The Great Escape: Tunnel to Freedom (Sterling Point Books Series)

by Mike Meserole

Overview

A spine-tingling, suspenseful true story of escape during World War II.
Spring, 1943; Stalag Luft III, Germany: every prisoner in the Nazi camps had one thought in mind—to get out. The organization was in place, with men digging hidden passageways and squads dispersing yellow sand in the middle of soccer scrimmages. Forgers worked to create false travel documents. Tailors stitched up civilian suits from blankets. Their goal? To break out of an “escape-proof” German prison camp and raise havoc throughout the German countryside. The stakes were high, however: anyone caught would be executed.
Author Mike Meserole keeps the tension high in this newly-written tale filled with daring and danger. Kids will hang on to every word.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402757051
Publisher:	Sterling
Publication date:	09/02/2008
Series:	Sterling Point Books Series
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	1190L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

Table of Contents

It's an Officer's Duty to Escape     1
The New Big X     14
North Compound     19
The Tunnel King, the Ex-Con, and the Penguins     33
Keeping a Secret     47
Digging Tunnels     53
The Fourth of July     58
High Stakes Chess     65
Tom Is Found     73
Tom's Revenge     81
The Yanks Move Out     88
Christmas Comes Early     95
Harry Reopens for Business     102
Rubberneck Strikes     114
Harry Is Ready to Go     124
Tonight's the Night     134
Escape     154
The Cooler Is Full     168
Roundup and Reprisals     178
Epilogue     195
The Great Escapers     201
Bibliography     207
Index     211
About the Author     226

Editorial Reviews

Gr 6-8

"For you the war is over." These were the first words translated from German heard by most downed Allied pilots when rounded up as POWs during World War II. For the British RAF, the first code of conduct was to escape. Those who did make it out were usually caught and returned and, under the rules of the Geneva Convention, punished without fatal consequences. A group of highly crafty, daring, and determined POWs in Stalag Luft III, comprised of dedicated British and American servicemen, used disciplined secret planning and organized execution with basic engineering and mining knowledge to pull off "the Great Escape." Meserole's compelling narrative takes readers through the early days of strategic thinking to the amazing nail-biting escape through a 30-foot-deep tunnel on a moonless night in late winter. The easy-to-read text, embellished with drawings of tunnel blueprints and black-and-white photos of the events, vividly describes the ingenuity and hard labor of several hundred men who not only clandestinely dug and disposed of tons of sand, but also created tools from scraps of metal and wood, civilian clothing, and counterfeit documents right under the noses of their captors. The author is careful to create suspense and intrigue but brings his account to an honest conclusion with the Nazis's vengeful response to the event. This story has been previously told on film as well as in print, but it will nevertheless interest today's readers.-Rita Soltan, Youth Services Consultant, West Bloomfield, MI

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