World War II is raging in Europe, and Tomie finds that life has changed in many ways. Now he has to wear an extra sweater to school because they're trying to conserve coal. Then tragedy brings the war home to the dePaola family, and all Tomie can do is ask 'Why?' Just as he did in I'm Still Scared, the first instalment of The War Years, Tomie dePaola touchingly illuminates the emotional confusion of a child's life during wartime.