Rose Blanche by Roberto Innocenti and Ian McEwan

Rose Blanche witnesses an injustice when small boy is treated badly by a soldier and the town’s mayor. She does not understand why he is thrown into the back of a van so she follows it by running through the street to find out where the boy is being taken. Her discovery of children behind barbed wire further increases her unease. As a result of what she saw, Rose begins to steal food and go without food herself in order to keep the children behind the barbed wire alive. One morning the whole town begins to evacuate to escape the conquering Russian Army. But, Rose like the children does not survive.