I thought this book was well written and very educational. Louise Borden does an excellent job of telling a true story about war in a way that kids can read. I enjoyed the fact that the story was told from a child's point of view. It is easy to look at soldiers in uniform and recognize them for their duty and honorable service. But this book is about regular people responding with all their knowledge, strength, and courage to help out in desperate times. ( )

The rescue at Dunkirk is, with good reason, considered one of the shining moments of the Second World War.

And yet, there's not much written about it for children. Isn't that funny? It has all the characteristics of a good inspiring story for them - an insurmountable difficulty, a heroic effort, many saved by the efforts of the small and weak. Heck, there isn't even any Holocaust, so it can't run into the same difficulty as many WWII era picture books.

This book is from the viewpoint of a young girl whose older brother is at war, and who helps ferry people to safety on that day. It's simply told, and while the horrors of war aren't overlooked, they're not actively shown in the pictures or dwelt upon. This book is a good one, I think, for the older reader of picture books. ( )

For grades 3-5. Illustrations drawn with pastals. Great for a history lesson. A young English girl and her father take their sturdy fishing boat and join the scores of other civilian vessels crossing the English Channel in a daring attempt to rescue Allied and British troops trapped by Nazi soldiers at Dunkirk.