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    Snow Treasure
    Snow Treasure
    Snow Treasure
    Audiobook4 hours

    Snow Treasure

    Written by Marie McSwigan

    Narrated by John McDonough

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    For 12-year-old Peter Lundstrom, the Norwegian winter of 1940 begins like any other. When he isn't in school, he spends the cold days outside, going sledding in the deep snow of his mountain village. But all around him, the adults are talking about the war that is raging through much of Europe. One day Uncle Victor warns that German soldiers will invade soon. He believes they will try to steal the bank's gold bullion. But he has a daring plan to protect the treasure. The only trouble is-it relies on Peter and his friends. Will the village children be able to fool the suspicious Nazis? Marie McSwigan's exciting Snow Treasure is based on the tale a Norwegian ship captain told as he unloaded a cargo of gold in Baltimore. Though the children and the village were never identified, the story is thought to be true by many. Narrator John McDonough's stirring performance captures the tension and adventure as Peter and his friends risk their lives to help their country.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 25, 2012
    ISBN9781464045691
    Snow Treasure

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    Reviews for Snow Treasure

    4/5

    205 ratings12 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Reason for Reading: Read aloud to ds as part of our history curriculum.I've read this book a couple of times in the distant past and the story vaguely stayed with me. It is the story of how children were used to take gold from the bank of Norway on their sleds, right past the Nazis and then bury it in the snow and build snowmen on top of it. The gold was then secretly, at night taken aboard a hidden ship by the crew who, when the mission was completed would take the country's money to the US for safekeeping during the occupation of their country and duration of the war.The story is a bit old-fashioned in its writing style but still holds up well with its exciting story of children being the heroes of the day. The story is pretty much plot driven, with the mission and danger moving the book closer and closer to the climax. While the characters are never fully developed and presented as quite stereotypical. Good, heroic, patriotic children who do what they're told and never waver from doing their duty.I remember enjoying the story more than I did this time around and my son was never quite taken with it. He became more interested as the book neared the end and the tension mounted a bit, but otherwise he was generally lukewarm to the story. For myself, I think I may have been tempered by having found out, while looking to see if there is a movie of the book (there is) that this story is most likely not true.From when it was written until recent times the book was purported to be a true story. I have an old edition from the '60s which states "This story really happened." New editions of the book do not pass it off as a true story anymore. There has never been any proof that this event with the children happened, no witnesses, the children never came forward afterwards, no memoirs or diaries found, etc. So it is very hard to believe it is true. What is true, is that a ship arrived in America with Norway's gold and the captain gave a story that children were involved and it was from this news story that Ms. McSwigan based her story. One must remember that this event happened right in the middle of the war, as was the book published, so no real information would have been wanted to have been leaked to the Nazis. A non-fiction book about the rescue of Norway's gold was written in a book called Pimpernel Gold: How Norway Foiled the Nazis by Dorothy Baden-Powell which is out of print but should be available online or in libraries.
    • 5/5
      It is 1940 when the Nazis invade Norway. Peter Lundstrom is only twelve, but he's about to become part of the grownup world. His father is a banker and is working with other leaders in the town to try and outwit the Nazis by smuggling the country’s gold bullion to a safe place. Luckily, Peter’s Uncle Victor is a sea captain who plans to sail the gold to America. The plan depends on Peter and the other children taking the gold from the top of the mountains to the fjord below. Sledding the gold away seems like it will be easy at first, but the German soldiers are not to be underestimated. Many trips will need to be made to get all of the bullion down to the boat. The fact that one of the soldiers speaks Norwegian makes everything even harder. There is plenty of snow, and the children do have many opportunities for sledding, but the soldiers are on their trail and each day their task becomes more challenging. When it looks like they will be caught, Peter must think fast and hope for the best. Will the children be able to get all the gold out of Norway? What will happen if Peter’s diversion doesn’t work? Is keeping the gold out of the hands of the Nazis worth the risk? You will be intrigued from the start and will keep turning the pages to see if everyone makes it out alive!


      Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan is a wonderful book about brave kids who take on adult responsibilities during dangerous times. Peter and his friends are easy to relate to and seem like typical kids you would find anywhere. The book says that it is based on true events that are believed to have taken place in Norway during WWII. I am not sure how much of the story is true, but I was definitely on the edge of my seat hoping that the kids would get the job done! This is an excellent book to bring history to life for kids in fourth through eighth grade. Older readers will enjoy it as well! Be prepared to have history unfold for you as you read about the kids of Norway and their experience. I learned a lot about what life was like in Norway during the war and I definitely hope to visit one day. This book is a reminder about the hard life people had during WWII. A great addition to any home, school, or classroom library.
    • 4/5
      My 11yr old son had read this and really enjoyed it. He gave it to me to read. This book holds up well and was very well written. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would; it was an interesting look at a part of WWII you don’t hear much about.This book details supposed events that took place in Norway in the winter of 1940. Norway was trying to secretly transport its wealth to the USA for safekeeping, while Nazi guards were patrolling the area. The Norwegian resistance supposedly enlisted children to help with this. This book is based on speculated events, not actual recorded events.The book is short, but the story is well written and engaging. I enjoyed it a lot and read it in maybe 30 min or so.Overall this was a well done book set in the WWII era about children who helped with the war effort in Norway. I would recommend to children who are interested in history. While this isn’t a non-fiction book, it is based on speculated events that happened during that era.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite kids' books. Read it aloud when we homeschooled.
    • 3/5

      A childhood favorite re-visited.

      Is the story as good as I remember? – No

      What ages would I recommend it too? – Five and up.

      Length? – Most of a day’s read.

      Characters? – Memorable, several characters.

      Setting? – Norway during World War 2.

      Written approximately? – 1942.

      Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Did this really happen? What happened after Peter left?

      Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? Possibly.

      Short storyline: Before the Nazi's landed in Norway, Peter is a typical 12 year old, and sure of himself. He has a plan to save the village's gold (said to be the gold for the whole country). He offers to assist, and then is shut out of all decision making while the adults make plans he must follow without asking questions, while putting himself, and his closest friends in life threatening danger to save the gold.

      Notes for the reader: Untrue to character. The Peter at the beginning of the book would not bow to allowing the adults to make all the plans, and just follow unquestioningly. He would be part of the decision making process. Sledding through the regiment would never have been allowed beyond the first day. Third, heir refusal to speak would have had them arrested by the Nazis and tortured. They'd know something was wrong. Especially when the adults refused to speak to them.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful story about an obscure part of WWII history.
    • 3/5
      The forward to Snow Treasure says: On June 28,1940, nearly a year after World War II broke out in Europe, the Norwegian freighter BOMMA reached Baltimore with a cargo of gold bullion worth $9,000,000…..The gold, it was reported, had been slipped past Nazi sentries by Norwegian boys and girls!…So that no harm might come to the brave children, the captain would not tell the location of the fiord (where the freighter hid and to which the children brought their sleds). For many years the story was believed true. But over 60 years later, there is no proof that it ever really happened. We do not know. But we do know that the story captures tjhe courage of many children who, caught up in the war, have helped their country in a time of great danger.Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Norway in April 1940. This story tells of a group of 25 schoolchildren, ranging in age from 8 to 12, who purportedly moved several tons of gold from a hiding spot which had been carved from the forest and the snow, directly past a Nazi encampment to a designated spot where they buried the gold and built snowmen as markers. This went on for weeks and was supposedly never detected even though the children were mere feet from Nazi soldiers daily.It’s very difficult for me to believe that this story is true. No doubt the freighter captain used it to deflect attention from the actual resistance fighters who loaded the ship. If it was true, after the war the children would certainly have told people and there would be much oral history to support it.Tidbit: The freighter Bomma has been renamed in the story as the Cleng Peerson, a little bit of irony since Peerson was a pioneer who led the first group of Norwegians to emigrate to the United States.I couldn’t warm to Snow Treasure, “a story of courage and adventure”, although I’m aware that it’s considered a minor classic. Part of that is the writing style which seemed dated and a little clunky. In addition, I think it undermines the awareness of the true danger that ones in Nazi occupied countries faced.Also, I was slightly rankled by the way that the elderly servant Per Garson spoke. His speech had the cadence of a Norwegian speaking English – an effect that was unnecessary and out of place, since he would have been speaking Norwegian like everyone else, and not a second language.Written in 1942 and published just months after the U.S. entered WWII, it’s a fine piece of war propaganda that encourages all good little boys & girls to support their country during wartime. It no doubt felt to many a child who collected tinfoil & weeded a victory garden like a warm pat on the back for being part of the war effort.But I’m still only lukewarm.
    • 5/5
      A suspenseful story about Norwegian children who become heroes against Nazi infantry during WW II
    • 4/5
      I read this book in my childhood, and was delighted to find that not only was it still available, it is still in print. The tale is a fun, adventurous read for children, but reading it as an adult, I realized what great risks the children were taking. Debate rages on as to whether these events ever took place, but it is a good story to introduce or remind children of other countries' involvement in WW II without being too scary. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      This is an inspiring story of children helping an entire country during World War II.
    • 4/5
      Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan is a great historical fiction piece to add to any school library. The first interesting thing about this book is that it begins with a "Did this story really happen?" right away it gets kids interested and thinking! Another interesting aspect of this story is that the chapters don't have titles. When I used this with a reading class I had them write titles for the chapters as we completed them. This got them a bit more involved with the story. Alas, anything that is historical fiction does require some background knowledge and pre-teaching, so the students are more familiar with plot action and the real events that are woven into the story. Another item about Snow Treasure that I liked is that there are lots of male and female characters, so any child can begin to connect with a character. Snow Treasure is not a fast paced plot, but it is engaging.
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favorite books from childhood, and as I grew older and learned more about the history that surrounded the events in the book, I appreciated it even more. It's a wonderful story, well-told, and gives an all-important glimpse into our not-so-distant history.