Sunday, October 30, 2016

The Bicycle Spy by Yona Zeldis McDonough

Cover image for The bicycle spyMarcel loves bicycle riding and dreams of one day competing in the Tour de France. Unfortunately the Tour has been canceled the last 3 years because of WWII.  Marcel keeps his riding dreams alive by using his bike to make deliveries for his parents who own a bakery shop. One day he discovers that his deliveries are more important than he could have imagined.  He tries to keep the truth about his parent's "deliveries" a secret, even from his new friend, Delphine.  Little does he know that his parent's secret work, and his bike riding skill, may some day save Delphine's family's lives.

I was so happy to read this new WWII historical fiction for grade-school-age readers. Marcel is a believable 10 year old boy who does things that a boy that age could conceivably do to save his friend. Best of all, McDonough does a good job of keeping the description of the fate of Jews during the war at an age appropriate level. I feel like I will be recommending this book a lot to kids who need to read a historical fiction. This is a great choice for children who liked Number the Stars, or The Snow Treasure.197 p.
 

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