Editorial Content for The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
It’s 1940, the dawn of World War II. Demark is under German attack. Very few are fighting back, taking a stand or doing anything other than watching on the sidelines and seeing disaster unfold. Knud Pedersen is 15 years old, and he will not fall without a fight.
Pedersen got a group together, and anyone who was willing to prove that they stood for Denmark’s freedom was gladly accepted. Their mission? Sabotage. They destroyed Nazi vehicles with homemade explosives, stole German weapons and tagged their city with messages of resistance.
"While the Denmark of THE BOYS WHO CHALLENGED HITLER may not be Panem (The Hunger Games) or Dauntless headquarters (Divergent), it might as well be…You forget that you’re reading nonfiction."
The group of young men --- most no older than 15 --- started a movement to prove their worth to anyone who stood against them, and they became a symbol of Danish pride. At their peak, they were loved by proud locals and despised by Axis sympathizers. They were the superheroes fighting for freedom in their own way. They looked the enemy right in the eye and proved that they weren’t afraid. It’s because of people like them that history played out the way it did, and the world is forever grateful.
While the Denmark of THE BOYS WHO CHALLENGED HITLER may not be Panem (The Hunger Games) or Dauntless headquarters (Divergent), it might as well be. The action and danger keep the pages turning, making it impossible to put down. The most amazing part? It’s all real. You forget that you’re reading nonfiction.Gone are the boring history lectures and monotone textbooks. This isn’t a research paper, it’s an adventure.
Told in alternating accounts from Pedersen and notes from the author, THE BOYS WHO CHALLENGED HITLER is an underdog story that you won’t want to miss.
Teaser
At the outset of World War II, Denmark did not resist German occupation. Deeply ashamed of his nation's leaders, 15-year-old Knud Pedersen resolved with his brother and a handful of schoolmates to take action against the Nazis if the adults would not. Naming their secret club after the fiery British leader, the young patriots in the Churchill Club committed countless acts of sabotage, infuriating the Germans, who eventually had the boys arrested. Nevertheless, the boys' exploits and eventual imprisonment helped spark a full-blown Danish resistance.
Promo
At the outset of World War II, Denmark did not resist German occupation. Deeply ashamed of his nation's leaders, 15-year-old Knud Pedersen resolved with his brother and a handful of schoolmates to take action against the Nazis if the adults would not. Naming their secret club after the fiery British leader, the young patriots in the Churchill Club committed countless acts of sabotage, infuriating the Germans, who eventually had the boys arrested. Nevertheless, the boys' exploits and eventual imprisonment helped spark a full-blown Danish resistance.
About the Book
At the outset of World War II, Denmark did not resist German occupation. Deeply ashamed of his nation's leaders, 15-year-old Knud Pedersen resolved with his brother and a handful of schoolmates to take action against the Nazis if the adults would not. Naming their secret club after the fiery British leader, the young patriots in the Churchill Club committed countless acts of sabotage, infuriating the Germans, who eventually had the boys tracked down and arrested. But their efforts were not in vain: the boys' exploits and eventual imprisonment helped spark a full-blown Danish resistance. Interweaving his own narrative with the recollections of Knud himself, here is Phillip Hoose's inspiring story of these young war heroes.
