The Lost Orphans (The Runaway Evacuees)
The Lost Orphans is a heart-warming tale of a group of orphans in London during the Blitz. They team up to survive, aided by a French nightclub singer and a mysterious government employee, Mr. Wyngate, who gives them his name but will not reveal his job. These “Blitz Kids” rescue those in peril by, for example, guiding them to the safety of Underground stations, stopping those who are approaching an unexploded bomb, and freeing a woman trapped in her burning home. A journalist writes about their exploits, the nightclub singer provides them lodging and food, and Mr. Wyngate appears at optimal times for necessary support.
Though it’s impossible not to root for the children, it’s sometimes hard to applaud their leaving the safety of an Underground station to find someone to help or escaping from a social services person who wants to provide them with a foster home. Yes, they might be sent back to the mean nuns or into the country to a not-so-pleasant farm, but wouldn’t they be safer? Like the Boxcar Children series from years past, the children’s story could also be recast as a children’s book, as it has the requisite good and bad characters mixed with adventurous and inventive children. In its present form, the children’s exploits are interwoven with the adults’ stories, allowing the two generations to support and rescue each other.
