The Little Ships

The astonishing events of the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940, when a huge fleet of tiny fishing and river craft crossed the channel in order to assist in the rescue of over three hundred thousand trapped Allied soldiers, is here recounted in a fictional narration by the daughter of a Deal fisherman who embarks with her father on the wildly quixotic mission. The mood of the time and of the voyage has been researched by Bordern, whose writing is direct, dynamic and occasionally embellished with poetic imagery. Foreman's watercolours capture the quiet atmosphere of the beach at Deal, contrasted a few pages later by the scenes of mayhem on the beaches of Dunkirk. In between, the pell-mell channel crossing by the ramshackle armada is vividly expressed in text and pictures. This is a very striking account of an inspiring episode, highly recommended for readers of all ages.