The Orphans of Normandy : A True Story of World War II Told Through Drawings by Children [Hardcover]

Nancy Amis (Author)

Book Description

Allons, enfants, vite, vite!

When the Allies invaded Normandy on June 6, 1944, one hundred orphaned girls were forced to flee their orphanage in Caen, France, the only home many of them had ever known. They began a trek on foot to a safer location, to Beaufort-en-Vallée, a town one hundred and fifty miles away. As the war raged on all sides of them, the girls, led by their teachers, bravely marched south, keeping one step ahead of the fighting and waving little white flags for protection. Told through their own drawings and words, this moving and timely book details their experiences on their journey to safety.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-When Allied forces invaded Normandy in the summer of 1944, 100 girls were forced to leave the orphanage that they called home on the bank of the Orne. For 38 days they lived in a mine, then walked 150 miles before they reached their destination of Beaufort-en-Vallee. This book reproduces pages from the girls' illustrated account of that time and journey. Each right-hand page offers an image from their journal. The colored pencil on newsprint pictures include the artist's name and age and are accompanied by a few lines of handwritten text in French. An English translation appears on the left in a typeface resembling handwriting of the journal. The pleasing design will invite readers to examine the detailed drawings. An introduction and afterword explain how the author's aunt received the girls' journal, a map of their journey, and the appended black-and-white photos. A straightforward, moving account of young victims of war.
Margaret R. Tassia, Millersville University, PA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. In 1944, 100 girls left their Normandy orphanage to evade the impending battle between the German and American armies. In this collection of annotated drawings, the girls describe their journey: how they hid in a mine, passed German tanks and dead soldiers, waved white flags, and finally were able to greet the American troops. The charming crayoned pictures and original French descriptions appear opposite the English translation. The girls' observations, full of small details and candid feelings, are remarkably touching nearly 60 years later. Appended photographs show the kids at their new post-war home with the author's explanation of her personal connection to the story. Libraries have material on the World War II evacuation of British children, but this is a rare glimpse of the withdrawal of French children. Although cataloged as fiction despite the subtitle, this will get the most use if placed with similar titles. Linda Perkins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum; 1 edition (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689841434
• ISBN-13: 978-0689841439
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,308,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Orphans of Normandy, February 3, 2005

By 

N. Amis (Baltimore MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Orphans of Normandy : A True Story of World War II Told Through Drawings by Children (Hardcover)

A sincerely told story shown through a picturial diary by orphan girls during the invasion of the coast of Normandy. The drawings are detailed and the story piognant, Illustrating their walk through battle torn France, finding their way to safer ground. There is a French version of the book, by the same author in collaboration with Mia Certic and a preface by Simone Veil. This version has actual quotes from the orphans as they remember the details of their journey 60 years later.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring story told in pictures!, June 30, 2003

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Orphans of Normandy : A True Story of World War II Told Through Drawings by Children (Hardcover)

For every girl who ever wanted an adventure about brave girls, this is a real one, it really did happen.

The War has been raging for five long years & when the Allies land in Normandy, one hundred girls are driven out of their orphanage, the only home they have known, by the harried German soldiers & forced to trek on foot to a safer place, some 150 miles away in the south.

Told in pencil crayon drawings, like samplers girls used to stitch, we enter their beloved world: their classrooms, sewing room, kitchen garden, chicken house; their orchard & milk cows, & their dormitory where the girls watch airraids in the sky outside of their windows.

& then their journey begins, into a forest, across a war-torn land & through ruined villages, these brave children walk in their red, white & blue dresses, carrying only a blanket, some bread & little white flags of peace.

RebeccasReads recommends THE ORPHANS OF NORMANDY as a jewel. If how girls draw the world is of any interest to you, you will be enchanted & awed by the picture story they tell. Within each page the girls wrote of what they saw (in French, naturally) & opposite is a clear & simple English translation.