The Lions' Run - Sara Pennypacker

The New York Times bestselling author of Pax delivers an incredible WWII animal rescue adventure, about an orphan who discovers unexpected courage when he becomes involved with the Resistance.

Petit éclair. That''s what the other boys at the orphanage call Lucas DuBois. Lucas is tired of his cowardly reputation, just as he''s tired of the war and the Nazi occupation of his French village. He longs to show how brave he can be.

He gets the chance when he saves a litter of kittens from cruel boys and brings them to an abandoned stable to care for them. There he comes upon a stranger who is none too happy to see him: Alice, the daughter of a British horse trainer, who is hiding her filly from German soldiers.

Soon Lucas begins to realise they are not the only ones in the village with secrets. The housekeeper at the German maternity home and a priest at the orphanage pass coded messages; a young mother at the home makes dangerous plans to keep her baby from forced adoption; and a neighbour in town may be harbouring a Jewish family.

Emboldened by the unlikely heroes all around him, Lucas is forced to decide how much he is willing to risk to make the most courageous rescue of all.

Perfect for fans of Ross Montgomery, Phil Earle and Michael Morpurgo, this accessible novel, told in short chapters, illuminates a little-known aspect of World War II history.

"Lucas DuBois is proof that a mere kitten can be the bravest of lions by always standing up for what''s right." Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee