I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944 (I Survived #18)
This book is a part of the I Survived series written for upper elementary students. Each book transports the reader to a significant event in history with a first-person narrative of the occurrence.
Set in June 1944, the story is told by eleven-year-old Paul Colbert as he witnesses the fiery crash of an Allied plane on a cliff above Omaha Beach. Then the story backs up and gives the reader firsthand information in the backstory of D-Day. Paul is growing up in the town of Le Roc, France when World War II begins. Five years later he is walking near the cliffs when a pigeon swoops down from the sky and badgers Paul to follow him. What Paul finds is an Allied soldier caught in a parachute high up in a tree.
Paul helps the paratrooper escape to an old abandoned castle, where they reconnect with members of the French Resistance. Together they help sabotage weapons that the Nazis have hidden. Then, captured by the Nazis, Paul fears for his life, just as the Allied invasion of Normandy, D-Day, begins.
Extremely well researched and packed full of action, this book should appeal to both boys and girls. Young readers will especially appreciate the extensive information provided by the author in the back pages, complete with drawings and copies of photos from the war. Highly recommended.
