The Hunt for David Berman

By Author / Illustrator

Claire Mulligan

Genre

Historical Fiction

Age range(s)

Publisher

The Moth

ISBN

9780956979575

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

05-05-2022

Synopsis

It is 1940 and Britain is at war with Germany. Robert has been evacuated from London to his grandparents' farm in Scotland. While exploring the rugged coastline, he finds a boy living in the caves. The boy is called David and he is a Kindertransport child. David had to leave his mother and grandmother behind in Berlin, and has now run away from his cruel foster family nearby. Meanwhile, at the Gestapo Headquarters in Berlin, it is discovered that an Enigma codebook has been hidden in David's suitcase. A Nazi secret agent in the UK is instructed to find David, retrieve the codebook and kill the boy...

Reviews

David is a Kindertransport evacuee during the Second World War and runs away from his cruel, farming foster family because they just want him to work on the farm. He lives in a cave on the beach, eeking out a meagre existence until Robert finds him and they form a friendship. Little do they know that David has something secreted in his suitcase which the Gestapo want back and the agent sent to retrieve it will stop at nothing to get it. The boys need their wits about them to stay safe.

The tension throughout The Hunt for David Berman builds until the dramatic ending… we won't spoil it for you. My year 5 class thought that it was a really enjoyable story, with more than one child complaining that they didn't want me to stop reading at the end of the day (always a good sign in my humble opinion). There's intrigue, friendship and the best kind of adventure running through this story. If you are looking for a new book to read whilst studying World War Two in KS2, then this is a great story for you.

272 pages / Reviewed by Sharon Porter, teacher