Torpedoed, Deborah Heiligman
Torpedoed, Deborah Heiligman
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Torpedoed
The True Story of the World War II Sinking of "The Children's Ship"

Author: Deborah Heiligman

Narrator: Marisa Calin

Unabridged: 6 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/08/2019

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

From award-winning author Deborah Heiligman comes Torpedoed, a true account of the attack and sinking of the passenger ship SS City of Benares, which was evacuating children from England during WWII.

Amid the constant rain of German bombs and the escalating violence of World War II, British parents by the thousands chose to send their children out of the country: the wealthy, independently; the poor, through a government relocation program called CORB. In September 1940, passenger liner SS City of Benares set out in a convoy of nineteen ships sailing for Canada. On board were ninety CORB children, chaperones, and crew, along with paying passengers.

When the war ships escorting the Benares to safe waters peeled off and the way forward seemed certain, a German submarine attacked and torpedoed the Benares. What followed is an amazing example of all that people are capable of—the worst, and the best.

About Deborah Heiligman

Deborah Heiligman has written many books for children, including National Book Award Finalist Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith; Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers; and The Boy Who Loved Math. She lives with her family in New York City.

About Marisa Calin

Marisa Calin is an actress, narrator, and novelist born in England and educated in New York at the American Academy of the Dramatic Arts. An artist with a flair for everything literary, she has written a young adult novel, You & Me, which received a Kirkus Starred Review, and has narrated the audio books Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Darla

The City of Benares set off from Liverpool to deliver CORB (Children's Overseas Reception Board) children, their escorts, and group of paying passengers to Canada to keep them safe during the bombing of Great Britain in September of 1940. Unfortunately a U-boat fired a torpedo that hit the ship righ......more

Goodreads review by Charlie

The author did a great job in her research and then putting it in a gripping true story that will want you to keep those pages turning. I really like the format that Deborah Heiligman uses to tell this story. Thanks to Goodreads/author for sending me this book for an honest review in return.......more

Goodreads review by Sunday

EDGE-of-your-SEAT READ. Brilliantly written. Heiligman's research is thorough but the brilliance is in how she weaves it all together to tell this riveting story—a tragic and courageous adventure our grades 5-9 students will not forget. Chapters 1-6 introduce the reader to the time period, the contex......more

Goodreads review by Yibbie

Of all the tragedies at sea during the second world war, this is one of the saddest and least known. The opening paints a picture of the uncertainty of life in England under the threat of constant bombardment. Then she shows each family agonizingly weighing the dangers at home against the dangers......more

Goodreads review by Keturah

*listened to audio* This sort of book is the kind of tragedy kin to the children's crusade. Inspirational, yes. But mostly heart wrenching. One part I want to reflect further upon is the little girl who did not feel the experience to be traumatizing... because she knew she needn't be worried. And ye......more


Awards

  • YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
  • Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year