Raising Readers: "Snow Treasure"

Parents who encourage and successfully develop children who read see greater school success and satisfaction. This series reviews various examples of children’s literature and provides insights for parents to discuss with their children. Reading and sharing the wonderful stories available to children sends a message that reading is important, creates positive “shared experiences” for families, and helps parents exert a subtle influence on their children’s development.

This story is set in Norway, in the spring of 1940 just after the start of WWII when Germany invaded and occupied the country. 

Norway has a large quantity of gold bullion, which the Norwegians are determined to prevent falling into the hands of the Germans. They devise a daring plan to smuggle the bullion past the German soldiers and store it on a fishing trawler for transport to America. Thus begins the adventure of a lifetime for 12 year old Peter Lundstrom and his friends. Peter’s father is a banker and one of the prime planners along with Peter’s Uncle Victor who owns a fishing boat and is a larger than life hero to young Peter.

Each child is to hide a gold brick under their sleds and innocently sled down the steep mountain hills to a fjord and deliver them, one by one over many weeks, to Uncle Victor who hides them on his boat. There is plenty of suspense as the story develops: Will their intricate plan work? Will the cold weather hold? Will the German soldiers begin to suspect? Will any of the children reveal the secret? At the climax of the book, Peter is actually captured for a short time, but is then rescued by an unlikely character.         

Readers are drawn in by the intrepid friends as they go about their secret plan. There is also a section where the Norwegian adults have to concoct a story to convince the German Commandant that it is necessary to close the schools so the children can keep on sledding. (Children LOVE that section!) It’s a nice example of historical fiction that is based on a tale (briefly covered in the book’s foreword) that may or may not have happened. 

Character traits of friendship, cleverness, loyalty, courage, cooperation and committing to a common cause larger than oneself are portrayed throughout. Though the story unfolds against the backdrop of the German occupation of Norway, there is no gunfire or death. Depending on reading level, this book is for 8 year olds and up. 

Raising Readers is written by Steve Arnold of Club Z! In-Home Tutoring Services.  He can be reached at 610.831.5101 or ChesMontClubZ@gmail.com. Find out more about Club Z! In-Home Tutoring at www.clubztutoring.com/ChesMont.