Publisher blurb: Although the silver sword was only a paper knife, it became the symbol of hope and courage which kept the Balicki children and their orphan friend Jan alive through the four years of occupation when they had to fend for themselves. And afterwards it inspired them to keep going on the exhausting and dangerous journey from war-torn Poland to Switzerland, where they hoped to find their parents.
If you are not familiar with this famous book you can read a full plot summary here.
This is another title in my series where I am reading and re-reading classic children's books. I really thought I had read The Silver Sword first published in 1956 but reading it this week none of the plot resonated with me. In my memory this was a solo journey by the boy with the tiny paper knife sword but in fact it is a journey of four children and the determination and kindness of young Ruth is so beautifully explained I am sure I would have remembered her from this book.
Here are a few of text quotes:
"There was no time for Ruth to dress properly. She put a coat over her nightdress and would a woollen scarf round Bronia ... (Edek) picked up the sobbing Bronia and led the way upstairs. He was wearing his father's thick overcoat over his pyjamas, a pair of stout boots on his bare feet and his rifle slung over his back."
"They must have gone fully a hundred yards when the first explosion shook the air. A sheet of fire leapt up from their home into the frosty night sky. They fell flat in the snow and lay there. The roof shook, the whole city seemed to tremble. Another explosion. Smoke and flames poured from the windows. Sparks showered into the darkness."
"Edek had been their life-line. Food, clothes, money - they depended on his for all these. In the city he had made a home out of a ruin. In the woods no tree gave better shelter than the oak he had chosen. And after dark, when the wind blew cold and the damp oozed out of the ground, none knew better than he how to keep the fire in untended till dawn, so that the glow from the embers should warm them all night as they slept."
From Penguin: Ian Serraillier (September 24, 1912 - November 28, 1994), was a British novelist and poet. Serraillier was best known for his children's books, especially the Silver Sword (Novel) (1956), a wartime adventure story which was adapted for television by the BBC in 1957 and again in 1971. ... He became an English teacher, first at World War II. It was during this period that his first published work appeared, in the form of poetry for both adults and children. In 1946 his first children's novel was published. It was followed by several more adventure stories of treasure and spies. His best known work, The Silver Sword, was published in 1956 and has become a classic, bringing to life the story of four refugee children and their search for their parents in the chaos of Europe immediately after World War II. As well as children's novels and poetry, Serrailler produced his own retellings of classic tales, in prose and verse, including Beowulf, Chaucer and Greek myth. Together with his wife Anne he founded the New Windmill Series in 1948, published by Heinemann Educational Books, which set out to provide inexpensive editions of good stories.
If you read this book with a group of students (as many schools still do) it would be good to use one of these as a comparison text:
No comments:
Post a Comment