Heiligman, D. (2019) Torpedoed: The true story of the world war II sinking of the "children's ship." Henry Holt & Co.
Summary
During World War II, many parents thought it would be safer for their children to be sent overseas away from Britain, as they were being bombed daily. When the boat, City of Benares, was in the water, their naval escort left to attend to another assignment. While this happened, a German U-Boat, unknowing the 100+ children on board, bombed the Benares, killing over 250 of the 400+ people on board.
A Teacher's Perspective
I chose this book from the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults list.
How did I have no idea this incident occurred? Most of the things I learned in college about WWII focused on the Holocaust, but they weren't the only people suffering. I think this book would be a great addition to a World War II unit in a classroom, just to show them that the war was more than the Holocaust. It would be a great segue into a Holocaust unit, especially knowing that the ages of the children would make the book more relatable to the students reading it.
Want to know more?
To purchase your own copy of Torpedoed: Click here!
Here is a link to a teachers guide in order to use this in the classroom:
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