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Stand By, Boys
Zeeland, a province in the Netherlands which lay lower than the sea, is the scene, and the indomitable Zeelanders joined to the sea in an endless struggle, are the characters of this true story of the tragedy in Holland, when on February 1, 1953, the North Sea, furiously storming and rising with the tide, broke through the dikes and once more exacted its toll in human life, property and precious land. Klaas Norel, who visited Zeeland just after the storm to survey the flooded polders and the human plight, writes for boys and girls this moving and vivid account of both the tragedy and the heroism brought on by the flood. The heroism belonged not only to Dutch men and women but to their children as well.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
81 pages, Paperback
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 7, 2021
A somewhat interesting book about the Holland’s fight against the sea. I don’t know if it was the fault of this story being translated or not, but I never really felt connected to the characters, and it felt somewhat depressing. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of life to the story most of the time. Only a few short times did I feel pulled into the story. It is a short story with the entire book being only 81 small pages with normal font. Perhaps that’s why it was just interesting and not really captivating like one might expect from a book about this event. Oh, and we are never really told what actually happened to cause the “situation”.
There is a good message about having hope and peace in Christ even in storms.
There is a good message about having hope and peace in Christ even in storms.
June 28, 2024
This is an excellent, deeply moving, and educational piece of historical fiction for about third to fifth grade children.
My quarrel with the book is the Scripture verses about the dangers of hell and the call to salvation that come interspersed throughout the book, mostly at the end of chapters. These verses, taken out of context and combined with a story about a life-threatening flood, seem to turn the book into a piece of evangelistic literature with an emphasis on fearing death and saving one's soul from hellfire. Suitable for eight-year-olds? I don't think so.
All that being said, it's a great story to read aloud (just skip any Bible verses that are unsuitable for your audience), and I would consider giving it to a child to read with some conversation and consideration of the child's level of development.
My quarrel with the book is the Scripture verses about the dangers of hell and the call to salvation that come interspersed throughout the book, mostly at the end of chapters. These verses, taken out of context and combined with a story about a life-threatening flood, seem to turn the book into a piece of evangelistic literature with an emphasis on fearing death and saving one's soul from hellfire. Suitable for eight-year-olds? I don't think so.
All that being said, it's a great story to read aloud (just skip any Bible verses that are unsuitable for your audience), and I would consider giving it to a child to read with some conversation and consideration of the child's level of development.
April 16, 2021
Nice short story with Christian characters.
May 21, 2022
I didn’t read this today. I just remembered it and I used to read it a lot when I was younger.
May 22, 2022
I love this book. It’s an amazing true story with Christian implementation. Very encouraging.
February 19, 2010
One family's experience, over 24 hours, of the 1953 flooding of the Netherlands when the waves of the North Sea broke through the dikes and flooded much of it. The family is separated from each other because the eldest son is spending the night at a friend's house in the next town. The story moves back and forth between the events of the two locations.
The eldest brother is kind and protective of his younger sister and his mother, he and his sister demonstrate courage and strength, and the family demonstrates faith and trust in God, dealing with fear and the assurance of eternity in heaven. Perseverance is also demonstrated. There was nothing I objected to in this book except for the risk-taking behavior of the children in the beginning of the book when they stood on top of the dike in the storm. The sister was fearful, the children responsible and the behavior was not glorified. They had a quick look at the sea and got down. Not having been there myself, I don't know if this was dangerous or not, but it doesn't sound like something children should be doing without an adult.
I read this aloud to my 4 year old son. We were both on the edge of our seats as we read 2-3 chapters at a time, over 3 days. We hated to put it down when we had to. Very exciting, no fluff, great use of language, lovable characters. We learned about the Netherlands, dikes and land structure of North Beveland. This is a great starting point for a unit study on the Netherlands or on natural disasters.
The eldest brother is kind and protective of his younger sister and his mother, he and his sister demonstrate courage and strength, and the family demonstrates faith and trust in God, dealing with fear and the assurance of eternity in heaven. Perseverance is also demonstrated. There was nothing I objected to in this book except for the risk-taking behavior of the children in the beginning of the book when they stood on top of the dike in the storm. The sister was fearful, the children responsible and the behavior was not glorified. They had a quick look at the sea and got down. Not having been there myself, I don't know if this was dangerous or not, but it doesn't sound like something children should be doing without an adult.
I read this aloud to my 4 year old son. We were both on the edge of our seats as we read 2-3 chapters at a time, over 3 days. We hated to put it down when we had to. Very exciting, no fluff, great use of language, lovable characters. We learned about the Netherlands, dikes and land structure of North Beveland. This is a great starting point for a unit study on the Netherlands or on natural disasters.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews