The Silver Sword

When I was six, the BBC made a television adaptation of the book which capitivated me so much that I subsequently read the book.Amazon have latched onto my interest in films featuring Grazyna Szapolowska and offered Run, Boy Run which is a dramatisation of a very similar real life story. This brought back memories of The Silver Sword, so I decided to reread it before watching Run, Boy Run.It's an interesting story, although as an adult I found it a little too preaching and it stretched credulity beyond breaking point.But the fact that I chose to return to it more than sixty years after first reading it speaks well of its power on me in my childhood.

The Silver Sword (also known as Escape From Warsaw) takes place in Warsaw during World War II. It is a very moving account of a family separated by war and how they find inner strength to survive their wartime lot, always holding on to the hope that someday they may find all or some of their family. Most of the story is told from the sisters' perspective, as they are left in the rubble of the Warsaw ghetto to scratch out their existence. The book is moving and powerful in its beautiful depiction of the human relationships formed during this difficult time in history. Although it is fiction, it teaches about the sorrows, starvation, hardships and also joys that occur amongst the 'families' of children left to their own instincts and survival skills in their war-torn reality. Over-coming and endurance are lauded. It is an unforgettable, yet triumphant, book that should make you cry, but will leave a compassionate impression for life on the reader. I highly recommend it.

I read this (borrowed from my grade school library) in 4th grade. Very interesting to read again after many decades of studying WWII & subsequent years.

I read this book when I was a child, in about 4th grade. It inspired a lifelong love of history. A story about the impact of war on children, and how children can be courageous and resilient. Based on a true story.

Book arrived in excellent condition

When I think of what kids expect today from the world, this story makes me feel sad for them. The determination and devotion of the kids to their dream of being reunited with their parents was awe inspiring. I hope I have just a smidigen of the tenacity they exhibit. Beautiful story for all ages.

Having discovered thise while digging for books in a dusty classroom book colection, I fell in love with it before I could even finish the first paragraph. I read it over and over again and dug through this site for the best price on this priceless relic. I'll forever cherish this, the best book on earth.

Great readA new perspective on how this war had affected the ordinary people who lived and recovered from it

The Silver Sword by Ian Serrailler is a powerful children’s historical classic written in 1956. It is a book that must be read so that the past is not forgotten.The novel is set during World War II in occupied Europe, beginning in Warsaw. It follows the fortunes of a group of children with indomitable spirits who have to use their wits to survive as they travel to find family. They have a strong will and a hope that they will succeed. The small group show kindness for other lost children, and they receive kindness back. The majority of the novel follows the children but to set the scene the novel opens with what happened to their father. Nazi occupied Europe was a terrible place to be. It needed courage and a desire to live in order to have a chance of surviving.I first read The Silver Sword as a child at primary school in the early 1970’s. It is a book whose impact has stayed with me down the years. I decided I wanted to reread it so bought a copy. It is still a powerful read and I read it in just one sitting. If you have never read The Silver Sword, grab yourself a copy… read it and then lend it to your children or grandchildren.The Silver Sword is a children’s classic that has never gone out of print.

I remember reading this book in high school. It must have been early high school as it wasn’t one of my exam set texts so between 11-13. I remember thinking it was the most exciting adventure, four children crossing countries to reach their father in Switzerland. There are elements about the book I always remembered but until recently I never remembered the name of the book. I remembered Jan’s name, I remembered the cockerel and what happened to him. I remember it being set in Warsaw, well at least part of it, because that’s how I learnt it was the capital of Poland. I remembered Ruth but not Edek or Bronia.Reading this book as an adult was a different experience. I still enjoyed the story a great deal but as an adult, I felt it moved along far too fast. For a child, the pace is perfect. It keeps the story moving so children don’t become bored with too much detail but for an adult, I wanted more in-depth detail. As this is aimed at children, it’s perfect. For me as an adult, it was a great nostalgic read but I was left wanting so much more.

Really pleased to get this. It is a very absorbing story about an escape from Warsaw, and how a family meets up together again. I read this in the very early 70s. I am now 57, and still remember the story. I found the afterward written by the author's son very poignant. Enough said!

As a child I watched the BBC production of this book, and loved it. Really the first time I had a glimspe of the devastation Hitler and his thugs heaped upon Europe and the rest of the World during the years 1933-1945 and the fallout for all the victims thereafter.I bought my first book of "The Silver Sword" many years ago and with many readings it has grown rather tatty, so decided to buy a replacement. Very happy to have this little gem on my book shelf to read whenever the mood takes me.

It is more than forty years since I last read it, though it was one of my favourites as a child. I What a delight re-reading it proved to be.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 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.