The night the Nazis come to take their mother away, three children escape in a terrifying scramble across the rooftops. Alone in the chaos of Warsaw they have to learn to survive on their own. Then they meet Jan, a ragged boy with a paperknife - the silver sword - that they recognize as belonging to their lost father. The sword becomes their symbol of hope as, with Jan, they begin the hazardous journey across war-torn Europe to find their parents. Ian Serraillier's moving account of a family torn apart by war speaks as much to us today as it did when it was first written.

 

There are 256 pages in this book. This book was published 2011 by Random House Children's Publishers UK .

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY Rosemary Sutcliff was born in 1920 in West Clanden, Surrey. With over 50 books to her credit, Rosemary Sutcliff is now universally considered one of the finest writers of historical novels for children. Her first novel, The Queen Elizabeth Story was published in 1950. In 1959 her book The Lantern Bearers won the Carnegie Medal. In 1974 she was highly commended for the Hans Christian Andersen Award and in 1978 her book, Song for a Dark Queen was commended for the Other Award. In 1975, Rosemary was awarded the OBE for services to Children's Literature and the CBE in 1992. Unfortunately Rosemary passed away in July 1992 and is much missed by her many fans. ILLUSTRATOR BIOGRAPHY Cyril Walter Hodges (1909-2004) was an English book illustrator at the height of a distinguished career in the 1950s and '60s when he illustrated some of Sutcliff's early works: The Queen Elizabeth Story, The Armourer's House, Brother Dusty Feet, Simon and The Shield Ring. In the same period he also illustrated well-known children's authors William Mayne (A Swarm in May) and Ian Serraillier (The Silver Sword). His drawings are very much in the tradition of 19th-century book illustration. Hodges was a leading scholar of the Elizabethan theatre and himself the author of a number of books including Columbus Sails (1939) and Shakespeare's Theatre (1964), which he lavishingly and lovingly illustrated. Ian Serraillier (September 24, 1912 - November 28, 1994), was a British novelist and poet. Serraillier was best known for his children's books, especially the Silver Sword (Novel) (1956), a wartime adventure story which was adapted for television by the BBC in 1957 and again in 1971.