Gertie Mayeux

Call Me Benedict Gertie Mayeux

Please allow me to show you World War II through eight-year-old Gracie's eyes in Call Me Benedict. Living in the post-depression poverty in a small sawmill town in south Louisiana, Gracie discovers a way to earn money by selling scrap iron. She is told the iron is being sold to Japan. When Pearl Harbor is attacked, she becomes guilt ridden and begins her struggle with patriotism versus betrayal. Enabling Gracie through this difficulty is her devoted grandfather. Her little brother Lee and his pet chicken add humor. My story is one of struggle and discoveries in Gracie's life that teachers and middle grade students will remember after the book is closed, giving them a child's view of a painful time in our nation's history in sixteen short chapters.