A wonderful intelligent, faith-filled story of courage and hope in the midst of great hardships The story centers around a Catholic family in Holland during the Nazi occupation. There is plenty of excitement as the boys discover and give aid to a downed English pilot and deliver messages for the "underground." Their family "grows" as they take in fugitives and war orphans which brings both hardship and joy.
The amazing true story of how the people of Denmark secretly transported their Jewish countrymen by boat to safety in Sweden during World War II is told through the eyes of a girl and her family who assist in this effort. Suspense and action are intertwined with fascinating historical details of how the Danes succeeded in this endeavor right under the noses of the Nazis. There are some beautiful comments about the heroism of King Christian X and the devotion of his people toward him. There is a curious statement by the author at one point that the girl and her mother have become equals.
Escape from Warsaw, also known as the Silver Sword, is a very historically accurate account (based on a conglomeration of many true stories) of a Polish family who are separated by war and struggle and find each other again through many hardships. An interesting and likeable story beloved by many, it's a great read for ages ten and up.
Kidnapped as a baby, Tony, now age 12, was raised as a German. In fact, as he grew up with an entirely different identity as "Max", he never had any reason to believe that he was anything but German. Suddenly, through a strange twist of fate, he is returned to his rightful home in England and his true identity, but on the "wrong" side of the war.
After being very impressed with Constance Savery's insightful writing style and unique plot line in The Reb and the Redcoats, I had rather high expectations for Enemy Brothers. I wasn't disappointed in the least. This story is set in the early years of World War II (before the United States joined the Allied Forces) and tells of a young British man (Dym) whose toddler-aged brother was kidnapped from their large family ten years earlier.
A well-written and engaging account, based on the author's experiences of a young (non-religious) Jewish girl and her family who escape from Germany in the 1930s and live for a time in Switzerland and then France before finally moving on to England. We see the escalation of Hitler's Germany from somewhat of a distance and the struggles of a displaced family trying to stay out of Hitler's reach (the father was a well-known writer who eventually has a price put on his head by Hitler).
A very remarkable true story of twenty Catholic children, living in the country (to escape the war) with their teacher (a Catholic nun) who agree to hide ten Jewish children from the Nazis. The children show great heroism in offering to share even their meager food and bedding with these children and bravely face the Nazis alone while their teacher is detained. The story is a bit suspenseful, but ends beautifully (and a bit poetically) and could be read-aloud to fairly young children (Approximately 4th grade reading level). Highly recommended!
This is the exciting story of the heroic children of Norway who secretly smuggled their country's wealth in gold on sleds past Nazi occupiers so that it could be shipped to America and kept out of the hands of the Nazis. The story is exciting and involves great dangers, but is carefully crafted within a setting that is not too intense for children. Written in the early years of World War II, it includes interesting details that our modern history books seem to forget.
This book contains true stories of remarkable people (mostly Christians, including many Catholics) who saved the lives of Jews from the Nazis in World War II. According to this book, despite six million Jews killed by the Nazis, it is estimated that two million Jewish children were saved by rescuers such as the sampling presented in these stories. It is estimated that the number of rescuers (those who harbored Jews in their homes, transported them to safety, etc.) is anywhere from fifty-thousand to five hundred thousand.
The stories here include:
This is the dramatic story (and probably true or based-on-a-true story) of a young boy in Japanese-occupied China who is separated from his parents and baby sister. He travels with his pet pig through dangerous territory and aids a wounded American airman. Still seeking his parents, he is adopted by the airmen (sixty "fathers") at an American military base who fly him about the area to find his parents in gratitude for his assistance to their fellow soldier.