The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II.
Illustrated by Michael Foreman
In May of 1940 - the early days of World War II - half a million British and French soldiers were trapped in France. Weak and wounded, they needed aid. Help came in the form of countless small craft, steered by brave young men, in the legendary armada of "little ships" that sailed aross the English Channel.
Many people wanted to be a part of the rescue mission. Here is the story of a girl who was so determined to help that she disguised herself as a boy to blend in with the men as they sailed toward Dunkirk.
Told through the eyes of a fisherman's daughter, this is the story of how, in May 1940, an "armada" of ordinary people in their own boats joined the British Royal Navy to help rescue soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk. More than 860 ships, many of them small river and coastal fishing craft, sailed back and forth across the British Channel for nine days ferrying trapped British and French soldiers to safer shores.
Louise Borden describes a child's involvement in this impressive naval operation and the mixture of emotions experienced - wonder at seeing so many people rallying together, pride felt at a sailor's praise, recognition of the suffering, and of the camaraderie, between soldiers of many nations, and her own fear that her brother may not be one of the lucky ones among those rescued.
