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The Dolphin Crossing
An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here.
A small boat helps the evacuation from Dunkirk.
A small boat helps the evacuation from Dunkirk.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
2 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Jill Paton Walsh
74Ìýbooks215ÌýfollowersJill Paton Walsh was born Gillian Bliss in London on April 29th, 1937. She was educated at St. Michael's Convent, North Finchley, and at St. Anne's College, Oxford. From 1959 to 1962 she taught English at Enfield Girls' Grammar School.
Jill Paton Walsh has won the Book World Festival Award, 1970, for Fireweed; the Whitbread Prize, 1974 (for a Children's novel) for The Emperor's Winding Sheet; The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award 1976 for Unleaving; The Universe Prize, 1984 for A Parcel of Patterns; and the Smarties Grand Prix, 1984, for Gaffer Samson's Luck.
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Jill Paton Walsh has won the Book World Festival Award, 1970, for Fireweed; the Whitbread Prize, 1974 (for a Children's novel) for The Emperor's Winding Sheet; The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award 1976 for Unleaving; The Universe Prize, 1984 for A Parcel of Patterns; and the Smarties Grand Prix, 1984, for Gaffer Samson's Luck.
Series:
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Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 17, 2017
When my brother came to visit this summer, we discussed the movie "Dunkirk" and how impressed I was when asking my father if he wanted to see it with us, he proceeded to tell me all about the battle. He had learned about this part of WWII's history by reading the newspapers as a 9 year old boy! So when my brother told me that one of his favorite books growing up was "The Dolphin Crossing," I shouldn't have been surprised.
I saved the title and went online to order "The Dolphin Crossing" when my brother left. My mother and I both wanted to read it. It is no longer in print, but I did find one used copy on Amazon and immediately bought it. Wonderful story about two young boys during the Dunkirk time period. I could picture my brother reading it the whole time. Cried at the end. I loved it, too. Highly recommend.
I saved the title and went online to order "The Dolphin Crossing" when my brother left. My mother and I both wanted to read it. It is no longer in print, but I did find one used copy on Amazon and immediately bought it. Wonderful story about two young boys during the Dunkirk time period. I could picture my brother reading it the whole time. Cried at the end. I loved it, too. Highly recommend.
October 29, 2013
I thought this was quite, quite well done, and it surprised me a great deal in a chapter book, to have such emotional nuance and no authorial voice coming down on one side or another. A great deal of ambiguity wrapped up in the history, and the real question of heroism, if it is in the doing or the end.
January 3, 2022
I was hoping to really enjoy this story as it is about Dunkirk and the little boats that helped with the evacuation. Some of it I did really like. I enjoyed John and Pat and their friendship. I liked seeing them work together to help someone.
But then it came to the actual evacuation of Dunkirk and the author must not have known her history. In this story the German planes came and bombed and shot the men on the beach. In reality the German planes near Dunkirk were grounded because of heavy fog, rain, and clouds. The skies over Dunkirk were clear and the English Channel was like a millpond. In the book, however, one day was clear and the next was really foggy and cloudy and no rescue work could be done for a while. Also the Channel wasn’t completely calm in the story which would have meant that most of the small boats couldn't do what they did.
I also did not like the ending where one character disappears and everyone speculates about what happened to him and if his boat sunk or not and then the story ends without resolving any of it.
There is some swearing in this book which I didn’t like.
But then it came to the actual evacuation of Dunkirk and the author must not have known her history. In this story the German planes came and bombed and shot the men on the beach. In reality the German planes near Dunkirk were grounded because of heavy fog, rain, and clouds. The skies over Dunkirk were clear and the English Channel was like a millpond. In the book, however, one day was clear and the next was really foggy and cloudy and no rescue work could be done for a while. Also the Channel wasn’t completely calm in the story which would have meant that most of the small boats couldn't do what they did.
I also did not like the ending where one character disappears and everyone speculates about what happened to him and if his boat sunk or not and then the story ends without resolving any of it.
There is some swearing in this book which I didn’t like.
October 10, 2021
I thought this was another book from when I was younger (you know, about actual dolphins...) but I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was about Dunkirk! That's one of my favourite stories from history.
The protagonists are about my age (17-ish), and I think the violence that comes later in the book is also not very suitable for people younger than 15. Then again, I read the Hunger Games at age 12 (not my mom's fault, I found it in a hotel), so maybe I'm being too protective of the smaller ones.
Anyway. I was glad that the book adressed issues like passivism (the kind where people don't wanna fight). The protagonist is mad that his older brother, Andrew, doesn't want to fight in the war, and has some pretty good arguments for it. Then, when he sees the death and destruction at Dunkirk and realises that's what his side would have to do as well, he sees why Andrew wouldn't want to be a soldier. Later, Andrew tells him he would have done the same (i.e. also go help evacuate soldiers from Dunkirk), showing he is no coward. In the end, the book makes no judgement but does make some very good points for both sides.
I wasn't so sure what I thought of John's mistrust of the boat caretaker. The man does turn out to be selling things on the black market, but other that he's okay. John, however, blackmails and dislikes him for some reason... it's a bit weird.
All in all, I liked the book, despite some of my problems with the climax. It was a fun, but also very sad, image of what it was like there at Dunkirk. Definitely worth a read
The protagonists are about my age (17-ish), and I think the violence that comes later in the book is also not very suitable for people younger than 15. Then again, I read the Hunger Games at age 12 (not my mom's fault, I found it in a hotel), so maybe I'm being too protective of the smaller ones.
Anyway. I was glad that the book adressed issues like passivism (the kind where people don't wanna fight). The protagonist is mad that his older brother, Andrew, doesn't want to fight in the war, and has some pretty good arguments for it. Then, when he sees the death and destruction at Dunkirk and realises that's what his side would have to do as well, he sees why Andrew wouldn't want to be a soldier. Later, Andrew tells him he would have done the same (i.e. also go help evacuate soldiers from Dunkirk), showing he is no coward. In the end, the book makes no judgement but does make some very good points for both sides.
I wasn't so sure what I thought of John's mistrust of the boat caretaker. The man does turn out to be selling things on the black market, but other that he's okay. John, however, blackmails and dislikes him for some reason... it's a bit weird.
All in all, I liked the book, despite some of my problems with the climax. It was a fun, but also very sad, image of what it was like there at Dunkirk. Definitely worth a read
July 27, 2011
I know I should never judge a book by its cover, but I put off reading The Dolphin Crossing for a long time simply because I didn’t like the cover of the copy I had. Silly reason I know, especially since it turned out to be such a good book.
The Dolphin Crossing begins in the spring of 1940 and tells the story of two teenage boys from very different backgrounds and circumstances brought together because of the World War II. John Aston, 17, lives with his mother in a cottage on their seaside estate after the army requisitions their main house for the war effort. Pat Riley, 14, is a London evacuee living in an abandoned railroad coach in the middle of a cow pasture with his pregnant step-mom. Their paths cross when John stops a group of rowdy boys from picking on Pat after school and then walks him home. He stays and has tea, but he is clearly disturbed by the horrid living situation of the Rileys.
Later that day, John’s mother suggests they take a walk and John takes her over to meet the Rileys. Pat and John’s mothers hit it off immediately, as John suspected they would, especially since John has an ulterior motive for taking his mom there. Back home, he asks if they could make their empty stable habitable for the Rileys to live in. It takes a lot of work, but Pat knows something about carpentry and how to mix cement for a new floor. Cement could still be bought but sand for it couldn’t, so the boys decide to head to the beach at night and get the sand there. After returning home, Pat discovers he has lost the watch his dad had given him at the beach. That night, the boys go back to the beach to look for it and discover that Crossman, the man in charge of the nearby shipyard, is dealing in black market petrol.
Eventually, Pat and John finish converting the stable into a very pleasant place to live, with electricity, private sleeping quarters, bathroom and kitchen facilities and even a living room. Even Mrs. Aston helps out with curtains, furniture and baby things she had saved from her own sons. Mrs. Riley is surprised and happy with her new home, but goes into labor shortly after she and Pat move in.
Now, though, with their project finished, John has time on his hands and one day, while out, he notices a lot of small boats heading out to sea and can hear the sounds of bombs and guns across the channel in France. Figuring out what the boats are doing, John and Pat decide to join the flotilla, taking the Aston boat, the Dolphin, over to Dunkirk to try to save as many soldiers as possible. John blackmails Crossman into getting the boat ready for the trip by threatening to expose his black market scam. John is a very good sailor, but Pat had never even seen the sea until he was evacuated, let alone sail on it. Nevertheless, they make it to Dunkirk, where they make numerous trips ferrying soldiers from the beach to the waiting ship, the HMS Wakeful. Exhausted, they finally are forced to leave Dunkirk with a boatload of sailors and head back to England, but not before John sees the Wakeful torpedoed by a German U-boat. Feeling completely disheartened, John believes that all their work was for nothing:
A great gust of rage swept over John. All that work; the long day yesterday, the danger they had borne, the risks they has run, all for nothing. All so that those hundreds of soldiers could drown instead of being shot. (pg 116)
When they get back home, John takes the sailors to his mother’s house, believing she would be able to take care of them, which, naturally, she did. John is also surprised to find his father home too. This is, of course, not the end. Pat has disappeared along with the Dolphin. Now the question is why and to where?
The Dolphin Crossing is a short book that covers a lot of ground. The most striking aspect of the book is the way it brings out class differences. It begins by showing how the people could and probably did get lost in the shuffle during the evacuation. Many people did not accept working class evacuees from London into their homes with open arms. Consequently, it is easy to believe that a poor, pregnant woman could end up in a railroad coach with no running water nearby, as opposed to the Astons who were able to just move into their nice habitable cottage. John’s father is a captain in the merchant navy; Pat’s father is a soldier in the infantry on the continent. John is being taught by a private tutor, but was at boarding school before the war. Pat must stay in school past the school leaving age in order to get some skilled labor training. Yet, while the reader is very aware of the class difference, it is not really a problem for the two main characters themselves. Both are lonely, restless boys who want to do something for the war, like their dads, but are just too young. John also has an older brother whom he looks up to, but he is a conscientious objector. Not much is made of this, except that Pat finds it disgraceful and lets John know how he feels in no uncertain terms. By polarizing the two characters, Walsh has drawn a picture of how the war has a unifying effect on them through their desire to do something to help the war effort.
The novel’s ending is left open, forcing the reader to think about what happened and decide for themselves whether Pat’s disappearance was an act of heroism or simply schoolboy foolishness. And now you may want to read it to find out what I am talking about. For that reason, and because this was a well done historical novel, I highly recommend this book.
This book is recommended for readers� age 10-14
This book was purchased for my personal library.
The Dolphin Crossing begins in the spring of 1940 and tells the story of two teenage boys from very different backgrounds and circumstances brought together because of the World War II. John Aston, 17, lives with his mother in a cottage on their seaside estate after the army requisitions their main house for the war effort. Pat Riley, 14, is a London evacuee living in an abandoned railroad coach in the middle of a cow pasture with his pregnant step-mom. Their paths cross when John stops a group of rowdy boys from picking on Pat after school and then walks him home. He stays and has tea, but he is clearly disturbed by the horrid living situation of the Rileys.
Later that day, John’s mother suggests they take a walk and John takes her over to meet the Rileys. Pat and John’s mothers hit it off immediately, as John suspected they would, especially since John has an ulterior motive for taking his mom there. Back home, he asks if they could make their empty stable habitable for the Rileys to live in. It takes a lot of work, but Pat knows something about carpentry and how to mix cement for a new floor. Cement could still be bought but sand for it couldn’t, so the boys decide to head to the beach at night and get the sand there. After returning home, Pat discovers he has lost the watch his dad had given him at the beach. That night, the boys go back to the beach to look for it and discover that Crossman, the man in charge of the nearby shipyard, is dealing in black market petrol.
Eventually, Pat and John finish converting the stable into a very pleasant place to live, with electricity, private sleeping quarters, bathroom and kitchen facilities and even a living room. Even Mrs. Aston helps out with curtains, furniture and baby things she had saved from her own sons. Mrs. Riley is surprised and happy with her new home, but goes into labor shortly after she and Pat move in.
Now, though, with their project finished, John has time on his hands and one day, while out, he notices a lot of small boats heading out to sea and can hear the sounds of bombs and guns across the channel in France. Figuring out what the boats are doing, John and Pat decide to join the flotilla, taking the Aston boat, the Dolphin, over to Dunkirk to try to save as many soldiers as possible. John blackmails Crossman into getting the boat ready for the trip by threatening to expose his black market scam. John is a very good sailor, but Pat had never even seen the sea until he was evacuated, let alone sail on it. Nevertheless, they make it to Dunkirk, where they make numerous trips ferrying soldiers from the beach to the waiting ship, the HMS Wakeful. Exhausted, they finally are forced to leave Dunkirk with a boatload of sailors and head back to England, but not before John sees the Wakeful torpedoed by a German U-boat. Feeling completely disheartened, John believes that all their work was for nothing:
A great gust of rage swept over John. All that work; the long day yesterday, the danger they had borne, the risks they has run, all for nothing. All so that those hundreds of soldiers could drown instead of being shot. (pg 116)
When they get back home, John takes the sailors to his mother’s house, believing she would be able to take care of them, which, naturally, she did. John is also surprised to find his father home too. This is, of course, not the end. Pat has disappeared along with the Dolphin. Now the question is why and to where?
The Dolphin Crossing is a short book that covers a lot of ground. The most striking aspect of the book is the way it brings out class differences. It begins by showing how the people could and probably did get lost in the shuffle during the evacuation. Many people did not accept working class evacuees from London into their homes with open arms. Consequently, it is easy to believe that a poor, pregnant woman could end up in a railroad coach with no running water nearby, as opposed to the Astons who were able to just move into their nice habitable cottage. John’s father is a captain in the merchant navy; Pat’s father is a soldier in the infantry on the continent. John is being taught by a private tutor, but was at boarding school before the war. Pat must stay in school past the school leaving age in order to get some skilled labor training. Yet, while the reader is very aware of the class difference, it is not really a problem for the two main characters themselves. Both are lonely, restless boys who want to do something for the war, like their dads, but are just too young. John also has an older brother whom he looks up to, but he is a conscientious objector. Not much is made of this, except that Pat finds it disgraceful and lets John know how he feels in no uncertain terms. By polarizing the two characters, Walsh has drawn a picture of how the war has a unifying effect on them through their desire to do something to help the war effort.
The novel’s ending is left open, forcing the reader to think about what happened and decide for themselves whether Pat’s disappearance was an act of heroism or simply schoolboy foolishness. And now you may want to read it to find out what I am talking about. For that reason, and because this was a well done historical novel, I highly recommend this book.
This book is recommended for readers� age 10-14
This book was purchased for my personal library.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2024
Rating this a 3 more as a place-holder.
I read this book as a child as an English study novel.
That I remember the book says volumes, and I'd really like to read it again as an adult.
Unfortunately, I'm very time poor so the vast majority of my leisure reading is "Audibooks on Audible" and Audible don't have the Dolphin Crossing.
I'm sure I'll read it again one day, and come back to give it a more honest review.
I read this book as a child as an English study novel.
That I remember the book says volumes, and I'd really like to read it again as an adult.
Unfortunately, I'm very time poor so the vast majority of my leisure reading is "Audibooks on Audible" and Audible don't have the Dolphin Crossing.
I'm sure I'll read it again one day, and come back to give it a more honest review.
September 30, 2017
Read this book many, many years ago as a young teenager and remember how it made me feel to this day: uplifted by the characters' courage and, at the same time, strangely melancholic. Rating based more on nostalgia than recollection of the storyline.
September 27, 2019
Backdrop of WW2. Theme of friendship.
October 11, 2024
Very well written, tense, well paced & doesn't shirk the realities of war. Billed as 'for readers of ten and over' but I wouldn't give this to a child under 13 to read because of its subject matter.
March 12, 2016
John and Pat, two boys from completely different worlds, meet and become friends in England. Both boys are disappointed to be just a little too young to enlist in the war that has taken both of their fathers off to fight. Then John and Pat find a way to do something to help the war effort.
An amazing story of bravery and courage.
An amazing story of bravery and courage.
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