Silver+Sword

The Silver Sword

Book Reviews are added at the bottom.

**Task sheet** Once you have read the book add your book review at the bottom of this page -

Setting – On the map of Europe in two different colours show Use a key. Here are some maps you could use -
 * 1) Mr Balicki’s journey
 * 2) The children’s journey

Plot – · Create a chapter by chapter time line of the events in The Silver Sword. · Read the book reviews below and look at the book covers on the board in the classroom then create your own book cover and appropriate blurb to make a student of your age want to read this book.

Character – · Draw the Balicki family tree · Indicate on it the ages of the children at the beginning of the novel and then at the end. Author – Research the life of the author. Write half a page on his life and why you think he wrote about children during the war.

ESSAY Write a page on the character you like best, or admired most or were amused by. Give reasons for your opinion and use facts from the story to back up your answer. **Present all these activities inside your book cover with the blurb on the back**.

What do **you** think about ‘The Silver Sword’? Alina, girl, age 10, from United Kingdom, on 28th June 2008. Rating: 10/10 I think it is such a good book because of the way the author has published it. And i love reading books like the silver sword because i love the topic of World War 2. Whenever i do any work on it i just can't stop doin it. My fav character in the book is Bronia. She sound's so quiet. I have just got one question to ask is there a film of the silver sword? Ming X, boy, age 15, from Adelaide, Australia, on 25th June 2008. Rating: Even though I've not read another book by the same author, but I have read a lot of other true fact war stories, I've got to say, this is one of those books that stands out from the rest. Yes, just like all other non-fiction war stories, this one is also heart breaking, and the characters had to surpass many obstructions to reach their goal. But unlike other stories, this one contains unexpected solutions for the problems, they encounter along the journey to reach their destination. James, boy, age 10, from Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, on 25th June 2008. Rating: 10/10 This is the best book of all time! Exhilaration and excitment rule this perfect read. If you are above 8 this is the book for you.The moments of emotion are just as good to read as the action and adventure. It ranges from freak storms and split ups to city life and promise.This is the worlds best read!!!

ADD YOUR REVIEW HERE...

Nicole, girl, age 14 from New Zealand on 16th October2008. Rating:10/10 This is such a awesome book for anyone to read. It has such clear descrptions you can actually imagine being there and seeing the characters and has a really interesting storyline that makes this book hard to put down. It is also really true and makes me want to find out more children that were in this sort of situation. It is one of the best WW2 books that I have ever read.

Hannah, girl, age 14 from New Zealand on 18th of November 2008. rating 8/10 World War II is a very interesting topic. The Silver Sword is a very good book with a strong storyline but I didn’t give this book a ten out of ten rating because of the way it was written. I found that this book seemed like it was written for people a bit younger than our and the language was very simple. Although I had a clear image in my head I think that the descriptions could have been better. Overall a very good book and well worth the read! Harriet Yr 9 New Zealand - 12th October 2010.rating 10/10 It is a great book. Last year my teacher read it to the class,so I knew what it was about.It is really good because it tells what it was like back in the time of WW2, I would hate it if I was around in that time. You would have no food and your parents sometimes would get taken off you. It one of the best WW2 books I have read. I recommend this book for other Year 9 students. Phoebe Yr 9 New Zealand- 14th October 2010. Rating 9/10 This is an exciting unpredictable book that will kep you on the edge of your seat till the very last page.This Silver Sword would be an excellent read for people who are interseting in WW2 as the descriptions used in this book allows you to paint excellent images in your head of the characters and the settings. This book really makes you aware of how hard life was so children during WW2. I would definitely reccommend this book to anyone above the age 12.

Olivia, Yr 9, New Zealand - 14th October 2010: Rating /10 I throughly enjoyed reading the Silver Sword. It is an exciting book and I got really into it. The author decribed everything really well that you could imagine yourse;f right there with the characters! I also liked how the author always made something happen but you never knew what was going to happen, next to Ruth, Bronia, Edek or Jan a or how they were going to get out of that situation. It made the book really thrilling! Abbey Yr 9 New Zealand - 14th October 2010. Rating 9/10 This is a very good book that will make you want to keep reading until you’re finished. I like reading books about WW2 so I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It makes you create a picture in your head about what life would be like for the children who were constantly on the move and in danger. Silver sword was full of action, adventure and suspense which is why I recommend this book to yr 9 students. Olivia S Yr9 New Zealand- 14th October 2010. Rating 9/10 I dont usually like reading books about war but i really enjoyed the silver sword. It was a very exiting book that I would read again! I also think the information at the back of the book was very interesting. I would highly recommend it to other intermediate and high school students. The reason I didn't give this book 10/10 was because sometimes the way it was written was a bit hard to follow but it was still a fantastic book. Jess Yr 9 New Zealand- 15th October 2010: Rating 9/10 I don’t usually read books about the war because they aren’t that engaging but I found the Silver Sword a fantastic book to read. It painted a clear picture in your head for all the scenes and also kept you on the edge, always wondering what was going to happen next. I would really enjoy reading this book again, and I definitely recommend reading the Silver Sword. Phoebe, Yr 9, New Zealand-15 October 2010: Rating 9/10 I really enjoyed this book. I dont usually like reading about war but i loved reading the silver sword. The reason I gave this book a rating of 9/10 was beacause I got a bit lost in the middle. I was engaged in the book right from the very first page! I would definitely recommend this book to other intermediate students or Yr 9 students.

Kate, Yr 9, New Zealand-15 October 2010: Rating 9/10 I wouldn’t normally read a book about war but this book is different. It is an engaging story about four children who go on an amazing adventure to find their parents. The book created an image he my head though out. I would recommend it to other yr 9 students and anyone who enjoys war stories. Sian, Year 9, New Zealand – 15th October 2010: Rating 8/10 I enjoyed reading this book but I have read better books about WW2 so this book is not at the top of my list. I would recommend this book to intermediate and secondary students who want to find out more about WW2 and what it was like. I didn’t give this book a 10/10 because it was quite hard to follow at times and I thought at some stages it didn’t relate to the last chapter.

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I really enjoyed this book even though I don't like war stories. I gave this book 9/10 because sometimes it was hard to follow. This book was really exciting and I always wanted to keep reading and find out what happened at the end. I would highly recomend this book for other people to read in intermediate or yr 9. ======

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Danielle, Yr 9, New Zealand- 21 October 2010: Rating 8/10 The Silver Sword is an enjoyable book to read with a gripping plot. While the ideas in the book were good, the reason that I didn't give The Silver Sword a 10/10 was because at some points the language seemed a bit simple and aimed at a younger audience. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

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Emma I really enjoyed the book “the silver sword” I was really interested in the war setting. It was interesting to read about children around my age growing up amongst war ruins some of which were their homes. It was the kind of book I didn’t want to put down every new page was an adventure.

Kate Mabin, Yr 9, New Zealand, 21st October 2010. I would definitely recommend The Silver Sword to other Year 9 students. I love reading war stories about danger and survival, but this one has been my favourite. I think the kindness and determination in this book was very admirable and I think we could all learn a lesson from this book. I would give this book a 10/10 because I enjoyed it so much.

Hannah, yr 9, New Zealand-21 October 2010 Rating 9/10  This storey was about four children making a long journey from Warsaw to Switzerland in hope to find there mother and father who they were sepperated from them during the war. It was very engaging and exciting which made me want to read it all the time. I was able to picture what happened, in my head though out the book. I recomend this book to intermediate and year 9 students. //Georgia Mossman, Yr 9, New Zealand, 25th October 2010.// // When I first got given the book the silver sword, I thought that it would be useless to read, because I don’t read a lot. I thought that it would just be a very average book. This would be the second book about war that I have read and to be honest this is the type of book I would read and should read more often. As I read the first chapter of the book, I felt very engaged and if I was actually there with this family in WW2, this helped me to gain a visual picture of what was going on. As I continued I started to discover more about the characters and the surroundings. I gained a lot of information about WW2 that I never knew before. After completing the first chapter I knew that this would be an excellent read, I just couldn’t put the book down. I am not a very fast reader usually but this book was so exciting it only took me little under one week to complete! This is a good achievement for me! I do recommend this book to people of my age (14) because you gain a lot of information and it is not boring to read. //

Ella Brown, Yr 9, New Zealand, 26th October 2010. I liked this book because it had an interesting topic that made me want to read until the end. It was quite moving. It inspired and informed me about what happened during WW2. This was also one of the happier stories which goes to show that it mustn't have been very happy

Lucy B, Year 9 - New Zealand, 26th October 2010, Rating:9/10 I really enjoyed reading this book. It was really engaging and very easy to be able to imagine yourself in the book as one of the characters. Write from the first page, it’s incredibly hard to put down. I would definitely recommend this book to any one who enjoys reading war or any type of stories. I rated this book a 9/10.

Phillippa Eve Jones, Yr 9, New Zealand, 26th October 2010 I think the Silver Sword is a great book. I never really knew what happened back then, now I see how horrible things were for everyone, especially the children. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Lizzie Astwood, Year 9, New Zealand, 26th October 2010
When my English teacher gave me the silver sword I didn’t think that it would be a book that I would like. But I found this book very interesting and engaging. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, it is a very good book!

Caitlin S Yr 9 New Zealand- 27th October 2010 8/10 I don’t normally read books very often. Especially war books because I had read them before and found the quite boring! But this book painted so many great images and pictures in your mind. While it is very accelerating it is all so very descriptive and is a very eventful book. The great thing about it you don’t have to be really interested in war to enjoy it because it’s not all about history. In the Silver Sword you never quite know what is going to happen next!