This is a book I remember Mom reading aloud to me while I was still in school. I remember enjoying the story, but aside from a few vague memories of a few of the scenes, the story didn’t stick with me all that well. Recently, I decided to give my siblings a bit of a break from the fantasy series we’ve been working through during our read-aloud times, so I picked this book up—and oh, what a gripping adventure awaited us!

Some of my siblings remembered the book better than I did. For me, this story was almost all new to me, so that made me want to keep going. Even the ones that did remember the story better wanted to keep reading, and one, especially (who hardly ever takes the time to sit down and read!) threatened several times to bring it out and continue reading it aloud because he just couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. That’s the mark of a truly good book, in my opinion—to be able to capture attention so well!

The book itself tells an incredible story. Not only is it a portrait of Holland in days gone by—the iconic windmill being a central feature in the story—it’s also the story of a family working together against the evil creeping into their area of the world. They didn’t do anything truly remarkable, in one sense; they just took each thing as it came and did what they believed was right—but they did make a huge difference to those whose lives they touched, and that was special to see. The story isn’t easy in all ways, but it’s realistic. Bad things do happen, but our job is to keep trusting in God’s plan.

I’m grateful I had the chance to revisit this story with my siblings. It ended up being our favorite read-aloud so far this year, and it’s going to be hard to top it in terms of the way it gripped our imaginations and made us want to keep reading long after dishes were finished for the evening. If you and your family enjoy solid, well-written historical fiction, but haven’t read this book yet, I’d highly recommend you check it out. ( )

In Holland during the German occupation, a family living in and taking care of a windmill struggle to make ends meet while also helping those with even less. The youngest son discovers a downed American pilot and helps him hide until his family can help get him into allied territory. So many children's books of a certain era are set in WWII Europe and explore the hardships therein, which is understandable, but it's easy to get bogged down in such an embarrassment of riches. This one hits somewhere in the middle of the pile - not exactly weak, but not exactly outstanding, either. ( )

Lovely. Reminded me of other family-centered stories in times of adversity, such as Snow Treasure, or the All-of-a-Kind Family stories. ( )

A Nerd Christmas present from Shannon this year, yay!

It's a really sweet and short historical novel. Joris is such a sweet protagonist. I like books where children have extremely strong feelings. Everything with his pets is the best. The scene where the Nazis are taking people's dogs away, ARE YOU SERIOUS. Of course it is serious, but oh gosh the tears. And, anything in which "puppies are born" figures into the plot is good for at least one extra star.

The setting is pretty cool, allowing for an exciting action scene on the wings of the windmill and all. I would have definitely liked reading about Joris's life when I was a kid. But I confess I didn't really understand the whole polders-and-dikes system very much, which would have been nice. I guess that could be clearer.

The book is a little, I guess you'd call it quaint? It's really patriarchal, which started to feel like it was preventing the characters from having great depth. The women are all good and sweet, apparently just because they're girls. When Dirk Jan has his adventure delivering a message for the underground, he is thrilled to see some shooting at last, and I thought the chapter was going to end with a sobering realization that shooting is more complicated and horrible than thrilling. But it didn't. That's not doing the boy characters many favors either.

And uh. The Christmas scene with the blackfaced elf. Oh boy. HOLLAND.

But the book ends really really well. The house is filled with puppies even as people are being lost, and when peace arrives they feel a little sadder instead of happier. Change is difficult, but people are good at helping each other. ( )

Another great Weekly Reader book. I did a book report on it ( )