Book picks similar to
The Lonely Sentinel by Piet Prins
historical-fiction
children-s
piet-prins
children
The German Girl
Lily Graham - 2021
And if we go home, the Nazis will take us too…’Hamburg 1938. Fifteen-year-old Asta is hurrying home from school with her twin brother Jurgen. The mood in the city is tense – synagogues have been smashed with sledgehammers, and Asta is too frightened to laugh as she used to.But when she and Jurgen are stopped in the street by a friend, her world implodes further. Her Jewish parents have been dragged into the streets by German soldiers and if she and Jurgen return to their house, they will be taken too.Heartbroken at the loss of her parents, Asta knows they must flee. With her beloved brother, she must make the perilous journey across Germany and into Denmark to reach their only surviving relative, her aunt Trine, a woman they barely know.Jammed into a truck with other refugees, Asta prays for a miracle to save herself and Jurgen. Crossing the border is a crime punishable by death, and what she and Jurgen must embark on a dangerous crossing on foot, through the snowy forest dividing Germany and Denmark. And when barking dogs and armed soldiers find Jurgen and Asta escapes, she must hold on to hope no matter what. One day she will find her twin, the other half of herself. Whatever the price she has to pay…A gripping and poignant read that will break your heart and give you hope. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Kristin Hannah and Catherine Hokin will be gripped by the story of a brave brother and sister seeking safety during one of the darkest times in our history.
Catherine's War
Julia Billet - 2012
Although she hasn’t heard from her parents in months, she loves the people at her school, adores capturing what she sees in pictures, and tries not to worry too much about Hitler’s war. But as France buckles under the Nazi regime, danger closes in, and Rachel must change her name and go into hiding.As Catherine Colin, Rachel Cohen is faced with leaving the Sèvres Home—and the friends she made there—behind. But with her beautiful camera, Catherine possesses an object with the power to remember. For the rest of the war, Catherine bears witness to her own journey, and to the countless heroes whose courage and generosity saved the lives of many, including her own.Based on the author’s mother’s own experiences as a hidden child in France during World War II.Includes a map and photographs of the real Catherine and her wartime experiences, as well as an interview with author Julia Billet.
Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939-1944
Aranka Siegal - 1981
Upon the Head of the Goat is the winner of the 1982 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Nonfiction and a 1982 Newbery Honor Book.“This is a book that should be read by all those interested in the Holocaust and what it did to young and old.” —Isaac Bashevis Singer
The Berlin Escape (An Aubrey Endeavours Spy Thriller Book 1)
Warren Court - 2021
America's newest spy is trying to stop it!Young, beautiful and fearless, Aubrey Endeavours fought for recognition in the male dominated world of aviation.And Won!Then her country called.Recruited into America’s fledgling spy agency. Her first mission; to steal vital information about Hitler's next move.Now she is alone and undercover in Berlin. Hunted by the Gestapo. Torn between her loyalty to her country……and the enemy she’s fallen in love with.This time, Aubrey is fighting for her life.If you like historical spy thrillers mixed with romantic suspense then you’ll love The Berlin Escape.Get your copy today!
Requiem for a Patriot (Captain Harry Tennant Mystery Book 2)
David J. Oldman - 2018
It’s an Arctic January day, one of the coldest winters on record. A man on a deserted East Anglian beach strips naked, neatly folds his clothes and wades into the icy waters. Walks to his death. His final moments are watched by Harry Tennant. The ex-copper has been assigned to observe his target by British Intelligence. The dead man is Joseph Wolff. He is a Russian Jew. He is also a professor of mathematics at Oxford University. All Harry knows is that Wolff had been doing some sort of secret work during the war. So when Wolff waded into the sea and drowned himself, he could not make sense of it. Back in the hotel room where Woolf was staying, Harry discovers an unfinished note hinting of betrayal. Harry can’t resist following a trail of unanswered questions buzzing in his head. It’s a long and tortuous trail that leaves him just staring in the ever more inscrutable face of British Intelligence. David J Oldman’s compassionate and compelling Requiem for a Patriot offers a fictional version of what was happening in Britain during and immediately after of the Second World War as East and West drew closer and closer to head-on collision. It explores a shocking secret. Thoroughly researched and based on actual events, the novel succeeds in combining all-too-human stories with political intrigue, spy rings and cold-blooded murder. It paints a frightening picture of the helplessness of the individual when faced by the monolith that is the state. Born into the austerity of post-war Britain, David J. Oldman began writing in his early twenties. Frequently humorous, and often moving, his books are an examination of ordinary people caught up in life-changing events beyond their control. He presently lives with his wife in the New Forest in the south of England pursuing his deep interest in history, writers and writing. Also published by Endeavour Media is Oldman’s The Unquiet Grave.
Princess Diadora: Saves Her Princess Cupcake Party
Eddie Bee - 2013
PRINCESS DIADORA is a favorite book series of young girls. Enjoy this book with your daughter today. Once upon a time, there lived a young princess named Princess Diadora. She is a young princess who is growing up sweet, kind, and fun like any other young kid. She is a regular young girl that any kid would be able to relate to. This children's book is the first book in the Princess Diadora series written by the popular children's book author, Eddie Bee. In this book, the princess takes matters into her own hands and learns how to bake her own cupcakes for her princess cupcake party. Look out for more books from this continuing series. Collect the whole series for your young daughter.
Hannah's War
Jan Eliasberg - 2020
Groundbreaking physicist Dr. Hannah Weiss is on the verge of the greatest discovery of the 20th century: splitting the atom. She understands that the energy released by her discovery can power entire cities or destroy them. Hannah believes the weapon's creation will secure an end to future wars, but as a Jewish woman living under the harsh rule of the Third Reich, her research is belittled, overlooked, and eventually stolen by her German colleagues. Faced with an impossible choice, Hannah must decide what she is willing to sacrifice in pursuit of science's greatest achievement.
New Mexico, 1945. Returning wounded and battered from the liberation of Paris, Major Jack Delaney arrives in the New Mexican desert with a mission: to catch a spy. Someone in the top-secret nuclear lab at Los Alamos has been leaking encoded equations to Hitler's scientists. Chief among Jack's suspects is the brilliant and mysterious Hannah Weiss, an exiled physicist lending her talent to J. Robert Oppenheimer's mission. All signs point to Hannah as the traitor, but over three days of interrogation that separate her lies from the truth, Jack will realize they have more in common than either one bargained for.
Hannah's War is a thrilling wartime story of loyalty, truth, and the unforeseeable fallout of a single choice.
I Felt No Sorrow - This Was War: Burma 1942-45
Gordon Heynes - 2019
He trained as a tank gunner and was drafted overseas to join the Allied campaign in South Asia. After further training in India, his regiment, the 25th Dragoons, was deployed to Burma, taking part in deadly combat as the Allies fought to contain the invading Japanese forces. Gordon was seriously injured, but recovered to be able to re-join his squadron, before eventually returning home after almost four years, when the war ended.Some time after returning to civilian life Gordon Heynes wrote a fascinating account of experiences, and it is that account that is contained in this book, published by his grandsons, Neal and Gary Bircher. Gordon’s story serves as a valuable historical document, but is also much more than that. His captivating matter-of-fact style – for example, infusing depictions of bloody battle scenes with observations of local wildlife – brings his story starkly to life, and it makes for truly compelling reading.
The Ghost Keeper
Natalie Morrill - 2018
Then comes the Anschluss in 1938, and Josef’s world is uprooted. His health disintegrates. His wife and child are forced to flee to China. His closest gentile friend joins the Nazi Party—and yet helps Josef escape to America.When the war ends, Josef returns to Vienna with his family and tries to make sense of what remains, including his former Nazi friend who, he discovers, protected Josef’s young female cousin throughout the war. Back among his cemeteries in Austria’s war-shattered capital, Josef finds himself beset by secrets, darkness and outward righteousness marred by private cruelty. As the truth is unearthed, Josef’s care for the dead takes on new meaning while he confronts his own role in healing both his devastated community and his deepest wounds.The Ghost Keeper is a story about the terrible choices we make to survive and the powerful connections to communities and friends that define us. Here is a finely accomplished novel that introduces an exciting new voice to our literary landscape.
The Raven Hovers: An unmissable novel of war and family secrets
Teresa Crane - 1997
An extraordinary novel from Teresa Crane, author of the bestselling The Italian House Stefan and Marik Anderson: two men bound together by blood and divided by a hatred sown since birth... Stefan, the illegitimate outcast, has lived a tough and difficult life on the wild Essex marshes: Marek, diffident and intelligent, has been brought up in easy and affluent London.It is only with the outbreak of the Second World War that their lives change. As the conflict rages around them Stefan, a hero of the Polish partisan movement, and Marek reluctantly embark on a secret mission to support the cause and uncover the Nazi’s ‘retailiation weapon’. Yet still the bitter past is a source of discord.Danusia, Stefan's lover and fellow freedom-fighter is startled and intrigued by their enmity. And it is to Marek she confides a secret that she knows will cost her her life if Stefan should discover it...
A novel of war, love and desperate secrets, The Raven Hovers will keep you gripped until the very end. Perfect for fans of Kate Morton, Katie Fforde
and
Nicola Cornick.
Boris
Jaap ter Haar - 1966
One day he and his friend Nadia, who is fourteen, meet a German patrol in a potato field where they have been foraging for food. Expecting to meet death at the hands of the enemy, they find to their surprise that the enemy soldiers are as weary, hungry and tired as they are, and the children are allowed to return home, unmolested. This strange meeting changes Boris' whole outlook on the war and sets him on the road to manhood. In spite of further trials and hardship, Boris is eventually able to forgive the enemy and, in a courageous gesture, he exemplifies the redeeming spirit of mankind.
Christmas Tapestry
Patricia Polacco - 2002
But then he and his father find a beautiful tapestry for sale in a secondhand shop. Just the thing to cover the damaged wall and give the church a festive look! But then, amazingly, an old Jewish woman who is visiting the church recognizes the beautiful cloth. It is her discovery that leads to a real miracle on Christmas Eve. This timely tale of love and generosity between people of different religious faiths is a wonderful showcase for Polacco's art. It features snowy holiday scenes and a colorful tapestry that is almost a character in itself.
Until We Find Home
Cathy Gohlke - 2017
But when she finds herself stranded on English shores, with five French Jewish children she smuggled across the channel before Nazis stormed Paris, reality feels more akin to fear.With nowhere to go, Claire throws herself on the mercy of an estranged aunt, begging Lady Miranda Langford to take the children into her magnificent estate. Heavily weighted with grief of her own, Miranda reluctantly agrees . . . if Claire will stay to help. Though desperate to return to France and the man she loves, Claire has few options. But her tumultuous upbringing--spent in the refuge of novels with fictional friends--has ill-prepared her for the daily dramas of raising children, or for the way David Campbell, a fellow American boarder, challenges her notions of love. Nor could she foresee how the tentacles of war will invade their quiet haven, threatening all who have come to call Bluebell Wood home and risking the only family she's ever known.Set in England's lush and storied Lake District in the early days of World War II, and featuring cameos from beloved literary icons Beatrix Potter and C. S. Lewis, Until We Find Home is an unforgettable portrait of life on the British home front, challenging us to remember that bravery and family come in many forms.
The Girl from Venice
Siobhan Daiko - 2021
But when the Germans occupy Venice in 1943, she must flee the city to save her life. Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains, where she meets David, an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him, harsh Nazi reprisals and Lidia’s own ardent anti-fascist activities threaten to tear them apart.Decades later in London, while sorting through her grandmother’s belongings after her death, Charlotte discovers a Jewish prayer book, unopened letters written in Italian, and a fading photograph of a group of young people in front of the Doge’s Palace. Intrigued by her grandmother’s refusal to talk about her life in Italy before and during the war, Charlotte travels to Venice in search of her roots. There, she learns not only the devastating truth about her grandmother’s past, but also some surprising truths about herself.A heart-breaking page-turner, based on actual events in Italy during World War IIReleasing July 1st 2021
A Liverpool Legacy
Anne Baker - 2013
Poor Sylvie blames herself for the accident and Millie needs all her strength to comfort her children and overcome her grief. Then Pete's will is read and further heartache lies in store...Meanwhile, Pete's younger brother and his good-for-nothing sons try to take control of the family business, but they've underestimated Millie's indomitable spirit. She's worked in Maynard's perfume laboratory for eighteen years and is determined to protect her husband's legacy no matter what obstacles are thrown in her way...