In "Sonja IV: The War Years" the country is in the throes of war. Sonja, too, struggles with her own battles. She learns first hand of injustice, cruelty, loneliness, sadness, and helplessness. Sonja goes from a happy school experience and a teacher who respects and encourages her to one who seems to not care about her. In her new school there are three students, Sonja, and two seventh grade boys. The boys tease her, one mercilessly. The ultimate is when they put a dead snake in her desk. Sonja gets in trouble because she screams and yells for them to get rid of it. She has nightmares about the owls the boys torture in the barn at school. The teacher seems unconcerned, and even her parents who disapprove, do nothing to stop it. Sonja finally finds a way to avoid the trauma of school. Could she have polio? She is afraid of the black widow spiders in the outdoor toilet. Her parents don't believe they are poisonous. Can she prove to them they are dangerous? World War II occupies everyone's thoughts. Newscasts and movie newsreels make the war seem real. Rationing is a reality. Collecting scrap metal and buying war bonds and stamps gives Sonja a feeling of patriotism. She treasures the letters from her uncle in the Air Corp. Will he return safely from the war? Overwhelming grief consumes Sonja and her family when fire destroys the home of close friends and kills all but one. Sonja is thrilled when her brother is born. She can't imagine a person could be so small. Sonja is excited when a sixteen year old orphan comes to live with her family. Will that turn out well? A tonsillectomy, shoes that don't match, eating fried corn meal mush and beans in the teacherage, 4H projects, a box social, riding in a buggy to school, and a trip to Yellowstone Park fill Sonja's time. Readers will get a picture of life on the prairie during a troubling time in our country. They will experience education in a one-room school and appreciate today's conveniences as they read about life without electricity and running water. Readers will come to value the ideas and feelings of a young child. They will discover that, even in diversity, there is hope and happiness.