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The effect that a historical incident has on history is determined by (at least) two factors: its duration and its impact on people and places. A third and fourth factors could be: how many books, fiction and non-fiction, have been produced that are set in the incident and how long after the incident occurred do books keep getting produced? World War II certainly qualifies for a profound effect based on any analysis of all four factors! There have been literally thousands of World War II books published, starting with first-hand accounts of soldiers involved in the war on to little-known aspects of the war and finally historical fiction set during the time of World War II with plots and characters influenced by the earth-shattering events happening around them.
This review is about three excellent middle-school reading-level novels that are set during World War II, and which are all based closely on real events. In chronological order, according to the time of the setting, the first novel is Silence Over Dunkerque by John R. Tunis. We usually use the English language version of this incredible evacuation in the early years of World War II – Dunkirk. Almost the entire British army, which had gone over to France and Poland in 1939 to honor Great Britain’s treaty commitment to Poland after the German invasion, was trapped against the English Channel by the surrounding German army – at Dunkirk. A fleet of small personal boats sailed across the Channel, along with the British Navy, to rescue the soldiers, who had to abandon all their heavy equipment but at least made it back safely to England. Tunis writes of one man, Sergeant Williams, who was left behind at Dunkirk but who was trying desperately to make it back home to his twin boys, who had joined the small craft flotilla to find their father. John Tunis (1889 to 1975) is best-known for his many popular sports novels for young people but he does a wonderful job spinning a dramatic, heart-warming tale in Silence Over Dunkerque. The dust jacket was drawn by the famous illustrator, Charles Geer, who also illustrated the Mad Scientist Club series, the Miss Pickerell books, and the first Alvin Fernald book.
Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop (1898 to 1993) is also based on a true story of World War II. In 1944, while the Normandy invasion was taking place, twenty French children were sent away for their safety to an old manor house high up on a mountain, cared for and taught by a single nun, Sister Gabriel. Soon after the children arrived, a member of the French Resistance asked them to secretly shelter ten Jewish children (hence the title). The young children were able to understood the gravity of the situation by comparing it to the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt to escape King Herod. The story, told from a young girl’s point of view, is delightful, at turns dramatic and serious and light-hearted and fun. The illustrations are by one of my favorites, Willam Pene du Bois (see my reviews on his books that he both wrote and illustrated). Bishop was born in Switzerland and moved to the United States when she married an American. She was a librarian, an author, and a determined opponent of antisemitism. We need more people like her today.
Finally, we have The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier. The novel is based on a true story of three Polish children, the Balicki children, who had been separated from their parents in Warsaw by the Nazis. They struggle to find their parents, both near the final fighting and after the war ends. They struggle with the Soviet Army occupation and the American Army occupation, trying to get to Switzerland where they have heard they might see their parents again. It is a grim story in some ways but it is lightened by the indomitable spirit of the four children, the three Balicki’s and their orphan friend Jan, as they survive on their own going through trials that no child should have to face. The book is sensitively illustrated by another one of my favorite illustrators, C. Walter Hodges (see my reviews of books that he both wrote and illustrated).