Fritz handles discussions of orphans and adoption sensitively but openly.

David wants to know who his real parents are, "whether his father is a crook or what ... whether he was dead or alive." Jean sympathizes with this need but also considers David's quest "crazy." The Hulls appear to ignore the issue entirely. Readers might ask why the Hulls are insensitive to David's needs and why some adults think that an adopted child should not learn about his biological parents.

Jean is portrayed as a perceptive but supremely innocent child, far more innocent, it seems, than the average child of today. There are minor references to sex, death, and violence in the book, but the potentially disturbing nature of these scenes is offset by Jean's innocence, which serves as a filter. Fritz does not sensationalize the horrors of war, although she presents a touching description of Lin...