Petros' War gives a clear account of war and the reaction of a child to such a brutal situation. It is interesting to note how this book can be used to discuss the horrors of war through childlike eyes. The theme that perhaps a child will not truly understand the consequences of war until he has experienced death at close proximity is notable.

Young Petros sees war, at the beginning, as something heroic, like something that he reads about in his books. He tries to imagine what he shall tell his children some day in the future. He hopes that he will have many exciting stories to tell them, and at first he winces at the fact that all he can admit to is saving a dog from a German and painting slogans on walls. Eventually, however, he comes to realize that perhaps survival is the...