Friends in strange garments

In Short

Written by Anna Milo Upjohn for the American National Red Cross, Friends in Strange Garments is a collection of geographically diverse stories depicting the daily lives of children in the 1920s across Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Italy, and France. Through simple narrative arcs involving lost pets, school entrance exams, local festivals, and minor family crises, each chapter highlights a young protagonist navigating a unique cultural landscape. The book has endured as an authentic historical portrait of interwar global childhood, emphasizing shared human warmth over political or regional divisions.

The Story

The book opens in the arid Jordan Valley of Palestine, where young Rahmeh tends black lambs while watching her father journey toward Jerusalem. When a sudden storm threatens the valley and a wild beast stalks her path, she safely drives her flock to shelter. In Greece, children play amidst ancient temple ruins at Olympia, meeting a traveling foreign painter, while on the island of Crete, young Nikola constructs a fragile paper lantern to sing traditional carols outside busy cafes on Christmas Eve.

Moving into the Balkans, Draga travels by ox-cart along the ancient Via Egnatia to enter school in Monastir, Macedonia, overcoming her fear of failure and discovering that the Bulgarian girls she was taught to distrust are kind companions. In the mountains of Albania, Rastem faces the terrifying prospect of a blood feud that obliges him to harm his best friend, Marko; together, the boys clever resolve the crisis by declaring a lifelong besa, or sacred truce. In Montenegro, Zorka tearfully parts with her pet pigs at the village market to save her family from financial debt, while in Bulgaria, young Todor travels to Sofia for medical treatment after a mad dog bite, unexpectedly posing with a pink squash for an artist's portrait.

Further north, Romanian siblings Stefano and Ileana discover a natural "fairy ring" of mushrooms, using their magical wishes to gain a ride in an automobile with a veiled woman who turns out to be the Queen. In Czechoslovakia, Jaroslav the cowherd sets out with his violin to seek his fortune, while in another district, Masha and Treska explore a mountain cave to free an underground stream. In Poland, an orphaned boy named Michael bears the burden of supporting his younger siblings until he agrees to move them to a communal farm school, ensuring their safety and education.

In Italy, Elena generously sacrifices her prized Easter ciambella cake to share it with a poorer neighbor who has prayed for a treat. Finally, on the storm-swept coast of Brittany in France, young Michel works gathering seaweed to help support his household while fearing his sailor uncle has been lost at sea. The journey ends joyfully when his uncle returns rescued from a shipwreck, and Michel helps carve a wooden vessel to hang in the local church as a thank-offering for his safe return.

How It Unfolds

A storm over the Dead Sea Rahmeh secures her father's long-legged lambs into saddlebags as grey clouds and a skulking predator loom over the sand dunes. She navigates the rocky sheep tracks to bring her animals home safely before the weather breaks.

Carols beneath Venetian walls Nikola builds a elaborate paper lantern in a windless cave outside Candia, hoping to outshine his rival Philippu. On Christmas Eve, he carries his glowing creation through the streets to sing traditional carols for diners at the city's main restaurant.

A pact under the olive tree Faced with a traditional feud that commands him to shoot his companion Marko, Rastem invokes custom to find a peaceful alternative. The two Albanian boys swear a lifelong besa, or solemn truce, protecting their friendship forever.

The fairy ring on the hillside Stefano and Ileana discover a ring of white toadstools while resting under a beech tree with their baby brother. Their innocent wish for an adventure comes true when a passing motorist in a headscarf gives them a ride and turns out to be the Queen.

Michael makes up his mind Struggling to manage a family farm and care for three younger siblings in post-war Poland, Michael tests out a communal farm school. Seeing his brothers and sisters thrive in the cheerful environment, he commits to staying and learning modern agriculture.

The return of the sea-cropper After days of gathering heavy seaweed along the Breton coast, Michel fears his beloved Uncle Ives has drowned in a gale. His despair turns to relief when a rescue boat brings his uncle home with only a broken leg.

The People

• Rahmeh is a young pastoral girl in Palestine who desires to keep her family's livestock safe amidst harsh terrain and sudden wilderness hazards. She shows steady responsibility when trusted with vulnerable young animals.
• Nikola is a choirboy in Crete who wants to earn money to buy his mother a rich holiday cake. He channels his creative energy into building a glowing paper lantern to compete with local street performers.
• Draga is a Macedonian schoolgirl who fears failing her entrance examinations and being separated from her family. Through her studies, she overcomes regional prejudices and forms a deep friendship with a Bulgarian classmate.
• Rastem is an Albanian boy torn between regional expectations of a ancestral blood feud and his devotion to his friend Marko. He uses his intellect to find a traditional legal loophole that guarantees mutual peace.
• Zorka is a Montenegrin girl who wants to protect her two pet pigs from being punished for destroying meal at the local watermill. Though heartbroken, she accepts selling them at market to fulfill her duty to her family.
• Michael is an orphaned Polish youth who wants to provide a stable home for his three younger siblings. He carries adult burdens until he finds relief and a path forward at a rural farm school.
• Michel is a hardworking Breton boy who harvests storm-tossed seaweed to earn wages while waiting for his uncle's fishing vessel to return. His anxiety transforms into deep gratitude upon his relative's unexpected survival.

In Its Own Voice

"The pictures in this book were drawn with the purpose of showing differences in externals among peoples of different nations. The stories were written to bring home to us the likeness in heart among the boys and girls of the world."

The author establishes her core editorial intent in the introduction, framing the collection's focus on universal human nature beneath varied cultural traditions.

" ‘Look here, Marko,’ said Rastem, ‘why can’t we end this feud, not by shooting each other, but by swearing a besa for the rest of our lives? The old quarrel isn’t our affair, but the besa will be, and we’ve got to keep it.’ "

During a tense confrontation in Albania, Rastem proposes a creative application of local custom to transform an inherited hostility into a binding promise of peace.

" ‘You and Stefano wished for small things,’ said their mother, ‘but for the big things of life you must work as well as wish. It is through work that Branko will find his home.’ "

Following their encounter with the Queen, a Romanian mother gently reminds her children that meaningful life achievements require sustained effort rather than magical thinking.

What It's Really About

At its core, the book explores the fundamental unity of childhood across national, ethnic, and religious boundaries. Written in the decade following the First World War, the text implicitly responds to the fragmentation of Europe and the Middle East by highlighting the shared moral baseline of young people. Across every territory, children face similar internal choices: balancing duty to family against personal desires, conquering fear of the unknown, and extending kindness to outsiders. Upjohn argues that regional dress, architectural styles, and local dialects are merely external variations; the underlying values of compassion, hard work, and loyalty remain identical whether in a Breton fishing village, a Macedonian classroom, or a Palestinian valley.

Why Read It Today

Friends in Strange Garments offers readers a gentle, historically vivid portrait of interwar life across Europe and the Near East. Written with clarity and authentic regional detail, it will appeal to readers interested in historical juvenile literature, vintage travel narratives, and post-WWI cultural history. The prose is direct and accessible, free from unnecessary embellishment, relying instead on concrete details—the smell of huckleberry buns in a Slovakian cabin, the construction of a paper lantern in Crete, or the mechanics of an Albanian ox-cart on a Roman road.

Modern readers should note that the book reflects the perspective of its 1920s American author, complete with period sensibilities regarding international cultures. Its episodic structure means there is no single overarching plot; rather, it functions as a mosaic of regional vignettes. For those willing to engage with its episodic format, the book provides a charming, grounded, and empathetic window into a bygone era, showing how children across diverse landscapes navigated the timeless challenges of growing up.