Jan Terlouw

Laura Watkinson

Winter in Wartime

Oorlogswinter

As the Second World War approaches its end, the Netherlands are still under Nazi control and any acts of resistance are punishable by death. But when sixteen-year-old Michiel is asked to take care of a wounded British Spitfire pilot he doesn't think twice. He joins the secret struggle against the Nazis, working every day to end the occupation and protect those in danger from it, knowing all the time that spies are everywhere and one loose word could cost him his life... Winter in Wartime is a thrilling, powerful and humane adventure story, based on the author's own experiences as a child in Nazi-occupied Holland.

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

This award-winning Dutch children’s classic is a gripping World War II adventure story set during the Netherlands’ Hunger Winter of 1944-1945. Newly translated by Laura Watkinson, Terlouw’s fast-paced, autobiographical story of a boy approaching manhood struggling with the cruelty, horrors, and dilemmas of war under Nazi occupation is available again for an international audience.

Michiel barely remembers his life before the war, it started when he was eleven and now, at almost sixteen, there seems to be no end in sight. His rural Dutch village is under the control of Nazi soldiers, and his father, the mayor, struggles to maintain a fragile coexistence between the occupying forces and his angry Dutch townspeople. Tensions grow as visitors from cities far away show up at Michiel’s village looking for food. Many of the hungry stop at Micheil’s house, so he keeps busy finding eggs, butter, potatoes, and milk to share, running errands on his bicycle, and making the odd repair here and there for some spending money. This routine keeps him out of school, but also away from German soldiers, while managing to stay safe from Allied Forces’ bombing campaigns.

Unbeknownst to Michiel, there are desperate secrets being kept in his village, secrets and plans that are a ticking time bomb full of catastrophic consequences should they fail or be exposed. Michiel finds out that an older boy, his friend and neighbor Dirk, is a member of the Dutch secret underground forces, and when Dirk is captured during a mission, Michiel upholds a promise to deliver an unaddressed letter. This letter sets off a chain of events that involve Michiel caring for an injured British pilot hidden in the woods and trying to uncover a traitor working as a Nazi informer in their midst. Things go from bad to worse when the body of a German soldier is found and the Nazi officers blame the townspeople for his death. Michiel’s mission, already perilous, becomes claustrophobic and life-threatening because there is no going back. He is implicated. He can trust no one. And he’s running out of time.

For my full review with author quotes, historical background to the Hunger Winter in the Netherlands, and more book reviews highlighting #DutchKidLit in translation, please visit the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative where you can also find a treasure trove of books in translation from all over the world for all ages.

Lonneke

Wow, this really got me. Such a good story! I have read a few books now about what happened during WWII next to studying it in school. Most of the time it's focused on what happened to the jews/what the nazi's did. And that's definitely important. This book however also focuses on the life of other people during the war. People who might not be jews, but were still victims of war. I really liked getting to know more about this time period. It a childeren's book so it wasn't anything too explicit, but it still really hit me. It's so crazy to think that this happened only 76 years ago, that's not even a lifetime for a lot of people.

Naomi Meeuwenoord 

Plotseling is de 16-jarige Michiel betrokken bij het verzet en ervaart hij hoeveel angst, onzekerheid en moeilijkheden dit met zich meebrengt. Maakt hij nu fouten, of is er toch verraad in het spel? Maar van wie? Vanaf ca. 13 jaar.

filmeditie

Oorlogswinter / druk 1

Steffi'sBookShelve

Plotseling is de 16-jarige Michiel betrokken bij het verzet en ervaart hij hoeveel angst, onzekerheid en moeilijkheden dit met zich meebrengt. Maakt hij nu fouten, of is er toch verraad in het spel? Maar van wie?

Terlouw, Oorlogswinter pb.

Sanne

anne

azriel

Frae

Rozemarijn Polkerman

Julianne Storms

Louise 

Maurits

Carmen Klinkhamer 

In de Tweede Wereldoorlog raakt Michiel (16) onverwachts betrokken bij het verzet en ervaart hoeveel angst, onzekerheid en moeilijkheden dit met zich meebrengt. Maakt hij nu fouten, of is er toch verraad in het spel? Vanaf ca. 13 jaar.

Winter in Wartime

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