The Silver Sword

**A story of singular strength and excitement is this novel, based on a factual account, of the three Balicki children in their five-year struggle, after the German siege of Warsaw, to reestablish themselves as a family. The father's hazardous escape into Switzerland from a concentration camp, the imprisonment of the oldest boy and his subsequent bout with consumption, the valorous attempt of twelve-year-old Ruth to protect and educate dozens of homeless children, the interminable pilgrimage across Europe of the three children and their waif friend, Jan, provide merely a framework of intense action. The rest is high emotion and tenderness. The exhilarating denouement of this story tells of a reunion as full of meaning as was the ordeal which preceded it. A revealing portrayal of that new breed of children - the homeless ones who banded together against overwhelming obstacles - a testament to courage, idealism, and compassion. A remarkable book which should not fail to move the adult as well as the teenage reader. (Kirkus Reviews)