Even though this book is purportedly written by a 7 year old, I feel the story is more for slightly older children. Esmerelda Swishback McCarther, known as Esme, lives in Arlington, Virginia with her mum, her dad (a sergeant in the U.S. Army) and her pesky little brother Ike. They have moved around a lot - Korea, Kenya, and Germany, but Esme likes living the 'the U.S.of A' with her family and her bed full of alphabet animals. She has a stuffed toy of everything from an Aardvark to a Zebra, except for something beginning with X. She also has a 'blankie' a small piece of a blanket knitted for her by her grandmother when she was a baby. Life is good. Every Saturday dad makes 'extra tasty top dog pancakes' and this is a close and loving and very funny family. So when dad announces that he is going to have to go away for one hundred days and ninety-nine nights, Esme is bereft. It is his 'duty' he explains, and he must do his duty. Esme thinks, 'Duty is what the army calls it when you have to do something that no one in the whole entire universe really wants to do.' She gives her father her blankie to keep him safe, and he tells her that she must be in charge of the pancakes while he is away. The three months that dad is gone is a growing-up time for Esme, and she and her friends at school think up all sorts of ways they can help what they call 'the war effort' - just like in World War II. Mum is worried and often sad, and Ike becomes difficult at school, and the book is an excellent portrayal of the effects on families when men are away fighting. Dad does come home safely, and we are even given the Top Dog Tasty Pancakes recipe. So that's all right then! An excellent story about what it means to have a father far away in a dangerous situation.