What Parents Should Know
Enthralling story and perfectly tuned language has made this a classic. Beautiful language conveys Philip's overcoming his family's racism. Gives details of survival and World War II.

Common Sense Media Review
This breathtaking and moving story is one of the great classics of children's literature. Written more than thirty years ago, this unforgettable novel has become a fixture in classrooms and on children's own shelves, and it is just as timely and compelling today as it was when first published. Its unique combination of riveting survival novel with a powerful, though understated, message about race has made it a true classic.

Much of the emotional impact of this story comes from the richly developed character of Timothy, and his paternal relationship with Philip, a basically good-hearted boy who must unlearn what he has been taught. Timothy is the father, or grandfather, everyone idealizes. Though he's lived a hard life, he is warm and compassionate. Though illiterate, he is wise. He teaches Philip, and the reader, more by example than by overt instruction.

Part of the point of any survival novel is that the protagonist returns changed, having learned a kind of self-reliance that can't be learned in civilization, and that is certainly true here. But author Theodore Taylor makes it easy to see, and perfectly understandable, that Philip's life can never be the same after knowing Timothy. The force of his character is even greater than the impact of the survival experience.

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