Sunday, August 26, 2007

The Greatest Skating Race by Louise Borden


In January 1942, Piet Janssen leads two friends to safety in Brugge, Belgium from his town of Sluice in The Netherlands by ice skating the 16 km along the frozen canals. The story, written in verse, is quite gripping and the reader truly senses the danger the children face at the prospect of being detained by the German soldiers stationed along the canals, especially at the border crossing. The illustrations by Niki Daly, in browns and greys, are reminiscent of an earlier era and are quite fitting for the subject matter.

2 comments:

Amanda said...

I really appreciate you writing about the Bluebonnet books. I've bought them all for my library but I have been busy with the Newbery Project and have not had time to read the Bluebonnets yet. Your summaries are great!

Somer said...

Glad you're appreciating them!