One cold winter during World War II, nine-year-old Adam's mother leaves him to survive in the forest. Thomas, a near-sighted, fastidious classmate who was also left by his mother, soon joins Adam. With Adam's natural wilderness acumen, the boys build a nestlike berth in the treetops and begin to forage for food after their sandwiches are eaten. Their dreams of home and family help them get through the cold and fearful nights, during which the topic of anti-Semitism is explored in conversation. An angel child appears, Mina, and clandestinely feeds them until she has her own mishaps. Appelfeld, a Holocaust survivor, escaped a concentration camp at eight years old and spent the next three years roaming the forests. Translated from the original Hebrew text and accompanied by Dumas' moving illustrations, the story is one of quiet perseverance and growing friendship between two very different boys experiencing the world together in a horrific time and place.

Gr 4-6 Originally published in France, this story is about two Jewish boys who have been left in the woods near their home by their mothers who must return to the ghetto. The boys survive by eating berries, foraging for food, and milking cows for fresh milk. Readers get a sense of the larger context of World War II through some minor characters, who make appearances as runaways or fugitives. There are several allusions to spiritual beliefs, but they are not overt. Dialogue is lyrical and a bit dreamlike, and the characters are sympathetic. The sentence structure and vocabulary are simplistic. Dumas's illustrations add to the dreamlike quality of the text. VERDICT An fine addition to elementary and middle school libraries looking for tender friendship and survival stories set during the second World War. Melissa Etheridge, Siegel Middle School, TN