111. Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop

Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop. as told by Janet Joly. Illustrated by William Pene Du Bois (Canada) - (US)


Pages: 76
Ages: 8+
Finished: May 6, 2011
First Published: 1952
Publisher: Puffin Books
Genre: children, historical fiction, War, WWII, France, Catholic
Rating: 4/5



First sentence:

It all started when we were playing at The Flight into Egypt.

Acquired: I'm pretty sure I Bookmooched this.

Reason for Reading: Read aloud to ds as part of our history curriculum.

Based on a true story, this book tells of a tale in which ten Jewish children are brought to a small Catholic school in the countryside of France up in the mountains. There are currently twenty students at this school. The Sister asks the students if they will be capable of hiding the Jewish children from the Nazis and they agree. Thus the children play and learn together until one day Sister does not return from town and the Nazis arrive at the school looking for the Jewish children.

A lovely little story that has become a classic. The ending is quite intense and the book is very enjoyable . There is a religious element to the story, that is crucial to the plot, but that only revolves around one bible story involving King Herod's search for the baby Jesus. A fast read but a gripping story that shows that even children can make a difference against evil. A movie has been made based on the book and we tried to get a copy through ILL but were unsuccessful.