Text to World Connection: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

     Have you ever met anyone who seems peculiar? Like a boy with the body of a dog, two unusual clown twins, a levitating girl, and maybe even an invisible boy? Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs, is about a sixteen year old boy named Jacob Portman whose grandfather (Grandpa Portman) is old and seems a little confused. All of Jacob's life, Grandpa Portman tells Jacob stories of when he was a boy. He used to live in Poland during World War II, where monsters chased him away from his family and he had to run away. He wound up on an island called Cairnholm, Cairnholm harbored Miss Peregrine's orphanage, where Grandpa Portman stayed till he was probably Jacob's age. On this island, you never age. To get back to reality, Grandpa Portman calls Jacob while Jacob's at work and tells him that monsters are coming for him. Of course, Jacob doesn't believe him anymore since he's older now. Grandpa Portman insists that Jacob unlocks his gun cabinet (which Jacob's father locked so Grandpa Portman couldn't get to it) so he can defend himself. Jacob said to calm down, he would not unlock the cabinte, and he will be on his way in a minute. His friend, Ricky, shows up and drives Jacob to his grandfather's. When they get there, Jacob goes in the house and Grandpa Portman is nowhere to be seen. He fled the seen with papers a strewn all over the house, cabinets open, furniture ripped open, and the gun cabinet dented. Jacob looks at the screen door in the back and sees a huge gash in it. Jacob immediately starts running to the forest behind Grandpa Portman's house and looks for him. He runs through a crowd of bushes and finds Grandpa Portman laying face down, bleeding out and dying. Jacob runs to him and holds him up. Grandpa Portman says his last words by telling Jacob to go to the island and gives him a lot of tiny clues that Jacob will eventually find. What will happen next?

     This book is related to another past event in history. Specifically, during World War II. Like in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, World War II had many kids who got seperated from their families during that time period because of the Nazis invasion. In the book, Abe Portman (Gradnpa Portman) ended up on Cairholm island to stay with Miss Peregrine. During World War II, many kids were sent off to live somewhere else to get away from the counrties being invaded. In the book, Abe was sent off with only a suitcase and the clothes on his back and never saw his parents again. During World War II, parents sent off their kids to have a good life and knew that they weren't going to make it. Truly, that is so sad to think about.

     I love the way the author described the sorrow Grandpa Portman had when he told Jacob about his childhood. Although, Grandpa Portman only revealed a tiny bit of information which kept you more interested in why he didn't tell Jacob everything. Ransom Riggs really got me intrigued till the very end. He did a great job relating the story with real life history events. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is an amazing, thrilling, fantastic book that you have to read.