Capture The Silver Sword Picturized By Ian Serraillier PDF

bought The Silver Sword on my dad's recommendation, after he mentioned he'd read it many years ago in Secondary school.
It made a lasting impression on him, and is a book he'll remember reading for the rest of his life.


To a child, this book and its story would be both horrifying and fascinating, It's a simple, short look at a family ravaged by war, and the lengths they'll go to to be reunited.
It was first published in, and because of this, it's very different to contemporary fiction, It moves at a much faster pace, and omits any superfluous description or dialogue, which results in a very quick read.
Readers of Morris Gleitzman's books Once and Then will find some similarities in the narrative, and are perhaps the best examples of a similar reading level.


I warmed to the Balicki family very quickly, and followed their journey with bated breath, I find that nothing is more devastating than thinking of children caught up in the Second World War, and stories about such things never fail to strike a chord with me.
Ruth, Edek, Bronia and Jan are all shining examples of stubborn, headstrong children, with an astounding amount of bravery and a belief that they'll find their missing parents.


Serraillier chose to focus more on the children's journey, which isn't as perilous as it could have been given that a war was raging througout Europe.
His story isn't as shocking as other war fiction I've read, which does mean that the more interesting side of the history is often glossed over.
It's perfectly understandable, as this is a book for younger readers, who shouldn't be wellversed in the true horrors of war until they can handle it.


Published just eleven years after the end of the war, The Silver Sword was ahead of its time, and was used for both educational and recreational purposes.
As a war text, it's not the most informative, but as a story about what it was like to be a child and survive, it's a veritable source of accuracy.
I think it's a book that will be read for years to come, and although it's not one often mentioned, I don't think it'll ever be forgotten.


./Revisiting a childhood favourite that is as good as an adult as it was as a child, I first read this when I was aboutand again as a school text when I wasand the story has really stayed with me.
Four children try to survive in war torn Warsaw and then make their way across Europe in search of their family.
Heart wrenching, full of adventures of twists and turns and educational as to the effects of war on countries, landscapes and individuals.
Amazing book World War II is over, Three siblingsRuth, Bronia, and Edekalong with their new friend, Jan, are on their way to Switzerland to find their father.
The home of the three siblings in Poland has been destroyed by the war, and their mother and father were both taken away by the Germans.
Jan has been orphaned and is living on the streets, making his way by hook or crook,

It's a story of adventure, of making their way on foot, scrounging for a place to stay in a barn or with a kind family, searching for food.
It's a story with much to say about the right and wrong things to do, a story that would be excellent for discussion with children.
Is it right or wrong to steal food when you are starving And what if you are stealing from food that is marked for your own hungry people Are all German soldiers wicked What about the Russian ones

It's based on true stories of children after the war, and these are stories children of today probably haven't heard.
How do mere children survive a long trek

AChildren's Book You Must Read Before You Grow Up.
I never read this book as a child, It's a great story, a mix of adventure, history, the rudeness and the amazing serendipity of life and the beautiful people you meet along the way.
The portrayal of the family bond was comforting, Reminded of this gem by my brother receiving it for Christmas, Written as a children's book but one of the most moving stories I read in Key Stage, . . give it a go, you'll finish it within a couple of days :D A story crafted around real life examples.
This novel tells the story of three Polish siblings Ruth, Edek and Bronia search for their parents, after their schoolmaster father is tossed in jail for hanging Hitler's picture facing the wall.
He escapes from prison to find his house destroyed by fire and his family gone, and meets a streetwise orphan, named Jan.
Ruth manages to find shelter, becoming a "mother" to her siblings, and they decide to go to Switzerland to find their remaining relatives, crossing Poland and Germany along the way.
Jan joins them on their quest, helping them survive in a world gone mad, even as the family is separated

and reunited along the way.
Along the way, they are assisted by generous, caring people: soldiers, farmers, etc,

No idea why Scholastic changed the perfectly apt title of The Silver Sword, which was a family heirloom and symbol of hope for the wayward children.
Maybe.stars. I read this book under its English title, 'The Silver Sword', but couldn't find this on Goodreads so had to review under the US title.


The story begins with the escape of Polish headteacher Joseph Balicki from a Nazi prison camp in the earlys, at the height of the Second World War.
After a year unfairly imprisoned for refusing to display a picture of Hitler in his school, he has managed to escape.
Over a matter of weeks, Joseph makes his way back to his home city of Warsaw, Poland with help from an elderly couple who shelter him.
When he arrives, the city is unrecognisable due to the mass bombing, He finds his wife was also taken by the Gestapo and the same night their house was blown sky high.
His three children were never found and are assumed dead, Heartbroken, Joseph leaves Warsaw and resolves to find his wife, and perhaps his children,

The action then shifts to what really happened that night the mother was taken, Realising the Gestapo will come back for them, the three children Edek, Ruthand Broniaescape over the Warsaw rooftops.
Thus starts a long journey of hardship and courage to find their parents, They manage to survive in bombed cellars, woods and by stealing food, Even after the liberation of Warsaw inand the subsequent end to the war the year after, the troubles do not stop.
Edek goes missing, and the reality of life as fugitives begins to take its toll, Across the backdrop of wartorn Europe, the Balicki family faces many struggles to find their way back to each other.


The writing is gripping, fastpaced and hooks the reader, You become so invested in the characters and long for their family to reunite, It is one of the most powerful books I have ever read, and as a child it sparked my interest in finding out more about the Second World War.
The subject matter is serious and the setting realistic, but it is presented in a way appropriate for children.
The fact that the book depicts a Polish family in Central Europe is also refreshing, as many British children's books about the Second World War are only focused on Britain.
It ties in well to a study of history I would suggest it for at least Yearand up as I first read it when I was.


The book was published inbut remains as relevant today as ever, A story of the triumph of hope over adversity, the Silver Sword leaves a lasting impression on you and demands to be reread again and again.
This book was exactly like if Enid Blyton had written about World War II,   The opening chapters describe how the father, Joseph Balicki, escapes from a concentration camp where the prisoners get butter and jam once a week, and spend their days "loafing about, playing chess, sewing, reading" wtf.
  He makes himself a catapult with which he knocks out a guard, and uses a hook and line to drag the guard and his keys to the door of his solitary cell, before stealing a uniform and just strolling out of the front gates like it's that easy.


Meanwhile, back in Warsaw, Joseph's wife and children are woken up in the middle of the night by Nazis.
  The mother is taken away for forced labour, and so heryearold son Edek shoots at the Nazis from his window with a rifle, hitting one in the arm, and also bursting one of the tyres of their van.
  Then "with the butt of his rifle he broke down the door" and frees his sisters because they were all locked in their rooms for some reason, before the Nazis return to blow up their house in retaliation instead of just sending the children to a labour camp as well, which would have been far less expensive than wasting explosives.
. .

So then the kids, even though both their parents have now been taken away and their house blown up, have this wonderful adventure where they find an abandoned cellar to live in.
  They steal curtains and a mattress, and Edek makes furniture and even builds an internal wall so they can have two rooms.
  Ruth, who is, isn't content with playing house, and so she sets up a school in the cellar "soon she had a mob of urchins outside the cellar window begging to be allowed to join the school.
"  They read and play games in the fresh air like they haven't a care in the world!  Edek makes sure they have everything they could possibly need!  In the summer the Balicki children move out into the woods surrounding Warsaw where they live under a tree in a shelter Edek makes.
  It's so bizarrely idyllic, and then Edek gets caught smuggling and the book matteroffactly states that "Two years passed without any news of Edek.
"  JUST LIKE THAT.

Of course, the children are never anxious or scared or sad: "Edek was always cheerful because he was always busy.
"  I feel like this is supposed to be a moral lesson, . .   When they return to their cellar to find it looted, "Patiently and without despair Ruth set to work to repair the damage.
"  It's bland and boring af because there's no sense of struggle,   The entire book is basically a series of unconnected adventures kayaking! sleeping in hay barns! looting trains! as these pathologically jolly children make their way across wartorn Europe in latethrough to the spring of.


Oh, and there's also a ridiculous chapter told from the POV of a British officer writing a letter home to his wife, about an incident involving a nicotineaddicted chimpanzee.
  At the end of his letter, the officer waxes lyrical about the children, saying of Ruth: "She's a remarkable girl, quiet and selfassured, with the most striking eyes they have a deep serenity, a sense of purpose and moral authority quite unmistakable.
"  Who says something like that about a stranger they only met briefly  The officer also muses how he would've liked to have adopted the youngest child.
  I'm sure his wife felt immensely comforted by this letter, .