HONEY CAKE

“There are so many ways of being brave,” David’s father explains. Through this straightforward and informative story of Jews in the Danish Resistance during World War II, the youngest readers learn what life was like under Nazi occupation. It’s 1943 Copenhagen, where shortages of food and fuel make it difficult to run the family bakery. Everyone seems to have secrets, even ten-year-old David’s older sister Rachel and their parents. When Papa sends David to deliver some éclairs, the boy suspects it is more than a simple errand but remains calm under pressure, knowing that he is contributing to something larger than himself. While more happens to David than could possibly happen to one ten-year-old boy, his tale conveys a wealth of historical detail, from the famed horseback-riding King Christian to Victor Borge’s humor. Nugent’s uneven pen-and-ink illustrations are jarring, but the story itself moves along at a good clip. A fine offering for readers not quite ready for Number the Stars. (recipe, afterword) (Historical fiction. 6-9)