ABOUT THE BOOK
Freedom’s Game
Written by Rosanne Tolin
Illustrated by Vali Mintzi
Ages: 10-13 | 248 Pages
Publisher: Reycraft Books/Benchmark Education (2024) | ISBN: 978-1478876199
Publisher’s Book Summary: Twelve-year-old Ziggy Wirth, originally from Germany, doesn’t know what to expect when he arrives at the Annemasse orphanage in eastern France. It is 1942, and the Nazis have conquered the northern part of the country. Annemasse is supposed to be a secret haven for Jewish children separated from their families, but Ziggy can’t help feeling that the worst is about to happen. Any adult around him could easily be a Nazi spy. Ziggy befriends Elka, a girl his age who has lived at Annemasse for three years and dreams of when she will be reunited with her family in Dresden. Along with the excitement of this new friendship comes the intrigue surrounding the mysterious, blond-haired new gym teacher, Georges Loinger. Is Georges a friend who can lead all the children to safety in nearby Switzerland? Or is he a spy luring them towards the Nazis?
When any mistake could be deadly, Ziggy and Elka are never sure who to trust.
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MY REVIEW
I had read More than Marmalade: Michael Bond and The True Story of Paddington Bear several years ago, so I knew that Rosanne Tolin could do historical research and put together a good narrative. So I was not surprised when I read Freedom’s Game to see that she had taken those skills and crafted a tale of historical fiction that captures all the period details and emotional depth of the events. Ziggy’s and Elka’s stories of loss - lost parents, lost homes, lost safety - are representative of the many Jewish children who were smuggled to temporary hiding places to protect them from the Nazi round-ups. Pieces of their past are woven into the ongoing events as they confide in each other or have flashbacks to the trauma of surviving Kristallnacht, of seeing their fathers arrested and sent off to concentration camps, of losing all contact with their mothers. Thankfully, the book also includes individuals who help provide safety and escape - teachers, orphanage directors, kind neighbors - who risk their lives and freedom to keep the children hidden, sometimes in plain sight. Readers will get a real sense of the living conditions, the struggle to present a new identity to the world, and the difficulty of knowing whom to trust in a world that no longer makes sense. Middle grade readers who enjoy historical fiction and seeing the good guys work to outwit their enemies will be caught up in the suspense and action of this tale.
Rosanne Tolin was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and is the author of More Than Marmalade: Michael Bond and The Story of Paddington Bear, and Freedom’s Game. A respected journalist, her work has focused primarily on children’s publications. She was the creator of an ALA-notable website for kids, the managing editor of a children’s magazine, and a Hoosier State Press Award-winning feature writer. Rosanne lives in Chesterton, Indiana, with her husband. When not working, she can be found hiking with her dogs in the Indiana Dunes or Colorado’s Tenmile Range.
To learn more, visit https://www.rosannetolin.com.
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ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Vali Mintzi, the cover artist, is an illustrator of children’s books, a graphic designer, and puppetry designer. She was born in Romania and she graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem where she lives and works.
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