A Place to Hang the Moon

In the lending library, the children immediately feel at home. Through books, they’ve been able to recognize that they have never had a storybook home. They’ve each used stories to construct an ideal set of parents. Edmund’s storybook dad is a cowboy in the American Wild West and a pirate, and his mother is “the greatest cook this side of the Rio Grande” (71). William’s storybook mother is reliable and takes his responsibilities from him. Anna’s storybook mother has many of William’s attributes, and most of all she is simply “there” (72).

They meet the librarian Miss Müller, who warmly welcomes them. They tell her about their reading exploits and she is impressed. She prepares library cards for them while the children pick their books. William cannot choose one, so she selects one of her favorites for him, Murder on the Orient Express. When they approach the front desk, Mrs. Forrester is there with her groceries. She is noticeably chilly toward the librarian as the children get their library cards.

At the Forrester home, Mrs. Forrester asks Anna to read Woman’s Weekly with her while the boys retreat to the twins’ room to read. When the twins come home, they kick the boys out, saying they are lucky to even sleep there. The three convene in Anna’s room, where they commiserate about their lot. At supper, Jack and Simon release a barrage of accusations local children are making about the “vackies.” Mr. and Mrs. Forrester fail to see their sons’ cruelty.

Back in Anna’s room after supper, Edmund sees that all the sweets he packed from home in his suitcase are missing. He storms into the twins’ room, believing they are the thieves. Mrs. Forrester interrupts the altercation. She immediately refuses to believe Edmund’s accusation and tells him he left them on the train. William agrees with her and steers the other two away. Edmund is angry with William, who says he believes Edmund but is trying his best to not get the three chucked out.

Anna is upset by the events and William, though he is emotionally exhausted, conjures up a make-believe story about their parents to soothe her before bed.

Two weeks later, the children have developed a routine. They eat breakfast with Mrs. Forrester, walk to and from school, and listen to news about the war on the radio in the evening. They get news that the Nazis have occupied France. While the children fear the realness of war now that it is so close to their old home, Mrs. Forrester wonders if she can still get French perfume.

When the students return to the lending library, Mrs. Müller is pleased to see them. She engages them about the content of the books they have just read with genuine curiosity and suggests that Edmund should be the “first reader” of Enid Blyton’s The Enchanted Wood, which has just been delivered to the library. While the children look for new books, Anna eavesdrops on Mrs. Müller’s conversation with a woman named Florence, who asks Mrs. Müller if she can give the local women a tutorial on changing their flowerbeds now that wartime rations are so strict. Mrs. Müller is hesitant, saying that she is not popular with the villagers. Florence calls those people “small-minded” and says that a tutorial would help show them that Mrs. Müller is doing her bit for the country (90).

On the walk back to the Forresters’, Anna tells her brothers what she has heard. It is clear to them that people dislike Mrs. Müller for some reason, though they do not know why.

In July, the Nazis bomb Wales, Dover, and Cornwall. Mr. Forrester decides to join the Local Defense Volunteers. Mrs. Forrester is mostly still concerned about what goods the war effort will take from her.

The children receive a welcome letter from Miss Collins. They’re shocked to learn her first name is Kezia and they realize they do not really know much about her.

After school one day in late summer, the evacuees are bussed to see Pinocchio in theaters. The siblings have only seen one movie before. Frances sits next to William on the bus and in the theater, and he is uncomfortable with her attention to him. The children are greatly impressed with the movie.

After they return to town, they stop at the library for new books. Anna regales Mrs. Müller with the entire plot of Pinocchio. She recommends Anna read Anne of Green Gables, but Anna is skeptical about another “orphan book.” The two commiserate about the frequency of the trope in literature.

At the Forresters, the twins’ treatment is growing consistently worse. They maliciously prank the boys, throwing away their things and putting pepper in their clothes. Anna thinks her brothers should tell the Forresters, but the boys say that parents will always take the side of their own kids.

At the end of summer, the village children return to school. Evacuees use the school in the morning, and village children in the afternoon. Tension grows between the groups. At supper, Simon says evacuees are vandalizing textbooks by writing “vackie” on them. Edmund points out that they never use this slur against themselves, but Mrs. Forrester scolds him for arguing with Simon.

On September 7, London is attacked. The children are distressed. The twins tease Anna for crying while the names of casualties are read. The raid continues for 37 nights, whereupon Princess Elizabeth addresses the nation via radio for the first time.

In fall, Mrs. Warren has class outside so the children can pick ripe plums. Edmund finds a freshly dead snake and hides it, planning to use it to get back at the twins. He hides it in Simon’s bed without telling the others. After dinner Simon finds the snake in his bed. Though all three siblings claim innocence, Mrs. Forrester is suspicious.

The twins seem cowed, but a few days later, someone paints “VACKIES” in large black letters on the school (113). The teachers are worried the townspeople will blame them, as it is always easier to blame outsiders.

That afternoon, the students visit the library where Mrs. Müller is setting up the gardening presentation Florence requested. Only six people, including the librarian and Florence, attend. Mrs. Müller is sad and embarrassed, so William asks if children can attend the presentation, which pleases her.

When they mention the presentation at dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Forrester dismiss Mrs. Müller and seem eager to stop talking about her. Simon tells them about the graffiti at school, and the Forrester parents accept that it was the work of an evacuee, who Simon says “were never taught proper manners from the start” (117). Mrs. Forrester has stopped scolding Simon for saying such things.

After supper, the children go to the parlor to do their homework. A can of black paint rolls from Edmund’s bag. Mr. and Mrs. Forrester are furious. Edmund tells them he has been set up by Jack and Simon, which enrages the parents further. Edmund asks William if he knows Edmund would never do such a thing, and William pauses a bit too long before saying yes.