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My Story: Boys
Spy Smuggler: Paul Lelaud, France, 1942-1944
Paul Lelaud France 1942-1944 I couldn't see the four fires, but I could smell them, the scent of burning paraffin and wood coming thickly in waves of smoke across the field. My heart started thumping again. Surely if we could smell the fires, others could as well. A German patrol would smell them for sure! Then I was aware of a large shape looming up in the night sky, its wings wide. It was the biggest thing I had ever seen. There were no lights showing on it. Down, down, down it came, lower and lower. I could hear the sound of its engine slowing and I thought with alarm, "If it goes any slower it will crash in the field, and what will we do then?" Paul Leland is a 13-year-old boy living in rural France. He has been living under Nazi occupation since 1940. Working with the Resistance cell in his village, Paul is a crucial figure in the 'escape route' for allied POWs and agents.
192 pages, Paperback
First published December 10, 2004
6 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Jim Eldridge
159 books153 followersJim Eldridge is the author of many books for children, including titles in the My Story series, the Warpath books, and How to Handle Grown-Ups. He has had 250 TV scripts broadcast in the UK and internationally for children's and teen television, and is also the creator and writer of Radio 4's long-running comedy-drama series, King Street Junior.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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December 2, 2011 “All the time I kept waiting for my father to come home. So I can ask him, what really happened? What had he seen? What had it been like?” (pg.6). What is his father’s response? To find out what happens you have to read Spy Smuggler by Jim Eldridge.
Spy Smuggler is about a 13 year old boy named Paul Lelaud. Paul wants to fight the Germans but he is too young to help. Paul takes a chance and sets off to fight. Does he die or survive? Watch out- he does get put in jail. I like the ends of books because they are always the best because there is more action. One thing I didn’t like is they don’t tell much about the characters. I recommend the book to a person that likes adventure or war. Definitely read Spy Smuggler by Jim Eldridge!
Spy Smuggler is about a 13 year old boy named Paul Lelaud. Paul wants to fight the Germans but he is too young to help. Paul takes a chance and sets off to fight. Does he die or survive? Watch out- he does get put in jail. I like the ends of books because they are always the best because there is more action. One thing I didn’t like is they don’t tell much about the characters. I recommend the book to a person that likes adventure or war. Definitely read Spy Smuggler by Jim Eldridge!
February 6, 2020
A good book for late elementary/junior high boys. (Girls will enjoy it too - I just find there aren't enough historical fiction books to engage boys, so when I discover one, I get excited!) An intriguing story about the Resistance in France during WWII told from the point of view of a 14-year-old boy. This book has spies, beatings, gunfire, and car chases for a valid look at occupied France without being too gory or frightening for younger readers. It contains a couple of tear-jerker moments, also. The reality of the Holocaust - while not central to the story - is present in the character of the protagonist's absent friend. Includes some historical notes, a timeline of the war, and some cool photos at the end.
January 1, 2018
Easy book to recommend if the subject makes you curious. I found it in a local "free library", thinking it was a true story (it's not). That said, it's a fun read that seems to paint a pretty accurate picture of what events were like during the period.
May 31, 2018
Very Good book to read, I would recommend this book to anyone!. I also loved the character and how mature he was, I also loved how there was a bakery invloved. Anyways This was a great book and would recommend this book to everyone!
June 13, 2023
Despite the cover, the story really begins in 1943.
June 15, 2025
An interesting read. I was routing for him the whole time. Plus, It's always good to read about history.
December 8, 2025
It is quite gruesome
March 6, 2015
Book Review
In this book the main character is a fourteen year old boy. His name is Paul Lenlaud. He just left school and now is working in his uncle’s bakery. But, when he left school, on his last day he felt so much resent at his teacher because he was a german loving person he attacked him. He went to jail for breaking his teacher’s nose. He went to jail for a little while and the good, french sergeant said he was cleared of the charges. For this act his uncle knew that this boy had spirit to fight back against the germans. His uncle then invited him to to join the french resistance. Paul and his uncle helped smuggle spies at the dead of night. They need to smuggle sipes because they need information from outside of the country.
The setting of this story takes place in a little town of Chinon, France. In this town it is where Paul, his mom, and uncle lived. They lived on top of a bakery. There bakery is where Paul and his uncle work. Once paul had to send a secret message that was hidden in the pastry bag. The pastry bag was delivered to send the message. In the town there is a town square. The town square was once good and peaceful, until that was the place where the executions were held. For an assassination to five germans soldiers there were twenty Germans that were killed. There is also a barn where Paul and his resistance friends send Morse code messages to other countries. These are some of the settings in the book.
I would rate this book three stars. This book was was good but it was not great. The book had a lot of exciting and emotional parts. The exciting parts were good but did not really grab my attention. It started with a really, good, exciting beginning but did not have a very good ending. An example was when Paul had his first mission, to smuggle a spy from England. They had to hurry around lighting fires so that the plane can see where to take the drop of. They did the mission successfully. That was the exciting part. I expected something after but the only thing after that was only to get some flour for the bakery. They did not even talk to the spy or celebrate their victory. They only had to get some flour and leave. That was a very disappointing ending of and exciting event. Even though their are bad parts there are also some good parts too. My favourite was when the boy stood up against his German loving teacher. On the last day of school he got so mad that he ran at his teacher and punched him. The boy went to jail and the teacher go a broken nose. This is my rating of this book.
In this book the main character is a fourteen year old boy. His name is Paul Lenlaud. He just left school and now is working in his uncle’s bakery. But, when he left school, on his last day he felt so much resent at his teacher because he was a german loving person he attacked him. He went to jail for breaking his teacher’s nose. He went to jail for a little while and the good, french sergeant said he was cleared of the charges. For this act his uncle knew that this boy had spirit to fight back against the germans. His uncle then invited him to to join the french resistance. Paul and his uncle helped smuggle spies at the dead of night. They need to smuggle sipes because they need information from outside of the country.
The setting of this story takes place in a little town of Chinon, France. In this town it is where Paul, his mom, and uncle lived. They lived on top of a bakery. There bakery is where Paul and his uncle work. Once paul had to send a secret message that was hidden in the pastry bag. The pastry bag was delivered to send the message. In the town there is a town square. The town square was once good and peaceful, until that was the place where the executions were held. For an assassination to five germans soldiers there were twenty Germans that were killed. There is also a barn where Paul and his resistance friends send Morse code messages to other countries. These are some of the settings in the book.
I would rate this book three stars. This book was was good but it was not great. The book had a lot of exciting and emotional parts. The exciting parts were good but did not really grab my attention. It started with a really, good, exciting beginning but did not have a very good ending. An example was when Paul had his first mission, to smuggle a spy from England. They had to hurry around lighting fires so that the plane can see where to take the drop of. They did the mission successfully. That was the exciting part. I expected something after but the only thing after that was only to get some flour for the bakery. They did not even talk to the spy or celebrate their victory. They only had to get some flour and leave. That was a very disappointing ending of and exciting event. Even though their are bad parts there are also some good parts too. My favourite was when the boy stood up against his German loving teacher. On the last day of school he got so mad that he ran at his teacher and punched him. The boy went to jail and the teacher go a broken nose. This is my rating of this book.
March 6, 2015
The book Spy Smuggler is about a 14-year-old boy named Paul Leland, his Uncle Maurice, and his friends fight against the German Nazis. The Germans have taken over the city he lives in for 3 years already, and he hates them because they killed his best friend, Emile, and Paul’s father. His Uncle Maurice is a baker, and Paul dislikes him because he apparently LIKES the Germans. However, after Paul and his friends find out it was all a cover, and that they actually work for the German Resistance, they jump at the chance to join them. Soon, they are helping smuggle spies into their town so they can retain valuable info on the Nazis.
Unfortunately, they get caught doing their stuff red-handed, so they must escape… or DIE AT THE HANDS OF THE NAZIS. I really liked this book, and I would probably give it 4 stars, as it was very well written, and it was really suspenseful. However, I think it could have had a bit more action in it, and a bit more actual spy-smuggling in it because, despite the name, he only does it about TWICE the whole entire time.
Oh yeah, and Paul gets thrown in jail.
Unfortunately, they get caught doing their stuff red-handed, so they must escape… or DIE AT THE HANDS OF THE NAZIS. I really liked this book, and I would probably give it 4 stars, as it was very well written, and it was really suspenseful. However, I think it could have had a bit more action in it, and a bit more actual spy-smuggling in it because, despite the name, he only does it about TWICE the whole entire time.
Oh yeah, and Paul gets thrown in jail.
April 30, 2013
The town of Chinon of France has been taken over by Germans for 3 years. A young 14 year old boy named Paul Lelaud hates the Germans because they had killed his father. At the age of 14, Paul is allowed to leave school for work, but on his last day, Paul gets in a fight with his German loving teacher and was sent to jail. His Uncle Maurice bails him out and invites him to join the Resistance, an underground organization that helps sabotage the German forces. For 2 years, Paul has helped the Resistance by smuggling spies, sabotaging telephone wires and feeding the Allies with information which led to the German's retreat from the town.
I picked up this book because at first I thought it was based on a true story and the title sounded cool.
I finished this book because I realized that it was historical fiction, but it was still a pretty good book.
I would recommend this book to my brother because he likes anything about spies.
I picked up this book because at first I thought it was based on a true story and the title sounded cool.
I finished this book because I realized that it was historical fiction, but it was still a pretty good book.
I would recommend this book to my brother because he likes anything about spies.
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November 12, 2012This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.
September 23, 2010
It wasn't as good as battle of Britain but it was pretty awesome.
December 9, 2010
its good, lots of people die. I am on page 140
April 25, 2011
It's good for kids.
May 30, 2012
Not bad. An interesting read, albeit not incredibly stimulating.
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December 22, 2012Thrilling and epic and really amazing.
August 13, 2013
Interesting to learn about the french resistance from German occupation. Loved how there was a bakery involved. Liked how the boy sort of matured. Like reading about spies and morse code.
April 24, 2010
A was a good book
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews