Coastwatcher by Elise Weston
This historical fiction takes place in South Carolina during World War ll. Eleven year-old Hugh and his family and cousin Tom are staying on the coast to be far-away from an epidemic of polio going around their town. As the title and cover suggest, Hugh spends his time watching the coast and he actually sees what he thinks is a periscope of a German submarine. His dad must leave for awhile doing a Civil Defense job and tells Hugh to keep a log of what he observes and finds washed up on the shore. Hugh's vacation home is near a Navel Base and the family sees German Prisoners of War taking a swim. The book has factual information about the war and information about what life was like during that time period.