In this story, a young child is wondering about the “olden days” when his grandpa was young like him. His mother takes the child to Grandpa’s house so he can ask some questions about life long ago. Grandpa had lived in a small house with a metal roof in South Dakota. Coal was burned to provide heat in the winter. In those days, there was no air conditioning, and people opened windows instead. The backyard had a vegetable garden. Three generations lived in the house. The wooden party-line phone on the wall had no apps. There was no television, but radio shows told stories such as the Lone Ranger. Books such as the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries were popular. Grandpa’s other grandparents lived on a farm and would sometimes burn corncobs. The farm had animals such as workhorses who were named Tom and Jerry. Chicks could be ordered through the mail, and the post office was full of chirping when they arrived each spring. Harvest time was special with the use of a threshing machine. Around the neighborhood, kids would pass the blacksmith on their bikes. Sometimes the blacksmith helped fix bicycles for the children. Financial times were still difficult after World War Two. One of the stories involves a skunk that became dinner for someone Grandpa’s father did some work for and tried to collect payment. Needless to say, no money changed hands that day. Grandpa’s mother taught in a one-room schoolhouse. His father had a construction company. Fishing was a popular pastime. We hope you will enjoy this story from the 1940s. Gary’s first book was Good Afternoon Vietnam: A Civilian in the Vietnam War. Midwest Book Review June 2020 Children's Bookwatch "Alex Asks Grandpa About the Olden Days: A 1940s Story" is a picture book story about a young child who is wondering about the "olden days" when his grandpa was young like him. His mother takes the child to Grandpa's house so he can ask some questions about life long ago. Grandpa had lived in a small house with a metal roof in South Dakota. Coal was burned to provide heat in the winter. In those days, there was no air conditioning, and people opened windows instead. The backyard had a vegetable garden. Three generations lived in the house. The wooden party-line phone on the wall had no apps. There was no television, but radio shows told stories such as the Lone Ranger. Books such as the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries were popular. Grandpa's other grandparents lived on a farm and would sometimes burn corncobs. The farm had animals such as workhorses who were named Tom and Jerry. Chicks could be ordered through the mail, and the post office was full of chirping when they arrived each spring. Harvest time was special with the use of a threshing machine. Around the neighborhood, kids would pass the blacksmith on their bikes. Sometimes the blacksmith helped fix bicycles for the children. Financial times were still difficult after World War Two. One of the stories involves a skunk that became dinner for someone Grandpa's father did some work for and tried to collect payment. Needless to say, no money changed hands that day. Grandpa's mother taught in a one-room schoolhouse. His father had a construction company. Fishing was a popular pastime. Critique: Charmingly illustrated, informative, and entertaining, "Alex Asks Grandpa About the Olden Days: A 1940s Story" is a unique and extraordinary picture book story for children ages 5- 10 that is especially appropriate and recommended for family, elementary school, and community library picture book collections for young readers. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Alex Asks Grandpa About the Olden Days: A 1940s Story" is also readily available in a digital book format. Gary Wilhelm is a retired engineer with a master's degree from South Dakota State University, who did research and development work in America, Asia, and Europe for consumer, commercial, and military products, during a career of several decades. In addition to being a civilian engineer embedded with the Marines during the Vietnam War in 1968 and 1969, he worked developing products ranging from EF Johnson citizens band radio, and the Texas Instruments home computer, communications technology for use within buildings, and with medical devices implanted within the body, to the Howitzer Improvement Program (HIP) for army artillery on the battlefield. He was also a representative on a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) committee. He hosted the USA meeting of the committee at Honeywell.