Katrina Nannestad on her prize-winning story for children 'Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief'

Katrina Nannestad is the winner of the 2022 ARA Historical Novel Society's prize in the Children and Young Adult category for 'Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief' It's spring, 1942. In an idyllic Russian village the sky is blue, the air is warm and sweet with the scent of flowers. But it's the height of World War II and the German Army are advancing on the Eastern Front and suddenly an entire Russian village is razed to the ground. Only six-year-old Sasha remains and he is alone in war-torn Russia. Found alone in the forest, Sasha is 'adopted' by a group of Red Army soldiers as they drive back the invading Nazis. Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief is a story of war and destruction but also an enduring tale of love and friendship and of survival in the most difficult of times. In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Katrina Nannestad about turning a true story into an award-winning novel for children, the strategies she uses in casting stories of war that children can relate to, and why historical fiction has an important role to play in discovering and explaining history to young people.