I’ve been in awe of Benjamin Hall ever since I started following his stories as a war correspondent for FOX. Perhaps it’s because I am the daughter of a World War II war correspondent who served in the OWI (Office of War Information) in China, Burma, and India, who grew up hearing stories from my father’s “greatest adventure,” finally helping him put his riveting tale into a book, “Through China’s Back Door,” before he died. It wasn’t an easy task for either of us. So much emotion involved in a father and daughter working together to tell his fascinating, often gripping, tale.
In 2023, Benjamin Hall wrote about his horrendous experience covering the war in Ukraine when the car in which he was traveling to the front lines in Kyiv on the morning of March 14th, 2022, was hit by a missile. Hall was the sole survivor of the blast, in which he lost half a leg, most of a foot and an eye. His cameraman, Pierre Zakrzewski and translator-fixer Sasha Kuvshinova were killed. The best-seller “Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission to Make it Home,” detailed his harrowing journey out of Ukraine and his grueling recovery.
I couldn’t read the book although I desperately wanted to. I was dealing with the sudden death of my husband and needed to be entertained, not in immersed in the horror of war.
Nor did I read Hall’s second book, “Resolute,” published in 2025, and also a best-seller, wherein the author vividly shares more of his remarkable survival, with the help of an extraordinary team of fellow correspondents, doctors, wife, children, and friends. The book’s theme implores readers to consider the reserves of strength and resolve that reside in all of us.
“Hear All About It!”
But now, I have read both of Hall’s exceptional books, thanks to his Children’s book, “Hear All About It,” published earlier this year.
I’m a sucker for children’s books, especially with great illustrations, and have interviewed several children’s books authors over the years. Of course I’m no longer a child, but I was a young mother of three, who loved to read to my children, and now a grandmother of five, who will buy for my grandchildren any book that will get them away from screens and carries a universal, positive message.
I’ve tried writing a children’s book and it’s damn difficult. Harder than any other form of writing, I believe. Getting into a child’s head, even though once a child oneself, is the challenge. If one finds a great illustrator (as did Roald Dahl in Sir Quentin Blake) or is an ingenious illustrator as well as a super storyteller such as Beatrice Potter or Richard Scarry, who used delectable animals to tell a tale, the task, of course, is easier. Full control of one’s oeuvre is ideal. And who doesn’t like animals with personalities?
Hall in “Hear All About it,” is purposely not in full control of the narrative, nor the marvelously whimsical illustrations, by Martina Motzo. Hall wanted to involve his four young girls (one was born after he was injured) in the book as he is convinced one of the hedgehogs he had on him during his horrific injuries in Ukraine and the long and painful recovery was a major reason why he survived.
In a short preface to “Hear All About It”, Hall writes: “As a journalist, I’ve always believed in the power of words – and how the right story, told at the right time, can change everything. Throughout my career reporting from conflict zones around the world, I carried a small toy hedgehog in my pocket – a gift from my children and a quiet reminder of home, love, and hope. That little hedgehog was with me when I was injured in Ukraine, and it reminded me of the quiet strength we carry with us. This book was inspired by the hedgehog, and by the bravery and kindness I see every day in my daughters.”
Although my French grandchildren are ten (a girl) and thirteen (a boy) and probably not in the targeted age group for Hall’s book, I gave the book to them to read and asked their honest opinion as I found it charming and because I’m admittedly a bit biased toward the author. Both my grandchildren loved it. Especially the ending, which is an utter surprise.
Who doesn’t love a charming surprise?
Hall has hinted that there might be sequels involving Hedgehog. I can’t wait. The author has also hinted that he might try an adult novel as well. I bet that will also be a winner. The engaging and delightful Benjamin Hall no doubt has all the material and the imagination to write a good one.
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