Susan Hepler, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
A fictionalized story set in World War II is well served in Louise Borden's first-person narrative combined with Niki Daly's subdued and wintry palette of the Dutch landscape. A young skater named Piet has always admired the first man to skate the route now immortalized in the "Eleven Towns Race" that takes place in the Netherlands. He suddenly has a chance to use his skating skills to accompany two children whose father has been taken by the Germans. Their mother is sending them to relatives for safety and has asked him to skate the canals with them from Sluis (rhymes with voice) across the Belgian border to relatives. The dramatic story shows Piet's courage, his ability to avoid detection, and the ways the children keep up their spirits on the long skate (the record for the 200 kilometer race is slightly under thirteen hours). Although there is no suggestion that Piet's accomplishment is based on a real event, it reads like one complete with an "After the War" section and readers would have been well-served by a note saying exactly what is real and what is made up. There are, however, informative short historical notes, both on the race itself, and on skates and skate making, which end the story. Daly uses reddened browns and grays and the vast panorama of the flattened landscape and canal routes to create a fine sense of place. This book belongs alongside other picture book treatments of World War II incidents, such as Candace Fleming's Boxes for Katje, which is also set in the Netherlands, as an introduction to the period for upper elementary and middle school studies. It is also an excellent companion to novels personal courage in World War II, such as Lois Lowry's Number the Stars. 2004, McElderry Books, $18.95. Ages 9 to 12.

CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2005)
A story set in 1941 takes place in the Netherlands, where young Piet dreams of being a great skater like his hero Pim Mulier of the historic Elfstedentocht race fame. Piet’s father is away fighting in World War II, but the very real dangers of that war are not just on far-off battlefields. Piet’s country is occupied by the Germans, and when a classmate’s father is arrested for owning a radio, Piet is asked to lead her and her younger brother to safety in a town in Belgium, 16 kilometers away. Piet, Johanna, and Joop must skate along the canals under the eyes of the Germans, acting as if they are just children at play. Johanna is a superb skater and Piet doesn’t worry about her keeping up, but it’s a struggle for young Joop. There are several tense moments made all the more difficult by the children’s growing exhaustion as they stride toward the journey’s conclusion in Louise Borden’s dramatic and satisfying story. Niki Daly’s fine period illustrations perfectly complement the text, and an author’s note provides additional information on the history of skating in the Netherlands and the real Elfstedentocht race that was fictional Piet’s inspiration on the longest skate of his young life. CCBC categories: Picture Books for School-Aged Children. 2004, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 44 pages, $18.95. Ages 7-10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 18))
One winter day in 1941, in a German-occupied Dutch town called Sluis, ten-year-old Piet Janssen's ice-skating skills are put to a dangerous test. It's WWII, and Piet's schoolmate Johanna Winkelman's father has been arrested for espionage. Since his friend and her brother are no longer safe at home, Piet must help them escape to their aunt's house in Brugge, skating over icy canals and outsmarting German soldiers until the three cross the Belgian border. The story of this perilous, bitterly cold flight-a race against time-is told in Piet's earnest first-person voice and formatted like poetry, with frequent, often inexplicable line breaks. Themes of bravery, strength, and tradition echo throughout-like the "Swisssshh, swissshhh" of the children's skates. Daly's lovely illustrations, complete with rosy-cheeked innocents and autumnal tones, effectively evoke a sense of time and place in this slow-moving (but nonetheless moving) tale of a child's wartime heroism. (information about the Elfstedentocht, author's note on the history of skating, map) 2004, McElderry, 48p, $18.95. Category: Picture book. Ages 8 to 11. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January 2005 (Vol. 58, No. 5))
Narrator Piet looks back to 1941, when he was a ten-year-old boy whose goal was to emulate his hero, Pim Mulier, who organized the 200-kilometer skating race along the canals that connect eleven towns in the northern Netherlands. Although Piet wouldn't actually skate in the Elfstedentocht race for many years, he covered the route on a far more important mission in 1941 when he was called upon to accompany two children to the safety of their aunt's home in the north after their father was apprehended by the Nazis. With impressive stamina and quick-wittedness, Piet guided his classmate and her younger brother over the ice and under the noses of German soldiers, pretending to be no more than siblings on a local errand for their parents. Although this has the feel and ring of a memoir, or at least a wartime legend, concluding notes on the Elfstedentocht and the history of skating verify that Pim Mulier was an historical figure but remain silent about Piet. Ragged-right blocks of text, which look suspiciously like poetry but sound like prose, run on longer than necessary for the plot, but the wintry brown and amber scenes set against an icy white backdrop provide some cool visual appeal. Readers whose literary acquaintance with the Netherlands is limited to "The Boy Who Held Back the Sea" can now add another tale of quiet heroism. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, McElderry, 48p, $18.95. Grades 3-5.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2005)
After a neighbor is arrested for radioing messages in early 1942 Holland, Piet, only ten but "a strong skater" with "a quick mind," guides the man's two children to safety on skates. The verse-style narrative is set on broad, snowy pages. Daly's colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations evoke the story's drama and its seriousness. This carefully researched book makes a fine introduction to the period. Category: Picture Books. 2004, McElderry, 48pp, 18.95. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Sarah Meitzler (The Kutztown University Book Review, Fall 2005)
In December 1941, 10 year old Piet Janssen from Sluis, Netherlands dreams of skating the Elfstedentocht like his hero Pim Mulier. This was the second winter of WWII in German occupied Holland. His family helped their young friends to flee to Brugge, Belgium. They skated 16 kilometers and walked on the land with skates for the remainder of the trip. German sentries fire a shot above their heads, but Piet convinced them that they were only skating to see their aunt. The war ends and years later Piet’s dreams to skate the Elfstedentocht come true. The illustrations by Niki Daly are done in colored pencil, ballpoint pen, and watercolor with digital tone enhancement. A map of Europe in 1942 is included. History on the Elfstedentocht (Eleven Towns Race 125 miles long) and skating is given in the back of the book. Throughout the entire book readers are held in suspense. This book would be great to discuss with children how war can affect lives, but heroes, even children, can persevere. Category: . 2004, Margaret K. McElderry Books, $18.95. Ages 8 to 12.

Laura Baker (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 17, No. 3))
Piet Janssen was ten years old in 1941 during the German occupation of his native Netherlands town of Sluis. More than anything, Piet wants to be like his skating hero, Pim Mulier, and skate in the famous Elfstedentocht, the prestigious Eleven Towns race, when he grows up. First, however, Piet must skate a race of his own by helping two younger children escape the Germans by fleeing to Belgium. He must escort them 16 kilometers by skating the canals under the watch of German guards, all the while seeming like innocent school children instead of a family fleeing the Nazi regime. Physical and moral courage will be demanded before the trip is completed. Borden bases her historical fiction on true places and events. She tells the story in first person, giving a sense of immediacy to the situation. The illustrations with nostalgic tints and cold colors make the reader feel the gravity of the situation. Although Piet's journey requires physical endurance, it also demands strength of character. Piet must outface questioning by German border guards, he must maintain hope when he loses his way, and he must always keep a clear sense of the rightness of his task. In the afterword, Piet does skate the Elfstedentocht, but he says he considers the 16-kilometer trek when he was ten to be his greatest race. This is an engaging story that not only is exciting but also stresses the difference children can make. Fiction. Grades 3-6. 2004, McElderry Books, 44p., $18.95. Ages 8 to 12.