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Nov 05, 2011

Brenna rated it:

My mom got a few books from the library that she meant to get for her, but when I saw the cover of this book, I was curious. I think I will finish it before my mom does!

~~~~~~ Review~~~
Okay, I just finished this book. It was very... mediocre. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could. It wasn't hugely inspiring or anything, but it was interesting enough. The ending was extremely predictable, but I do like that he faced some hard challenges along the way that made the story more interesting More...

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Jan 20, 2008

Sarah rated it:

David's entire twelve-year life has been spent in a grisly concentration camp in Eastern Europe. He knows nothing of the outside world. But when he is given the chance to escape, he seizes it. Sensing his enemies hot on his heels, David struggles to cope in this strange new world, where his only resources are a compass, a few crumbs of bread, his two aching feet and some vague advice to seek refuge in Denmark. Is that enough to survive?
David is a dynamic character. He thinks of danger a lo More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2007

Alison rated it:

I had first seen this movie and had a feeling the book would be great also. Although the plots differed more than I thought they would, I thoroughly enjoyed both the movie and the book. In the book, I liked how you get more insight into David's thoughts. He is a remarkable boy, to say the least.

It is a young adult novel and I think the author took some liberties with the plot that adults won't "buy". I liked the way they "fixed" that in the movie. All in all, More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2012

Annalily rated it:

I Am David is a great book to read. It is a story about a little boy who has been in a concentration camp his whole life. David had one friend there named Johannes. Johannes helps him to learn stuff he needs. David loved Johannes alot but in camp if you were very smart you would be put to death. When David is offered a chance to escape he takes it. David struggles with the outer world, David wants to learn about the outer world but he is scared to talk to people. David has never talked or play More...

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Oct 08, 2011

Jinky rated it:

Finally! A superb book landed in my hands!! I was completely mesmerized and utterly clinging to the story's journey, especially on the last 10 pages. I tell ya, David would be a great poster boy for integrity. I loved his character development. Too good to be true as he may be, the walk of his life was a message of love, life, and prospect. Brilliant!

I agree with The Horn Book, "Read it, read it!". Be warned though, brace your heart.

My quote-ables:
More...

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Sep 22, 2011

Pamelaredd rated it:

David, a 12 year old, raised in a prison camp, is allowed to escape with instructions to go north to freedom. From the drab, depressing surroundings of the prison camp to the wide world of freedoms, colors, smells, scenery, being clean, and being honest, David cautiously learns about the world around him. This book is a learning adventure at becoming true to one's self. At an early age, this book had a profound effect on my life, David made me stop and appreciate the little things that are such More...

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Jul 29, 2011

Jenee rated it:

Loved this movie and so when I found out it was based off of a book I had to read it. Come to find out the book is a young adults novel so it was a really easy read, but that doesn't mean it's not filled with emotion and important situations. When it comes to whether I like the book better or the movie I think it's about 50/50. I liked the fact that in the book you know everything that David is thinking because it's narrated by him, you really find out how he feels about things and why he is the More...

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Jun 20, 2011

Daleb. rated it:

I first read this book under it's American released title of North To Freedom way back in Jr. High (in the 7th/'72'-'73'/or 8th/'73'-'74/grade) a little less than 10 years After it's American debute in 1965.
At the time i imagined it was a W.W.II story not really knowing alot about the post war world or the whole cold war mess i grew up in. It is Obvious Now, reading it 37 or 39 years later, that it Was indeed a post war story.
Parts of it made me cry again all these years later (some More...

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Nov 04, 2010

Mary rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 21, 2010

Hong rated it:

I probably should have read this book earlier since it's more for sec age I guess. Simple, but very meaningful story. About the cruelties of life, and about hope and love and what makes this world beautiful, and about doing things yourself, about keeping true to your identity.

I think it teaches a lot. It brings awareness to the "God of green pastures and still waters" - how strong God is, and how kind He is. It teaches you not to take for granted your family - the plight o More...

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Apr 19, 2011

Kei-isb added it

This book is about a boy called David. He is separated from his family and spends twelve years in concentration camp. One day, a guard helps David to escape from concentration camp and he leaves there heading for Denmark. On the occasion of his journey to Denmark, he only has compass and a few crust of bread. Of course, he knows nothing about outside world; therefore, he struggles with new world.
He is honest in all he does and brave child. However, he detests person who deprives one's fre More...

1 comment like

Nov 04, 2009

Bailey rated it:

I AM DAVID REVIEW

My reivew of this book is that I liked it, but it was not amazing. I would recomend this book to any readers who are 11-14 and like a good adventure. This book was about a kid named David who escapes from a concentration camp in Eastern Germany and has an adventure. In his adventure he met many people along the way, like the sailor on the ship, Maria and her family, the priest, the girl painter, and the farmer and his family. Two of More...

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Mar 23, 2011

Michelle rated it:

a very poignant story of a boy who 'escaped' from a concentration camp. His trip to where, he doesn't know, gives so much insight to what would be going through a child during this era of time. He doesn't know anything about the outside world. This is often times humorous and then sad at others. It is a powerful story that should be read by all. There aren't really any EXCITING parts but plenty of in depth story. Mrs. Holm brings a story to paper that will not be quickly forgotten.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 30, 2010

Christina rated it:

A young boy escapes from a concentration camp somewhere in "eastern Europe" and walks and hitchhikes his way to Denmark. He's lived his whole life in camp so he doesn't know anything about the outside world, doesn't even know about money or how to eat properly at a table. he prays to a "god of rivers and streams" and is afraid of being caught by "them." He's totally clueless, yet manages to survive this whole long journey, despite getting captured again. And then a More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 24, 2011

Gayle rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jan 29, 2012

Carson rated it:

I Am David by Anne Holm is a fast paced page turning adventure. The Main character is David. He is thirteen years old or so he thinks. As far as he knows he has spent his life in the camp that was made by the Nazis. In just sixty pages he escaped from a camp, he ran for days and nights, he stowed away on a ship, and he ended up in Italy. In Italy he tried to learn about the ways people live in Italy. He then overheard some citizens talking about him and saying they were going to ask some questio More...

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Oct 08, 2011

S. Bell rated it:

Well, this was a very good read, despite starting a bit slowly. There was very little dialogue and as such it moved at quite a 'quiet' pace - quite easy and comfortable if not terribly exciting. The one thing I didn't like though was how vague it was. I mean, David's escaped from a concentration camp and refers to the bad guys as them (and they're not giant ants!)... so it's only natural to assume that they are Nazis, right? Then about halfway through the book he meets an Englishman and asks if More...

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Jan 06, 2011

KidsFiction added it

TCL Call #: J Holm

TCL Staff: No rating

Imagine growing up in a place where beauty does not exist, where death is always present, where cruely is commonplace. Twelve year old David has spent his life in a concentration camp in eastern Europe, and when a guard tells him how and when to escape, he follows the instructions, not truly believing he will ever find freedom.
When his escape succeeds, David finds himself in an alien world. Never has he heard laughter, tas More...

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Nov 08, 2011

Michael rated it:

I chose this book for my historical fiction review. It is about a boy who grows up in a concentration camp during the holocaust till he is about 11 yrears old. The main prison guard and another prisoner help him escape to find his mother. He goes through different experiences where he found refuge to continue to look for his mother. for instance, he found refuge in a family where he thought he could trust but he couldn't trust one of the sons because the son had beat David up. He eventually More...

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Jan 08, 2012

05BradenG rated it:

david is an intense he is really smart but he had to go through some tuff stuff like escaping the consentration camp was hard anuff and then he had to walk on foot to denmark he must have been a brake kid because not knowing anything in the outside of the world being free getting his own food making money on the streets sleeping outside dousent know that much stuff about the world but is really smart with how much knowledge he knows being in the consentration camp i think this was one of the mos More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Allison rated it:

I was really disappointed in this book because I made the mistake of actually reading the reviews that were plastered all over the cover before I read the book. The main problem I have with I Am David is the lack of background information for the setting. It would have been an exponentially better experience for me if there had been a Prologue or Introduction that would have explained the setting in time and place.

I found myself wondering throughout the entire novel: where EXACTLY d More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 12, 2009

Jan added it

This is a Junior Reader book -- written for readers especially between the ages of 9-13. We read it for our library group on the suggestion of a librarian who worked in a children's library for years. I am glad that she suggested it. It was an easy read, yet full of pearls. It is a book full of wisdom. This wisdom is spoken by David, a boy who has lived his whole life in a Nazi concentration camp. He is unaware of many things: what a tablecloth is for, and how plumbing works. Even so, kin More...

3 comments like

Mar 16, 2011

Rebecca added it

A touching book about how a boy, David, escaped from the concentration camp with the help of a security guard. He had no idea how come this security guard was helping him. However, throughout his journey to Denmark, where the guard had said that it would be safe if he went there, he met many kinds of people both kind and evil. He meets many people on his way and manages to explore many new things throughout his journey. He learns what is family and what is music, and many other beautiful things More...

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Oct 06, 2010

Hannah rated it:

I found this book very intriguing. Although it wasn't a particularly heavy or challenging read, it was effective in portraying the image of a small boy and how he would feel in the circumstances of escaping from a concentration camp. I enjoy reading anything which has a bit of a moral to it and so I think this is partly the reason as to why I enjoyed it. The message 'you are never alone' sprung out to me after having read the first half of the book. Although I'm not religious myself, I can see w More...

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Jul 31, 2011

Neill rated it:

When David is helped escape from a concentration camp by the commandant he hates he begins to pray to the god he had been taught about by one of the inmates who was later killed. The commandant told him how to go south to Italy and told him he must reach Denmark and since his whole life has been in the camp the trip is an amazing learning experience for him. Other people notice his differences and he tries his best to come up with a cover story as he makes his way across Europe. David learns More...

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Mar 07, 2011

Arryn rated it:

3.5 stars. Having spent the first 12 years of his life in a concentration camp in Eastern Europe, David has no understanding of the outside world. When he manages to escape from the camp after being told by a prison guard to find his way to Denmark, David has to rely on his raw survival instincts. In the process he learns a great deal about himself, humankind, and a loving "God of the green pastures and still waters." Beautifully and simply written, this story would appeal to all More...

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Feb 17, 2011

Trisha rated it:

A good book but one that is hard to rate. I did like the idea of the book and I agree with the age range of 9 - 13. It's a tough topic to cover for kids in a book and I think this one is a pretty good example of it.

but, because I'm an adult reading it, I found most of the middle kind of boring and I thought everything was a little convenient ~ but I think that is the PERFECT kind of kids book. The topic is so hard, it's nice when it's all wrapped up for you in the end and all (or mos More...

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Jan 17, 2009

Discoverylover rated it:

Read this book as a teenager and really enjoyed it!

"David lay quite still in the darkness of the camp, waiting for the signal.

"You must get away tonight" the man had told him. "Stay awake so that you're ready just before the guard is changed. When you see me strike a match the current will be cut off and you can climb over - you'll have half a minute for it, not more."

Silent and watchful, David, the boy from the camp, tramps across Eu More...

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Oct 05, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

Recommended by my husband as a book he loved as a child that he thought our sons would enjoy. I loved this and the boys (9 & 7) were rivetted as I read to them - and didn't even make fun of me as I sobbed my way through one or two parts of the story. We had to look up the background as we began assuming David was escaping from a WWII Nazi concentration camp but that did not gel with various incidents and people he meets along the way. It all made much more sense when we read that it was a Bul More...

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Aug 20, 2008

K. rated it:

I read this book under the title "North to Freedom." This is one of the most powerful young adult books I have ever read. I am sure that once I share it with my family it will become an important part of our family canon.

12 year-old David has been in an "Eastern Europe" concentration camp since before he can remember. For reasons he doesn't understand he is helped to escape and told to go to Denmark.

Though David knows several languages he knows nothi More...

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