The Greatest Skating Race: A World War II Story from the Netherlands

by Louise Borden

Other authorsNiki Daly (Illustrator)
Hardcover, 2004

Status

Available

Collection

Barcode

25855

Publication

Margaret K. McElderry Books (2004), 48 pages

Description

During World War II in the Netherlands, a ten-year-old boy's dream of skating in a famous race allows him to help two children escape to Belgium by ice skating past German soldiers and other enemies.

Local notes

Horn Book Guide, 03/31/2005
After a neighbor is arrested for radioing messages in early 1942 Holland, Piet, only ten but "a strong skater" with "a quick mind," guides the man's two children to safety on skates. The verse-style narrative is set on broad, snowy pages. Daly's colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations evoke the story's drama and its seriousness. This carefully researched book makes a fine introduction to the period. Copyright 2003 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

Awards

Texas Bluebonnet Award (Nominee — 2008)
Triple Crown Awards (Nominee — 2007)
Ohioana Book Award (Winner — Juvenile Literature — 2005)
South Carolina Book Awards (Nominee — Children's Book Award — 2008)
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