Alice at the home front

the long version

In Providence, Rhode Island, during World War II, eleven-year-old Alice is determined to contribute to the war effort as an airplane spotter. She works hard at learning to recognize U.S. and enemy planes, hoping someday to earn a medal for sighting a German Messerschmitt. When she is not spotting planes, folding bandages at the Red Cross, or preparing the house for air raids, Alice daydreams she is a heroine, sitting in a cockpit patrolling the shores and reporting enemy subs with Jimmy, her former playmate, who has joined the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). One day, her fantasy world crumbles when she learns that Jimmy's plane has disappeared in bad weather. Will the CAP find Jimmy's plane, and, if they do, will he still be alive?