taylor V., Mrs. White's Fourth grade class, Cedar Hill School, Warwick

Boxes for Katje is a nice book. A girl named Rosie sends her boxes full of things that they need after the war. Things they needed were socks, soap

and especially chocolate. I like this story because I would have done the same. The wording is great and also the illustrations. If you see this book in

a library, take it out.

Michael S., Mrs. Mathew's Fourth grade class, Cedar Hill School, Warwick

Boxes for Katje is a book about a girl named Katje who lives in Holland. It takes place after World War II in 1945. When the Dutch people are running

short on supplies, Rosie from America sends packages to help Katje who shares them with her friends and family.

I like this story for many reasons. One reason is the pictures. I like how the author shows Katje and Rosie when they receive letters from each other.

I also like how Katje shares the boxes with her friends and family. I like how the author shows the letters. This is a great fiction picture book for all ages.

Meline T., Mrs. White's Fourth grade class, Cedar Hill School, Warwick

About the story

Boxes for Katje is about a girl who lived in Holland. She lived in a very small and poor village. One day she got a box with food from America

("the land of plenty"). Then she got more and more and it fed the whole village.

My opinion

I think this story is good for this time because we are in war. If we do what Rosie did, it would bring peace to the world. I think if there were peace

in the world, there would be no war. Rosie brought the two villages together.

Recommendation

I think this book is good for all people to read. I t is a very good story for peace making.

Josh J., Ms. Amaral's Fourth grade class, Cedar Hill School, Warwick

This story is historical fiction and tells about friendship. It is about a younger girl named Katje and the setting is in Europe at the end of WWII. Now

Katje is getting special packages from America. The girl who is sending these is named Rosie. She is trying to help them during their worst winter in 100 years.

My opinion about this story is that is an excellent story because it is showing you how it was in the past. It's also teaching you about how you can help

people. Now, if you like kind and exciting stories you will like Boxes for Katje. I hope you get to read this wonderful story. I hope you will like it too because

I think everybody will like it.

Jillian E., Ms. Amaral's Fourth grade class, Cedar Hill School, Warwick

Boxes for Katje is about a girl who lives in Holland named Katje. This book takes place after the war. An American girl sends Katje packages full of things to help her and her family survive the winter. Katje divides up all of the boxes with the whole town. Read this book if you like stories about helping people who are going through bad times.

Drew B., Grade 5, WL Callahan School, Harrisville, RI    

I think that the book “Boxes for Katje” was very nice. The townspeople were kind to the people in Holland. They got everything they needed because of one girl. It was nice when Katje shared everything with the people of Holland. Rosie set a good example.

Maegan, Grade 5, Callahan School, Harrisville

The book Boxes for Katje is a book about a girl who has been through the war and has nothing like soap, sugar, clothes, and new shoes. Then one day Katje got a package from America, she opened it and it had socks and soap and chocolate was in it also a note. Katje writes back to Rosie. They become friends and send each other gifts. This book is awesome and it was fun to read. You should read this book. Don’t tell but there is a surprise ending!

Emma, Grade 5, W L Callahan School ,Harrisville, RI

The book Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming is about a girl in a town in Holland after World War II. Katje gets a package from her pen-pal and finds wonders. This book is a great book for all kids and has bright and colorful pictures. I would recommend this book to all ages under 14.

Alex, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

If you like books about giving and generosity then you will like Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming. The setting takes place in Holland. This book is about an American pen pal sending boxes for Katje with a lot of stuff that will help Katje survive winter. Some of the stuff that was in the boxes were socks, food, and other useful stuff. So I’ll say it one more time: if you like books about giving and sharing you will like Boxes for Katje.

Justin, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

I liked the book Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming, because I get boxes from my Nana. It’s like a surprise when I get it and I don’t know what to expect.

In the story, the war in Europe made people very sad. People didn’t have enough food to eat or warm clothes to wear. One day Katje received a box from America. In the box were socks, chocolate and a letter. Rosie from American sent this surprise for Katje. Katje wrote back and Rosie learned how serious the situation was for the people in Katje’s town. I won’t give anything away, but when you finish this book you’ll really feel excited. You also might really need to eat some chocolate!

Kayleah, Grade 4, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

Boxes for Katje is a historical fiction book. It takes place in Holland after World War II. This book is about a girl named Rosie who sends boxes to a girl named Katje. Katje lives in Holland and her family is poor. They don’t have a lot of food or winter clothes. Rosie, who lives in Indiana, sends Katje cans of food and winter clothes to help Katje and her family survive the winter time. Boxes for Katje is a picture book. It has beautiful pictures which are important to help you understand this book. I liked this book a lot because Rosie did a good deed. Kids in grade 4-6 should read this book because it is awesome and the pictures are great. They’ll also like this book if they like books about people who do good deeds.

Amandalyn, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

Have you ever gotten so many boxes that you could share them with your whole village? A little Dutch girl named Katje has. This book is historical fiction. An American girl named Rosie gives Katje a box overload! Katje’s whole village in Holland gets deprived after World War II. A nice American girl, Rosie, gives Katje and her village much needed necessities. I highly recommend t his book to kids everywhere because of its heartwarming pictures and happily ever after feeling.

Kristina, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

The book Boxes for Katje, by Candace Fleming, is a fiction book. This story is about a young girl named Rosie. Rosie gives boxes full of food and clothing to Katje, who shares them with her family and her village. There were good sized pictures on each page which was important since the pictures helped to explain what happened each time in the story. This book was a good book about sharing, which is a generous thing to do, which is why I liked it. Other people should read it because it teaches a lesson about sharing with others.

Stephanie, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

If you like books about people giving and sharing, you will enjoy Boxes for Katje. The author is Candace Fleming. The genre is historical fiction. This book is about a girl named Katje after the war. She gets boxes of gloves, mittens, hats and scarves in the mail from a girl named Rosie who lives in America. Katje lives in Holland, which is the story’s setting. I don’t want to spoil the book if you really do want to read it. The main characters are Katje, the mailman, and Rosie. This book was illustrated and the illustrations are very important because there are letters to read, people, houses, and boxes have stuff inside of them. I liked this book because it is about giving, sharing, and America. Many other people should read this book because it is a great learning story. The end of this book has the point of the story, and if you want to find out, you should read it yourself.

Vanessa, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming is a touching historical fiction book. Katje lives in Holland in the town of Olst after World War II. The people in her village have nothing---little to eat, less to wear. One morning, the postman arrived at Katje’s house with a box from America. .. I recommend this book for second graders and up. First graders and below might not understand this book. I liked this book because it was interesting and it showed that people care all over the world. Find this book at a library near you today.

Marissa, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

Boxes for Katje is an historical fiction book. This is about Katje in the time of World War II. Her country of Holland is being rationed with regard to every day items. Rosey, in the United States, sends her a package of supplies. But I’m sorry I can’t tell you any more. I guess you’ll just have to read the book.

Cynthia, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming is a very good book. It takes place in 1945 in a town called Olst. The townspeople e are starving and then someone sends food to Katje and the whole town. Food and clothes are sent to help the town. Now the people can survive the winter. I recommend this book to 3^rd and 4^th graders. It is a very fun book and I could not put it down.

Mitchell, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

In the beginning of the book Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming, Katje gets a box with a cake of soap, a pair of wool socks, and chocolate from a girl in the US. Katje didn’t have any of that stuff, because of the war. Katje sends a thank you letter to her penpal in the US and then Katje gets even more stuff when the pen pal writes back. The book has pictures on every page that go with the writing. I recommend this book for second graders and up, and I give it a rating of 5 out of 10.

Jack, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

The story Boxes for Katje is by Candace Fleming. The characters include Katje, her mother, Rosie from America and Postman Kleinhoonte. Rosie sends provisions to Katje during Holland’s winter after World War II, but will Katje survive? I recommend this book for children seven and up because it is easy to read. It is an illustrated book, which is helpful to explain the plot. Read this historical fiction book!

Evan, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming is about a town in Holland that does not have a lot of money after the second World War. A girl named Katje has a friendly pen pal who sends her clothing and food so that her town can survive the winter. There are a lot of colorful pictures in the book. If you like warm stories of survival, read Boxes for Katje by Candance Fleming.

Chris, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

If you like historical fiction you would really, really like this book, Boxes for Katje. This book takes place in Holland and Indiana. A girl named Katje and her town her hit by a war and the people are left with nothing. A girl in Indiana starts sending stuff to Katje. They write back and forth. I like this book because it is about people who are hit by real things: wars, tsunamis, Katrina, etc. People are getting help by other people all around the world. This book is good for children because it’s about kids talking to each other and communicating with each other all around the world.

Kevin, Grade 6, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

This book is about a girl named Katje in Holland after World War II. She is poor, her family and neighbors are poor also, because of the war. A girl from the USA, from Indiana, does them a big favor by sending them stuff in boxes. They needed everything: soap, socks, anything else. I love this book because it’s a nice book for kids and shows good deeds. I think it’s such a good book so once in a while try reading this!

Jenna, Grade 4, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

As you all probably know Boxes For Katje is a Rhode Island Children’s Book Award nominee. I’ve read this book and think it is an extraordinary book! It informs you about how Dutch people lived in the 1900s around 1945, after the war. The Dutch people had very few belongings left. One day Katje received o package from America, from a girl Katje’s age! Katje opened the box to find some items she could use that she lost in the war. Katje and her friend become pen pals and send packages and letters to one another. If you want to see how historical fiction story ends you can read Boxes For Katje!

Meghan M, W.L.Callahan School, Harrisville

Boxes for Katje made me realize how many people are in need and how we can help them. I am going to look in to countries that have been affected by a war. When I heard they haven’t smelled chocolate in years that’s pretty sad. Boxes for Katje is historical fiction. I hope that no other country has to go through that loss even if they did bad things they doesn’t deserve that.

Noella grade 5 W.L Callahan School

Katje receives a box from America. She’s curious about who sent it. Inside the box she had found a cake of soap, a pair of wool socks, and pure chocolate. Her mother, the mailman, and Katje hadn’t smelt or tasted chocolate in years. Katje split the chocolate carefully into three small pieces so Katje, her mom, and the mailman could taste some fresh chocolate. She found a letter at the bottom of the box, it was her American friend. Katje sent a letter that she wrote back. Her American friend sent her another box. This time it was sugar she sent. See yourself what interesting things go on in the rest of the book.

Amelia, Grade 5 WL Callahan School, Harrisville

Boxes for Katje made me realize how many people are in need and how we can help them. I am going to look in to countries that have been affected by a war like Olst. When I heard they haven’t smelled chocolate in years that’s pretty sad. Boxes for Katje is historical fiction. I hope that no other country has to go through that loss even if they did bad things they doesn’t deserve that.

Noella grade 5 W.L Callahan School

As you all probably know Boxes For Katje is a Rhode Island Children’s Book Award nominee. I’ve read this book and think it is an extraordinary book! It informs you about how Dutch people lived in the 1900s around 1945, after the war. The Dutch people had very few belongings left. One day Katje received o package from America, from a girl Katje’s age! Katje opened the box to find some items she could use that she lost in the war. Katje and her friend become pen pals and send packages and letters to one another. If you want to see how the story ends you can read Boxes For Katje!

Meghan M, W.L.Callahan School, Harrisville

Boxes for Katje is about a girl who lives in Holland named Katje. This book takes place after the war. An American girl sends Katje packages full of things to help her and her family survive the winter. Katje divides up all of the boxes with the whole town. Read this book if you like stories about helping people who are going through bad times.

Drew , Grade 5, WL Callahan School Burrillville

The book Boxes for Katje is about a girl named Katje. Katje lives in the Netherlands and her pen pal Rosie lives in America. It has been hard to get things such as soap, sugar, socks, chocolate, and canned goods because of the war. Rosie sends packages to Katje and they are shared with the town. I think this is a good historical fiction book because it shows people how to share.

Tyler , W L Callahan School, Grade 5

Boxes for Katje is by Candace Fleming. The book is about a girl named Katje and her mother who survived World War II. Katje comes from Holland and somebody named Rosey Johnson from America gives Katje a letter and gives her a pair of wool socks, a cake of soap and chocolate. I would recommend this book to all people because it’s exciting and sad. Go out there and read this wonderful book!

Desiree, Grade 4, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

Boxes for Katje is a fiction book. It is about when Dutch people lived on cabbages and seed potatoes in Holland after World War II. They went without soap or milk, sugar or new shoes. The mailman went to Katje’s house to deliver an American box to her. I like this book because people are being helpful and I think you should read it because it has good deeds.

Dana, Grade 4, Northern Lincoln Elementary School

A girl from America decides to send boxes filled with goods to a girl named Katje in Olst. Katje gets a pair of wool socks, chocolate, and a cake of soap. She likes it so much she decides to send a letter to her American friend. At the end she sends a box filled with tulip bulbs to her American friend. It is after the war there is no meat or sugar in Olst.

Britton, 5, WLC Callahan

Boxes for Katje is about a girl who gets a package. The girl’s name is Katje. Inside the box is a cake of soap, a pair of wool socks, and some chocolate. Katje and her family were very happy because her family was very poor. Katje lives in Holland. Katje has a pen pal Rosy. Rosy was the one who sent Katje the package. You should read the rest if you want to know what happens next. This book is historical fiction.

Jasmine, Grade 5, WL Callahan School

I read Boxes for Katje. First what happened was an American girl was sending packages. Also they were writing to each other and the American girl was sending clothes, mittens, and coats! At the end of the book she gave Katje a lot of boxes big ones, small ones , and medium ones.

 I thought it was a great book to read as a fifth grader or anyone!     

Makayla, Grade 5 WL Callahan School

In the beginning of the book Boxes For Katje she got a box from America.She went inside and opened it.It was a letter. It made me think of how many people are hurt and homeless.But besides just the letter there was chocolate,soap,and wool socks.I hoped that you liked my book review.

Patrick, WL Callahan, Grade 5

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This page was created on October 5, 2005 and updated on February 27, 2006.

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