Escape to the Hiding Place

The Imagination Station #9

by Marianne Hering, Marshal Younger

Patrick and Beth arrive in World War II Holland in the farm country. They must smuggle a baby (by bicycle) into the capable hands of Corrie ten Boom at her home in Haarlem. Along the way they hide from Nazi soliders, meet a Russian surgeon forced into service by the Germans, and encourage two Jewish children who haven't been outside in over three years. The children learn to appreciate the bravery and sacrifice of everyday people who helped the Jews.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Childrens, Christian, Time Travel, Historical, Adventure

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2012

About the author

Marianne Hering is a prolific writer, having written hundreds of articles and a number of books for children and parents. For nine years she worked for several magazines in Focus on the Family’s periodicals department and became the editor of Clubhouse, a Focus on the Family children’s magazine with a circulation of more than 100,000.

As a book developer for Focus on the Family, she and coauthor / creative director Paul McCusker launched the Adventures in Odyssey book series The Imagination Station in 2010. Currently the series includes 19 books, with two more contracted for 2017 release. Paul bowed out of his role in 2015 to pursue other creative avenues. The combined sales are more than 450,000.

Currently Marianne is a freelance writer taking assignments. She and her husband live in Colorado with their twin sons.

Reviews

[Nicholas Seders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Story, Older Themes
These books are usually perfect for children 6-10 years-old. Our 7 year-old daughter LOVES the series, and we've been breezing through it by reading a chapter every night. When it came to this particular story, though the plot had her attention, the context and themes were a little beyond her comprehension. We would stop and discuss the Nazis, the holocaust, the resistance, the Gestapo, and other elements of the story that she didn't understand – but it mostly went over her head.
So, it's a good story, but probably won't make complete sense to younger kids.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good I like these books! I highly recommend them too!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was, by far, one of the best children’s chapter books I’ve read this year. It was rich with history, the narrative was so compelling, and more often than not, we read more chapters than we’d planned because we couldn’t put it down. I’d just taken my kids to see the Corrie Ten Boom House in Haarlem this past summer, and we loved that the illustrations were so true to what the house actually looked like. This is the first Imagination Station Book I’d read my kids, and I’m so excited to get my hands on more of this series.

[Ruthe Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entire series called Imagination Station takes children to places and events around the world through the magic of time travel. This particular book is a favorite, as it tells of conditions for the people, especially the Jews, in Holland during World War 2. Cousins Beth and Patrick find themselves in dangerous situations from page one. The highlight is sitting in the home of the ten Boom family, who at their own peril, hid Jews in a secret room. While the plot is fiction, everything else is factual and riveting. This is a perfect introduction for children 7-12 to learn of Corrie ten Boom and her best seller, "The Hiding Place."

[Jeri Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this because my Hyrum loves this series. It was recommended by Jenny Phillips.

Simple plot for early readers. I love the focus on God, prayer, honesty, and doing good. The tie in to Corrie ten Boom and her story was unexpected and fun.

[Sydney Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A just-intense-enough story to introduce my children to the Corrie Ten Boom/WW2 part of history. Could have been so impactful because I’ve read much more on the subject and have a broader view, but it was an excellent book.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

G read this to me for his 31-day Read-Aloud Challenge. We both enjoyed it and love that Corrie ten Boom is in this story!

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beth and Patrick arrive back in world war II. There, they must smuggle a baby to her mother. They must avoid the Nazi soldiers along the way.
This is a good book. I like it.

[Jordyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow that was fast... it had a sad ending though because people did die In history after the events of this book. It was sweet though that baby Miriam was reunited with her mama❤

Over all not my favorite book in the series but went by really fast and was suspenseful

[Solorio Academy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently discovered these. It’s like a Christian version of The Magic Treehouse series. Very cool.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of two kids who went to the past to experience a great adventure and learn about what Jews face in World war ll. It's was a good way to study history with an adventure story!

[Myra Benedict · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just not my favorite kind of book and the story was just not engaging for me.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. These books do a great job of immersing the reader in history. Makes me want to know more about Corrie ten boom!

[Tim Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved this series so far. I loved getting to see information about WWII from a country that isn’t Germany or America.

[GheenGirls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turtle just re-read this series at her own request. She said: great! Return to library.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page turning

[Kristen Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read with my 6 year old but depicts ww2 history age appropriately and introduces Corrie Ten Boom which prompted such neat discussion about how we follow Jesus when it’s dangerous.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it so much!

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful historical fiction. It did a good job expressing some of the tension of Nazi rule in a way kids could understand.

[Anna || annareadsnshares · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 and 9-year old loved this book as a read-aloud!
I loved the detail in the story of the backpack, the parachute, and the watch. And how kids can see that God takes care of the minor details of our lives. We also enjoyed going online and taking a tour of the Ten Boom's house through a virtual tour and watching Torchlighters: The Corrie Ten Boom Story.
We're definitely going to be reading more imagination station books!

[Patricia Kemp Blackmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patrick and Beth are disappointed that they will not be getting their Red Cross certificate. They are too young. So after hearing this Mr. Whit suggests it is time for another adventure with Imagination Station. When and where in time will they end up this time?

When they are transported they are by a lake and they hear what sounds like an airplane. To their shock the plane is on fire and is about to crash. Just before the plane disappeared from site a parachute flew up and out of the airplane. The they saw some soldiers and heard them rushing about. Maybe they were looking for the airplane. At that moment they felt like they should hide in the bushes. To their great surprise their was a woman hiding in the same spot but when she spoke it was very apparent it was a man. He told the kids that the soldiers were Nazi soldiers. So they became extra still and quiet.

The young man's name was Bernard and he offered to take them to his families farm. From talking to Bernard they find out he is with the Danish Resistance and they are in Holland.They no sooner arrived at the farm when Bernard's father entered the cottage with an injured soldier, he was Canadian and they had to hide him until they could get him safely out of the country. When a doctor arrived at the cottage he had on a German uniform and he was carrying a small baby. They were told the German doctor had been forced to join the Nazies but he was also a member of the resistance and would help the Canadian soldier. In turn he needed someone to take the baby to her parent's in the city. Patrick and Beth were the most logical choice to take the baby to her parents. The parents were being hidden from the Nazies because they are Jewish and if caught they will be sent to a concentration camp.

Will they be able to get past the Nazi soldiers? What will happen to them if they get stopped? Who could be brave enough to hide a Jew? Surely if they were found out they too would be sent to a camp.

Again the author has written of a great Historical event about WWII, the Nazies, and the Danish Resistance. The Historical Christian Heroes which are Christ's Disciples willing to trust God and sacrifice their lives to protect our brothers and sisters in harms way.

The illustrations depict the war and you can see the compassion on the faces of those that reach out to protect and those who reach out for protection.

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure
I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale House for review. I was in no way compensated for this review. It is my own opinion.

If you found this review helpful vote yes or no here.

[Samantha Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Tyndale’s Summer Reading Challenge, they had quite a few books in the Imagination Station series, and I reviewed one of them already, which I absolutely LOVED, despite it being set in Ancient Rome! Once I found out they had a WWII themed book and it was on Amazon for less than $5, of course I bought it!
In this book aimed at first-third graders, cousins Patrick and Beth travel back to WWII Holland and join the Dutch Resistance, and ultimately smuggle a Jewish baby to Corrie ten Boom’s house. I did enjoy this book, but unfortunately not as much as I thought I would. I found certain parts unrealistic (and I thought of work-able, age-appropriate alternatives). Some parts I thought could have been better researched, but I was able to forgive this, mostly because I understand the authors are just authors, not historians. I also don’t think it’s quite for 7+, but perhaps a slightly more mature age group. Then, there is the implied historical inaccuracy in most Corrie ten Boom stories, but that’s just a pet peeve of mine.
Although there are many other Holocaust chapter books, specifically right off my head Twenty and Ten for the first-third grade age and Number the Stars that I prefer better, this book wasn’t horrible by any means, and I’m really proud of them for even tackling this subject for a young audience range and overall, recommend the series. It truly is a fantastic Christian series that introduces young kids to history. (I’m quite passionate about WWII and somewhat picky about it! That’s just me and my issues lol)

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Adventure is in store for the two cousins, this time during World War Two in Holland. The cousins find themselves in a dangerous predicament. They need to get a little Jewish baby to its mother without being caught. Patrick and Beth hear that it's not safe to leave the farm where their staying but at the same time they are told that it's not safe to stay either. As they begin their journey to the hiding place they find that the Germans are everywhere. They begin to wonder if the hiding place is even a place where they can hide and the Germans won't find them.
Escape to the Hiding Place is the ninth book in the Imagination Station series by Marianne Hering and Marshal Younger. The series is obviously written for younger readers but people of all ages will love the Christian values it teaches and enjoy the fun historical read. Lovers of the radio series Adventures in Odyssey will definitely want to read this series and will be sure to fall in love with these books. All in all it was a great book.

[Louise Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patrick and Beth are discouraged because they can’t get a job until they are eleven which seems like forever. So Whit offers to send them on a trip in the Imagination Station. When they arrive, they find themselves near a windmill. They hear a plane crash and see a pilot coming down with a parachute. They hide though when they see three Nazi soldiers coming. A local young man finds them and takes them to his home. Unfortunately, there is a mission that needs to be done but no one else can do it because only children would be able to get through. But what happens when Beth gets stopped by the Gestapo officer? The children learn about being brave when scared and how children can make a difference. They also get to meet Corrie Ten Boom. Loved it!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different from other books in the series

This book is different from the other books I've read in this series - unlike other adventures, Patrick & Beth have no idea where they are going or even a hint as to what they might learn while there. I thought that aspect was nice. Unlike many books in this series, the title is actually relevant to the story - even clever! (They have to make a baby "escape" to the Ten Boom's house ... Corrie Ten Boom wrote a book entitled "The Hiding Place" about her WWII experiences.) This book provides a great springboard for discussion with your elementary school children about this time in history. As expected, the story is a little forced and short, but for it's target age, I believe that's probably needed.

[Celena Janton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like every other Imagination Station book we've read, we really enjoyed this one. My 1st and 3rd grade children really enjoyed it as a read-aloud story, and also as a silent reading book. Each time I stopped reading for the night, they begged for more. They learned so much and always remembered what had happened during our "last episode" when we discussed it the next day. The story here is a great children's introduction to WWII and Jewish persecution. It was a wonderful introduction to the life of Corrie Ten Boom. We also listed to the audio of "The Hiding Place" by Focus on the Family. It's an amazing story that everyone--both children and adults--should hear!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Once again, this series is a delight to read and I think I will need to buy the set for my nephew. These books are perfect for him and full of accurate history. This book takes the reader into World War II where Beth and Patrick risk their lives to save a baby. The main plot of the book is the children traveling to Corrie's home in Haarlem. Packed full of adventure, the kids are right in the thick of things. Thanks to the Imagination Station they were able to hop back in time to experience all the adventure and see the reality of war.

Great book, great series.



Highly recommend!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Escape to the Hiding Place is another exciting book in the Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station series. In this adventure, Patrick and Beth travel to Holland during World War 2. While there, they meet Corrie Ten Boom and help to smuggle a baby to her home for safe keeping. During their adventure, they are thrust into danger as they dodge Nazi soldiers, encourage Jewish children in hiding, and interact with a Russian doctor who is being forced to serve the German army. Not only does this book teach valuable Christian lessons to readers, but the story also gives readers an appreciation for the risks and courage of those who helped the Jewish people during World War 2.

[Gina Hott · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I liked: I really enjoyed this book. Not as much as the audio-series, mind you, but still. It was fun to go back in time and learn so much about a time that isn’t discussed very often any longer but effected our lives so drastically.
What I didn’t like: The kids didn’t love it. None of them. They’d listen to me read it but not one of them would pick it up themselves.

More…
Author: Marianne Hering, Marshal Younger
Source: Tyndale House Publishers
Grade: C
Ages: 7-13
Setting: World War II Holland
Series: AIO Imagination Station Bks. , #9

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

“No one thinks kids can do anything,” Beth says in the beginning of the book. So Whit sends cousins Beth and Patrick on an adventure through the Imagination Station to Holland during World War II. There they do something that only a child could do. It’s dangerous and scary but they do it and learn about the Dutch who did not support the Nazi’s and instead tried to rescue the Jews. Great story for late elementary kids.