Fun Reads Friday: Snow Treasure

As a lover of historical fiction, anytime I find a new story that portrays ordinary children doing something courageous in a historical setting, I’ve found a gem. That’s what I found in “Snow Treasure,” written originally in 1942 by Marie McSwigan, reprinted in 2004.

Twelve-year-old Peter Lundstrom and his friends are enjoying a quiet, ordinary winter in 1940, while World War 2 rages outside their protective borders. But when the Nazi army invades their quiet town in Norway, the Lundstrom family quickly realizes something must be done with nine million dollars worth of gold bars before the Nazis get their hands on it. The plan? Use Peter and his friends. Within a complicated, long, daunting scheme to outwit the Nazis, ordinary Norwegian children aid their country by sledding directly under the soldiers’ noses while laying on thousands of dollars worth of gold! When they’ve almost completed their mission, the mission is compromised. Peter must make a very difficult decision that will affect his entire family.

Danger, heartache, and humor intertwine an incredible adventure to make this middle-grade story one that I couldn’t put down and neither will you!

I want to note that while the story of Norwegian children sledding millions of gold past the Nazis has been told as something that really happened, there is discussion on whether it was real or not.