The Communist Party Feeds Hungry Young Italians

Mostly written from the point of view of a seven-year old boy named Amerigo, we don't really know if this train will take him to northern Italy or to Russia! He is the son of a single mother, and he roams the streets to pick up rags for money. He is always hungry and plays games with himself by observing he status of people's shoes. Points for no holes. When his mother sends him north in a train full of poor children, a new world opens up.

This book is part of a program to publish international voices and learn about the lives of those we don't often hear about. This is an intimate, imaginary story about true events when the children of war-torn Naples were sent away to spend the winter to become strong and healthy. Some stayed north, others came home the next summer. What will Amerigo choose to do, and how will it affect his destiny?

I enjoyed his fresh, young, and innocent voice and was happy to become informed of what life in Italy was like after the defeat of Mussolini and the fascists. I had no idea the Communist party had social programs like this. The book is for readers of historical fiction, with a particular emphasis on stories about children affected by social, political, and economic events.