I love old books, especially old, out of print, children's books. I found an old copy of this book at a thriftshop recently for 10 cents. I purchased it and several others, saving them for holiday reading. I'm glad I did. Just before New Year's I came down with a cold. I spent a day snuggled in my warm blankets with hot tea....and several really great books. I started my reading binge with this title, first published in 1951 under the title Twenty and Ten.

I didn't realize it when I first started reading, but by page 10 or so I realized I have read this story before under its original title. I definitely enjoyed re-reading it! A group of fifth graders and one 4-year old sibling are tucked away at a country house in France. The German army is occupying France, so children have been moved away from cities for their safety. The nearby village has German soldiers though...so it isn't completely safe. Their teacher, Sister Gabriel, asks them to participate in a very important secret....they must not tell, even if German soldiers threaten or torture them for the information. They are going to hide 10 Jewish children. It's a matter of life and death for them all.

The book is only 80 pages long, but it packs a lot of story in those few pages! The story is not graphic and totally age appropriate for middle grade level readers. As an adult, I also enjoyed the story.

The used copy I bought is quite old....and in the middle, I found that 3 pages were missing. Luckily, I found a digital copy online to read those missing pages as they were right in the middle of an important part of the plot! I also discovered some long lost school notes from a prior book owner...a page of very old notes on the original 13 US colonies. I hope the prior book owner passed her quiz at school! :) You never know what you might find in an old book....or not find (the missing 3 pages!). I enjoyed the last read of this very old book and threw it away since it was too damaged to share with anyone or keep.

The Secret Cave is a very entertaining story about 30 courageous children! Great quick read for a day where I was feeling totally under the weather. Very uplifting story!











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Thrift store find. Another aspect of the Nazi campaign against the Jews - this one is so rich, so full of complex ideas, that it deserves room on your Holocaust shelf in your classroom even if said shelf is overflowing. It is indeed scary, but some of the children were only 10 (a few were even younger) and I think it's perfectly appropriate to share with fourth or fifth-graders.

Who would think that in 76 illustrated pages a child could learn about first crushes, the difference between bad soldiers and honorable ones, the fact that Jews have been persecuted for thousands of years, the courage of a growing boy to share insufficient food, and of a girl to sneak out at night past the soldiers, etc.? And yet it's gracefully told and even includes bits of humor. ( )