The Friendship Train by Debbie Levy illustrated by Boris Kulikov*

 After WWII, in 1947 Europe faces a cold winter without food. The U.S. government proposes a plan to help, but government plans take a lot of time to enact/pass. So Drew Pearson, a newspaper journalist, rallies the American people to make donations to these countries. The U.S. sends 500 boxcars of food! Children contributed a lot of these donations and were a huge force for raising money toward the cause.  In return, France expresses its gratitude by sending forty-nine boxcars with gifts to the U.S.

In the author's note, tinges of her political leanings peek through her writing.

*Highly recommend because of this little known piece of history! (at least to me!)

-Borrowed from the library.