Jump into the Sky by Shelley Pearsall (author) (US edition)

The gripping story of one boy’s life-changing trip across postwar America: perfect if you enjoy Michelle Magorian, Michael Morpurgo or Judy Blundell. It’s 1945, and Levi Battle is living with his Aunt Odella while his father serves in the US Army. As the Second World War ends, Aunt Odella decides it’s time Levi did some leaving of his own and sends him on a train from Chicago to North Carolina. Carrying nothing but a suitcase and a bag of fried chicken, Levi heads south in search of his father’s elite unit of all-black paratroopers. On his journey, Levi learns a lot about how a black boy is treated in the Deep South. And while the war may be ending, his father’s dangerous secret mission is just beginning…