In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Lauren Tarshis shines a spotlight on the story of the Normandy landings, the largest seaborne invasion in history, and the foundation for the Allied victory in World War II.

3^rd Grade and Up

A battle that would change the course of World War II . . .

Eleven-year-old Paul’s French village has been under Nazi control for years. His Jewish best friend has disappeared. Food is scarce. And there doesn’t seem to be anything Paul can do to make things better.

Then Paul finds an American paratrooper in a tree near his home. The soldier says the Allies have a plan to crush the Nazis once and for all. But the soldier needs Paul’s help.

This is Paul’s chance to make a difference. Soon he finds himself in the midst of the largest invasion in history. Can he do his part to turn horror into hope?

Lauren Tarshis has really outdone herself this time.

This is the third book in this series to take place during World War II, the first being I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941, and the second being I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lauran Tarshis plans to write more books about this time period. So many historical fiction books are written about WWII because there are so many events and different point-of-views to write about.

I probably learned about D-Day back in school, but I don’t remember a word of it (I do remember learning about the Holocaust). Trust me when I say that the detailed information in this story will sink in more than anything in a textbook could.

The absolute best part of this story is a certain character whose inspiration brought this whole story together and has more bravery and loyalty than anyone else: Ellie the Pigeon! You’ll have to read the book to learn more about this little bird who is a light of hope in the darkness of war.

The one thing I wanted to learn most from this book was “Why is it called D-Day?” For some reason, this is never explained. I looked it up online, and according to the LA Times website, “the D simply stands for ‘day.’ The designation was traditionally used for the date of any important military operation or invasion, according to the National World War II Museum.” The best-known D-Day was on June 6, 1944, the day of the Normandy landings, that is why that day was nicknamed ‘D-Day.’

This week’s Weird but True Fact about World War II

During World War II, British intelligence learned of a Nazi plot to kill Prime Minister Winston Churchill with exploding chocolate bars.