Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
Winter is upon us and Christmas is near, which leads me to thoughts of gifts past and future.
One of the earliest books about Norway I remember reading is still out on the market and I recommend it for young students, grades 3-6 in particular.
For those who remember the book sales that some USA students used to have in the 1960s and 70s, this was one of my earlier purchases from, I think, Scholastic.
"Snow Treasure" is based on the true story told by a Norwegian ship captain as he unloaded gold from his ship.
Library Journal gives this description of the book (in which I have corrected some details that the reviewer apparently did not understand):
…an exciting, suspenseful tale of Norwegian children and their contributions to protecting their country's gold during the German occupation in 1940. Convinced that the Germans will try to steal their country's considerable wealth of gold bouillon from the banks, the townsmen decide that it must be removed. Since a group of adults can't remove the gold without the Germans finding out, the Norwegians develop a daring plan involving the children. In teams, the children will carry the bouillon on their sleds down to the river where one of the townsmen will load them onto his ship to take them to safety. Various problems arise as the children begin to carry out this plan, but they are resolved.
Years ago, I told some of my Norwegian relatives – some of whom were active in the Norwgian Resistance — about the story and asked if they had heard of it. They indicated that the story may be based on a true one.
The picture I've used on this post is the original cover for the paperback that I bought. Today, some editions have a different cover.
I still have this book after more than 40 years. It's a favorite of mine.
