During the occupation twenty French children were taken to a refuge in the mountains by a wise Sister. To their school came ten refugee children who had to be hidden from the Nazis. The way Sister and the children connive to hide their guests and outwit the Nazis makes a most convincing tale of courage and kindness.

Mrs. Bishop has made several visits to France since the war. A friend of hers, a teacher in a country school, told Mrs. Bishop how her pupils had hidden refugee children in just this way, shared their food with them, prepared a hideout in a cave, and kept watch over the valley. This is only one of many such incidents that took place all over the country.

The boys and girls in Twenty and Ten are fifth-graders, but the story has much to say to children of any age. Claire Bishop writes with great poignancy. Her stories are always a mixture of realism and idealism; she knows the sorrows that life can bring, but she also knows the wonderful ways in which children and grownups can rise above adversity. Her characters have individuality and strength and, like their author, unusual charm.

William Pène du Bois is an American artist who has lived in Paris for many years. He has made special trips to the region Mrs. Bishop describes, so that his drawings truly capture the beauty and flavor of the story.

From the dust jacket