The Silver Sword

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The surprises are not over, though. Ruth suddenly sees her mother, and, without words, runs to her. Though her hair is now white and there are deep lines in her face, Ruth sees nothing but happiness and deliverance.

It's based on true stories of children after the war, and these are stories children of today probably haven't heard. How do mere children survive a long trek? recaptured. He also crossed paths with a British Army officer named Mark, who wrote a letter to his wife about the chimpanzee and its antics. Found this on a list of children's classics, read with daughter (11). The story of a Polish family, broken apart in WWII. The first several chapters are about the father, who escapes from prison and heads for relatives in Switzerland after returning to a rubble-strewn Warsaw. While there, he doesn't find his family but does find a young boy, who takes a Silver Sword (really a letter opener) as a token to prove who he is should he find the other children. The rest of the story is about his three children, left alone after the mother is taken to a detention camp. They find the boy with the sword and make their way to Switzerland also, among many adventures. Realising that their parents may still be alive, Ruth and Bronia set off on an epic journey to Switzerland to search for them. With Jan by their side, they are determined to reunite the family – and their first step is to find Edek. But the road ahead is full of danger and hardship, and they will facemany challenges along the way... I remember reading this book as a child and finding it very enjoyable and exciting. The book is a great adventure story that gives a lot of social history to kids about life as a child refugee in destroyed post-war Europe. At the time it was written it was unique in that respect taking on such harsh subject matter and presenting it with sensitivity to a young audience.

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Murphy, Joan. (1969). “Bodley Head’s new venture in American writing for teenagers”. The School Librarian. HEB NW 8/10_Pigman An abandoned rowboat nears them on the dirt flooding river. Ruth reaches for it and succeeds in grabbing it with Jan’s help, but she curses him bitterly for caring more about his dog than people. She tells him to go to Ludwig, and that she and Bronia don’t need him.

On the day that he was due to collect them, it had not rained for several weeks and there were storm clouds in the sky. The children decided to walk to an outcrop along the shore of the lake to see the boat coming across the lake. They crossed a dried up stream to get to the outcrop, but Edek was feeling tired, so they left him on the other side of the stream resting in an old boat. Before they could reach the outcrop a gigantic thunderstorm broke, sending down a heavy downpour which turned the stream into a raging torrent. They then saw Edek in the boat out on the lake and Ludwig going berserk with fear behind them. They managed to get into a boat that had come downstream and try and rescue Edek. Ruth fainted but Jan chose to rescue Edek and leave the dog to his fate. I am sad to say that The Silver Sword wasn’t a magical experience the second time around. The story is simplistic, the characters are one-dimensional and the happy-ending is unrealistic. That said, it in no way diminishes my memories of what I loved about the book 30-odd years ago. Then the trials of these children: their hunt for safe places to sleep, finding food, trying to stay out of the way of the Nazis, searching for their parents, was both thrilling and heart-wrenching. I can only attribute my disappointment to the fact that I am older and jaded.When the cage stops, a flashlight illuminates Joseph’s face. Joseph is holding a large chunk of chocolate that appears like a gun in the dark; he says he has a revolver pointed, and if the person makes a sound, he will shoot. The voice swears in Polish, not German, so Joseph’s manner becomes gentler. He tells the man to unload the cage and to take him to where he lives.