They need to know what happened under communism.
So, in the spirit of learning history so as not to repeat it, I think this is a good book for our young people to read. This person thought the book must be set in World War II, and was critical of discrepancies. One was from a reader who didn’t seem to know about the atrocities of the Cold War. I looked through online reviews of this book. I think age 12 or 13 would be a good age for this book. The story discusses atrocities but doesn’t actually show them. My literature professor read it to his sons when they were nine or ten, and they loved the book.
So, is it appropriate for young children? Of course I can’t spoil the book for you and tell you a lot about David’s journey, but I can say the book has a very satisfying ending. What makes this book so riveting is the author’s ability to stand in David’s shoes, see with his blind spots, feel his emotions, and experience his awakening of care and protectiveness for other children. Because that’s what the camps try to take away from you, your sense of who you are.
That man, Johannes, taught him never to steal or cheat, and always to remember who he is, David. But always he keeps a distance, thinking that the authorities will throw him back into the camp if he makes himself known.ĭavid has a strong moral compass, given him by a man in the camp who cared for him for years before dying of exposure. He delights in books, but he limits himself to books that are “true”: according to his definition, that’s books written before the Communist revolution in Russia in 1917.ĭavid is shocked to find people who unexpectedly go out of their way to help him, It’s like he is waking from a bad dream. He explores our world: a bathroom, table settings, a bed. In David’s journey he sees bright colors in southern Italy, for the first time. The guard gave him sparse directions: go south to Salonica, take a ship to Italy, then go north to Denmark. When an unfriendly guard for some reason makes it possible for him to escape, he goes on the run. David’s life and outlook are uniformly grim. Is I Am David by Anne Holm, supposedly for ages 8-12, actually appropriate for young children?Īnne Holm, a Danish journalist and author, wrote this novel in 1963 about a twelve-year-old boy who grew up in a concentration camp in Eastern Europe and remembers nothing else. It’s got a lot to recommend it–It’s a riveting read. I Am David by Anne Holm, a tale of the Cold War, is an international classic, even fifty years after its first publication.
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