Ian Serraillier (1912–1994)

It is more than forty years since I last read this novel, which was one of my favourites as a child. I hadn't even thought about it in decades, but someone mentioned it a few days ago, and prompted me to re-read it. What a delight it proved.

The book tells of the travails of the Balicki family from Warsaw. The father, Joseph, headmaster of a local school, is imprisoned by the Nazis after someone reports him for turning the photograph of Hitler that he had been required to hang in his show more classroom to face the wall. Shortly afterwards his wife, Magrit, is also interned, leaving their three children (Ruth, Edek and Bronia) to fend for themselves.

After a couple of years Joseph manages to escape from his prison and returns to Warsaw to look for his family. He finds the family home reduced to rubble. Aghast he delves down to see if he can unearth any trace of the family but all he finds is a paper knife, in the shape of an elaborate small silver sword that he had given to his wife several years earlier. While staring in disgust at the remains of the house he becomes aware that he is being watched by a young boy, Jan, clutching a cat while. After a brief conversation (during which the young boy successfully picks Joseph's pockets) Joseph hands over the silver sword to Jan in return for a promise that he will do whatever he can to find a trace of Magrit or the children. Jan stows the sword away in a wooden box in which he keeps all of his dearest treasures (which include, among other things, the shrivelled body of a dead lizard). Joseph explores the remaining streets of the community searching for clues as to what might have happened to his family. Finding no trace he decides to head for Switzerland (where Magrit came from), in the belief that she would have tried to flee there to escape their oppressors.

Meanwhile the three children have been fending for themselves until Edek is arrested by the Nazis for smuggling food to be sold through the black market. Ruth starts running an informal school to try to teach some of the Polish children, and eventually Jan comes to join them - by now his cat has gone, to be replaced by Jimpy, a cockerel. By chance the three children find that Jan has the silver sword which they immediately recognise. Jan explains how he came by it, adding that Joseph had told him about his plans to seek his family in Switzerland. The story then deals with the children's exploits firstly to locate Edek, and then to try to cross Poland and then Germany to try to reach Switzerland.

The book is now recognised as a children's classic, though on its publication in 1956 there was a lot of criticism suggesting that the novel dealt with subjects too serious for younger readers. This seems odd nowadays - after all, Serraillier weaves a very sound plot and his characters are finely drawn. Even though the context may now seem very remote to today's children, surely this is exactly the sort of books that they should be reading. It holds up excellently for an adult audience, too. show less

Grabbing illustrations mix with potent prose and just the right amount of haunting twists to make this a read to cherish year after year.

While this book begins with a child, who believes to have met a witch, it soon turns to the question of what others would do if they ran across one. Here, the story of two children, Roland and Miranda, begins and what happened when they were snatched by one. It's haunting and holds the rich threads of a fairy tale as it winds around the adventure with show more imagination, magic, and a tiny sense of dread. After all, no one really wants to meet a dangerous witch.

This one is worth picking up because of the artwork. The style seems chaotic at first glass but mesmerizes with details and knotted weaves. It fits the tale marvelously and will captivate not only young readers but older ones as well. It invites to flip through the pages and simply enjoy each scene. And wow, is that witch creepy.

The prose flows with traditional style and reminds of an early, story-telling era. The imagery and descriptions are well-crafted, letting the text flow with as much artistry as the illustrations. That also means that this will go over the youngest readers' heads and will even give many in the intended age group some difficulties, at times. It's still worth the read, though, since the plot is obvious, and the unknown words and phrases will stretch and boost vocabulary skills. It's a treat many will enjoy, and not just children...which also explains why it's been around and enjoyed for many decades. I received a complimentary digital copy and enjoyed the tale show less

I think it must be more than forty years since I first read this marvellous adventure story. I remember that i loved it back then, but I hadn't thought about it for years until a fellow LibraryThing member reviewed Serraillier's other classic story "The Silver Sword", which i had also loved as a child. I re-read that, and loved it: it certainly worked as well in adulthood as it had when i was a child - in fact I probably found it even more moving.

This novel has also retained its magic, and I show more think that it if weren't for the illustrations and the fact that it was published by Puffin rather than in the mainstream Penguin series, there would be no reason to think of this as being specifically a children's story. Set in the 1950s in a fictitious area of eastern Europe torn by war (similar to what would happen to the Balkans forty years later) it tells of how Peter Howarth parachutes into the conflict to try to bring out a beleaguered scientist who has been working on significant developments of radar technology. , crucial to Britain's defence strategies.

Seraillier weaves a deft plot, full of twists and turns, that never veers from the plausible and credible, and keeps the excitement at fever pitch throughout. I found it very reminiscent of John Buchan (another great favourite from my childhood and early adolescence whose books I have been revisiting recently): clear, well-crafted prose, engaging characters and good, solid excitement. Very enjoyable :) show less

It's been a number of years since I last read the Anglo-Saxon epic of Beowulf (I keep meaning to read the new Heaney translation, and compare it to some of the more traditional versions), but reading Ian Serraillier's retelling for younger readers has really reminded me of the power of this tale, and the beauty of the language used to tell it. At forty-eight pages, Serraillier's edition is brief enough for young readers, but still manages to cover the three main episodes in the hero show more Beowulf's story - the battle with Grendel, the battle with Grendel's mother, and the battle with the unnamed dragon, at the end of the hero's life.

Retold in contemporary narrative verse, but retaining much of the flavor of the original, Beowulf the Warrior pairs an engaging narrative with beautiful woodcut illustrations by Mark Severin. I don't know that very young children will really appreciate it, as it isn't a story-book, but older children, capable of reading on their own, and interested in heroic tales, will surely love it! I know I would have... show less