Setting: Denmark
Time Period: 1943

Denmark. Not a country you come across a lot in Christian Fiction, which was why I was so thrilled to find this chapter book for my “Around The World In 80 Books” reading challenge! Set in World War II, three kids – one Jewish and two Danish – have to adjust to life under Nazi rule and help their Jewish friends escape across the North Sea before the soldiers arrest them.

I enjoyed this short book by Robert Elmer because it gave a lot of historical background on the country of Denmark and how the people lived under the Nazi invasion. One thing I found interesting was how the kids continued to ride their bikes, even though they had to give up their rubber tires to be used as resources in the war. They also had pet pigeons, who came to be quite the heroes at the end of the story! But most of all, the book has a great theme about friendship and what it means to stand up for your friends when others want to hurt them.

Conclusion: This was a great book that I would recommend for kids who want to read about WWII. It was adventurous, easy to read and had a great theme, even for a young adult book. I admired how the author kept the story simple enough to have fun things kids would connect with and enjoy, yet, a straightforward theme about being brave and helping others who are being treated badly because of their nationality and heritage. The book is just under 200 pages and tells gives a good description of both the Danish culture and how the Jews lived out their traditions in Denmark. For that reason, I’d say it has a multi-cultural element to it. It’s also the first in its series, The Young Underground Series, so if you like it, you can continue reading Peter, Elise and Henrik’s story in the following books.