100 Days and 99 Nights

 

• About the Book 

100 Days and 99 Nights

by Alan Madison
Little, Brown and Company
Copyright 2008

Set in northern Virginia, Alan Madison's 100 Days and 99 Nights is the fictional story of Esmerelda Swishback McCarther's journey and growth during the modern day, wartime deployment of her father, Sgt. August McCarther.  Through interviews with kids whose fathers were deployed, Madison achieves a resonating and uplifting peek into the changes that this second grader goes through over 100 days and 99 nights.

The changes that Esme confronts when her dad leaves for his tour of duty are many.  The blissfulness and contentment she felt while making the top-secret McCarther Family "Top-Dog Tasty Pancakes" on Saturday mornings is replaced by chaos and disorder - they just can't seem to perform their tasks the same, for her father held the pancake cooking team together.  The routines she depended on so much are altered.  The morning routine of getting ready for school with her younger brother, Ike, is markedly different without her father to help maintain order.  The rules that Esme and Ike felt so comfortable following get broken.  At school, Ike gets into a fight on the playground and breaks their father's important playground rule of "the first person to hit is the first person to run out of good ideas."  The jokes that her father made that would have Esme nearly fall off her chair with laughter are absent, like the way he made the word "spatula" sound so funny: "Spaaatulllaaa, spa-chew-la, sssspit-u-laaa."  The family members' roles and responsibilities are switched and flipped, especially for Esme.  She must take on more of a lead role in her house, especially when it comes to the care of her younger brother, who in turn, is resistant to the change.

Things just aren't the same without Dad.  Yet, in her wish for the 100 days and 99 nights to fly swiftly by, Esme takes on another role.  She begins to actively support the troops.  Even through minor setbacks, she rallies her class to help the troops after learning about what the "home front" did during World War II.  She organizes a scrap metal drive to donate to the Army for the production of safety gear for the soldiers.  As a result, Esme gets a story in the paper that reaches her father's proud eyes, and especially his soldiers in the desert.  Morale is lifted as they thank and congratulate Sgt. McCarther for his daughter's contribution.

• I Spy from a Writing Perspective: Esme's Voice

Esme's sincere, reflective, and often times, humorous voice is relatable and drives the story of the military family's sacrifice home for kids.  It is an honest portrayal of a child's resiliency in the midst of confusion, being "mad-sad," frustration, and fear at the question of why her father's duty is country first, family second, and whether or not he will come home safely.  The character of Esme is wonderfully built through personal thoughts, discourse, and interaction between family members.  Also, in each chapter introduction the reader learns more about Esme as she tells the stories behind her more than twenty-six stuffed animals that make up her A to Z animal collection.  She is the true military brat: devoted to her family, respectful, honest, worldly, and insightful.  Children from all types of families are bound to walk away from this story thinking about many of her positive qualities.

• I Spy from a Counseling/Educational Perspective: Deployment Tips for Families

Today, families in all branches of service are enduring deployments that run anywhere from three months to a year with multiple tours.  Many schools with large populations of military families offer support groups for children whose parents are actively deployed during the school year.  If you are a parent or legal guardian of a child whose has an immediate family member deployed, inquire with your classroom teacher and/or grade level guidance counselor on the outreach services that may be helpful to them.  Even if it's just a non-deployment related friendship or lunch group that provides an outlet for support.  It is important for families with temporarily absent mothers and fathers to maintain as much of their regular daily schedules as possible, while discussing the new parts of the routines with children.  It may also be helpful to post the new routine so children can refer to it.  For example, a parent may write:

• Morning Routine

1. 7:00AM - Wake up (SAME)
2. 7: 05AM - Get dressed, brush teeth, and comb hair (SAME)
3. 7:20AM - Eat breakfast at the kitchen table (SAME)
4. 7:35AM - Help mom make your lunches (DIFFERENT - Dad used to make lunches so Mom could get ready to drive you to school.)
5. 7:45AM - Check your backpacks for homework and books (DIFFERENT - A responsibility that helps mom out.)
6. 8:00AM - Get in the car to leave for school (SAME)

Another tip may be to have a weekly time to discuss thoughts, feelings, and questions with your child.  The parent or caregiver could name this time something fun like "The (Enter Surname) Family Huddle" or another name to make the time significant and give it special meaning.  It doesn't necessarily have to be weekly.  Perhaps this meeting time only occurs when the parent feels that the child is in need of discussion/reflection time (struggling at home, in school, with friends, or having difficulty coping with certain feelings, etc.).

Veteran military families who have done many deployments have loads of great ideas for helping children get through a difficult time.  Letters, emails, video-making, and pictures are great activities to keep communication as current as possible.  Countdown calenders and milestone events can also be a great way to celebrate getting closer to homecoming.  Crossing off weeks or days on a calendar can be part of a new, night time routine.  Many families celebrate special holidays that the deployed parent missed when they arrive home.  Christmas in the summer can be fun!  Birthdays are also celebrated past their official days.  Even more, planning activities that have nothing to do with deployment are important as well.  Simply, kids need to be kids.  Therefore, watching the adult maintain an overall, positive attitude is key for children.

Lastly, literature and books are great resources, just like Alan Madison's 100 Days and 99 Nights.  Many kids will be able to identify with one or more of the feelings and obstacles that a character like Esme Swishback McCarther is facing.  It is important to reiterate that Madison's book was created after interviewing kids whose parents were serving a three month tour of duty.  Sometimes, it helps to just to know that other people are going through the same issues, too.

• I Spy, More!

•  100 Days and 99 Nights by Alan Madison on Amazon.com
• Author Alan Madison's website
• Children Deployment Books on Amazon.com
• Sesame Workshop's Talk, Listen Connect: Deployments, Homecomings, Changes, Grief - *Resourceful videos available for kids that deal with everything from the loss of a family member to preparing for deployment.* 
• Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund (non-profit) website - founded in October 2003 as a means of providing College Grants and Financial Assistance to surviving children and spouses of our U.S. military service members who have lost their lives in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.