Customer Reviews

North to Freedom

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Why oh why do U.S. publishers insist on retitling classic European books? As "I Am David" this book successfully explores far more profound questions than freedom. David's journey is a process of self discovery and a self-imposed restructuring of a broken human spirit. Though told in the third person, the narrative invites us into David's young mind and allows us to see the wonder of objects and concepts that we all take for granted but which are new to the young escapee. Music, play, the taste of an orange, the feeling of being clean, language, colour! David's voyage of discovery is a bitter sweet mixture and we learn the awful truth about his past during his trek across Europe at the same pace as he does himself.

I have read this book with classes of children from fourth to seventh grade, as well as with adults. It is a book for all seasons, and I can still turn the pages with pleasure and wonder.

The wonder of realising what it is to say "I Am David" is what the book is all about! "North to Freedom" is a lousy title - meaningless in fact, David's first steps to freedom take him south! But this should not dissuade anyone from reading Anne Holm's book. The greatest children's story to come out of Denmark since Hans Christian Andersen.

Do you know what it is like to be hunted? Or to feel the palpable hate from men who destroy everything except what is inside of you? David, from his experience in the concentration camp, simply can not trust anyone. He has to be wary because that is the only way to survive. Parts of him are so deadened inside that when he sees the beautifull it is so much more intense. This book provides a usefull insight into the experience of many that will evoke your compassion and give you some understanding of why some people who are hurt are so reluctant to ever get close again or to seek or even recognize help around them. And through all of this, David is a moral person. He knows why evil must be resisted. Excelent!

Though I have read this book countless times through the years, with each reading I discover more of the story and more of myself. I have yet to finish this book and not be in tears, for David, and for the birth, loss, and rebirth of hope itself. I recommend this book to readers of all ages, but particularly those who have struggled through sorrow and rediscovered faith.

David, a 12 year old, raised in a prison camp, is allowed to escape with instructions to go north to freedom. From the drab, depressing surroundings of the prison camp to the wide world of freedoms, colors, smells, scenery, being clean, and being honest, David cautiously learns about the world around him. This book is a learning adventure at becoming true to one's self. At an early age, this book had a profound effect on my life, David made me stop and appreciate the little things that are such common conveniences in life. At one point in the book, a boy beats up David, but David doesn't fight back. Angrily, the boy asked why he didn't fight back and David said, "Because if I hit you back, I'd be no better than you are. I'd be just as rotten and worthless, and I'd have no right to be free!" It's a lesson all of us can incorporate in our lives. This is always the first book I recommend to anyone.

This book nails the formula for exciting fiction: change throughconflict. And there's plenty of conflict. Young David is trying tomake his way north to freedom after escaping from a concentrationcamp. He must do this alone and at the risk of his life. Recapture,starvation, loneliness, and a 1000-mile expanse of war-torn Europe arethe obstacles in his way.

We trek with David, feeling his pain,fear, sorrow, and disillusionment. But there, too, on the journey welearn about life, love, courage, and the value of freedom astwelve-year-old David comes of age well before his time, and Europecomes of age a little too late.

This book is an excellent choice forspoiled, middle class American children who've been spoon-fed freedomtheir whole life and think that the only freedom worth fighting for isan extra hour of video games before bed. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes.

This is an engaging historical fiction novel. Set in post World War II Europe, it is also published under the titles David, and I Am David. With the help of one of the prison gaurds, 12 year old David escapes from a communist labor camp in Bulgaria with no idea what to do other than go to Denmark. The story weaves in many important themes, such as freedom, beauty, truth, and love. There are many intriguing characters, like Johannes his fellow prisoner, the family of Maria, a Danish lady in Switzerland, and a dog named King. As David crosses countries and borders, his understanding of life, God, and the aforementioned themes grows as his journey progresses. Through it all he is determined to remain true to himself. Truly an engaging read, and a good study on physical and cultural geography for kids.

North To Freedom is a wonderful book. It tells about a twelve year old boy, David, and his escape from a concentration camp where he has been since before he can remember. He is on a dangerous journey, and he can trust nobody. He meets many people, learns new words, discovers how to smile, and finds his mother. On the way he makes good friends with Maria, and young girl whom he saved from a fire, he calls her "the little girl who looks so like a flower". David also makes friends with the dog, King. David is not used to dogs because he only knew of the mean one's in the concentration camp, but King is different, kind and gentle, and wants to protect David. King is greatly involved in the end of the story, read the book to find out more. This book is also good for class liturature. My class has used it in sixth grade, but I would suggest it in fourth grade because now it was really easy to read. This is a very touching story about a boy struggling for life, proving his strength, making friends, and proving his is smart and clever in ways unimaginable. I suggest it for anyone, even if it is a quick read!

I must have been about 10 years old when I first read North to Freedom, and perhaps 12 years old the 20th time I read it. I am 41 now, and the profound impression this book has left on me has caused me to seek it once again, this time as a gift to my son. What is it about this book that has gripped my imagination for 30 years? There were many facets of this book which were intriguing to me. One of these was the ambiguity of who "they", the bad guys, were. Chalk it up to my young age, but I at times thought the book was an indictment of Nazi Germany, and later thought perhaps it was about life behind the Iron Curtain. The ambiguity told the lesson that evil was evil, regardless the political justification. The book also was attractive as a great adventure. Most preadolescent boys, perhaps, fantasize of having to make it on their own, facing enormous odds, relying on cunning and stealth and courage to protect oneself from the evil "grownups". There was also a romantic interlude in this book, and the prepubescent boy who isn't at least thinking about girls is rare indeed. The interlude climaxed in a brief kiss, which to preadolescent like myself was, at that time, sheer exhiliration. While we boys could not, of course, read a romance novel, an adventure novel such as this was quite acceptable. Then, there was the intensely happy ending, most of which was left to the reader's imagination because it was so abrupt. Young boys still need a happy ending, and this one was spectacularly anticlimactic. I hope my son shares the joy and ponders the triumph over evil so eloquently presented in this book.

North to Freedom is about a boy named David who escapes from a prison camp somewhere in southern Europe during WWII and travels all the way to Denmark. I liked the book because it is exciting, for example: When David runs away from some guards who want to capture him, his dog saves him. Another exciting moment is when he finds out why he needs to go to Denmark. This book taught me about trust, because David had to learn to trust people on his journey. I recommend this book for kids age 9 and up, and to be read aloud to kids 6 and up.

I have a copy of this book from the UK that is called I Am David. It starts with a man telling David, "You must get away tonight. Stay awake so that you're ready just before the guard is changed. When you see me strike a match, the current will be cut off and you can climb over -- you'll have half a minute, no more." This starts David's journey not just to freedom and home, but also to learning how to live as a regular kid after only living in a concentration camp. It's a serious book but one that should be read.