James Bentley did the beautiful cover art and all interior illustrations were drawn by Stephen McCallum. My photograph in the back of the book was taken by M.J. Hayes

Hero is the story of a young Jewish boy named Izaak, who has to leave his mother and his hiding place in Amsterdam, during the last year of the German occupation. A young girl takes him on her bike to Friesland, one of the two northern provinces in the Netherlands. He has to live on a farm with a strange family. Izaak has never been on a farm before. He is afraid of the animals and afraid of the people. Gabe, the farm hand, who is also hiding from the Nazis, teaches him how to care for the horses. It doesn't take long before Izaak befriends the powerful stallion, Hero, who is also sought by the Germans.

As the war progresses, Izaak begins to feel at home on the farm, at the village school and with the children who live next door.

But the night before Friesland is liberated by Canadian troops, fleeing German soldiers come to the farm and Izaak's sheltered life is shattered as the soldiers take Hero and Gabe.

The story of Hero is based on historical facts and even though this story is fictional, I have been able to stay as close to the real event as possible.

During the Second World War, my Great Uncle, Jan Hoogterp, lived on a farm in Friesland, He had a passion for Friesian horses and over time had become a well known breeder. His stallion 'Held' (Hero) had become quite famous, which didn't go unnoticed by the Germans. The invaders had their eyes on Held, but my great uncle managed to keep the stallion hidden every time the Germans came to requisition the horse.

On the eve of the liberation by the Canadian armies, the horse was taken. Seventeen-year-old Andries Hofstee, farmhand and caretaker of Held drove a wagon load of fleeing German soldiers across the Afsluitdijk to the province of Noord Holland. During fighting between Germans and allied troops, Andries and Held had the opportunity to flee. For one long month nobody at home knew where Andries and Held were.

One night, about a month after the Netherlands had been liberated, horse and rider returned home. Andries was welcomed as a hero.

After the war, Andries Hofstee immigrated to Australia, where he died in 1991.

During research of the couriers for my YA novel When the War is Over, I came across several accounts of young girls who had taken Jewish children from Amsterdam to Friesland. They often traveled by bike to find safe hiding places on various farms. The children stayed for the duration of the war and went to the village schools as nieces and nephews of the host family.

After submitting the manuscript to my editor, Maggie de Vries, imagine my surprise when she told me that there was a 'real' Jan de Vries. Her father had, as a young boy, spent the last year of the war on a farm in Friesland. And although the 'real' Jan de Vries was not Jewish, my Jan de Vries (Izaak) had had very similar experiences during his stay on the farm.

I was thrilled when Jan de Vries was willing to read the manuscript and I am grateful for his suggestions.

This photo was taken during our winter holiday to Friesland. We visited our family and friends, but also spent some time at the Centre for Frisian Horses.

Friesian horses are an old and unique breed. If you are interested in the history of the Friesian horse visit: http://www.fps-studbook.com

Picture of the stallion Held

Pre-Reading Activities

Examine the cover

• what do you think this book is about?
• What does the boy's facial expression tell you?
• Can you tell by the cover that this book is about war?
• Why do you think the artist used dark colours?

Reading Comprehension

chapter 1.

• Describe why Izaak and his mother were in hiding.
• What happened when the soldiers came?
• How did Izaak feel when he was in his hiding space?
• Why did Mrs. Waterman want them to leave?

chapter 2.

• Where was Izaak moving to and why?
• How did Izaak react when he learned his mother was not coming with him?
• What did he bring with him on the trip?
• How did he travel to Friesland?

chapter 3.

• Why did Izaak have to change his name?
• What does 'curfew' mean?
• Where did he and Els sleep that night?

chapter 4.

• How long did the bike ride take?
• Describe the people who lived on the farm.
• Why was Izaak afraid of Gabe?

chapter 5.

• Describe the animals that lived on the farm
• Why was it important that Izaak met the horses?
• Describe Hero.

chapter 6.

• Name the children Izaak traveled to school with.
• What did he like about school?
• Describe what happened during the air raid.

chapter 7.

• How did Izaak learn to skate?
• How did Albert prepare Hero for the sleigh ride on the ice?
• Describe Izaak's magical afternoon when Hero pulled the sleigh on the frozen moat.

chapter 8.

• Who came into Izaak's class and what was her message?
• What did Izaak remember, while he was running to the farm?
• How did Izaak want to save Hero?

chapter 9.

• Why were Izaak, Gabe and Hero hiding behind the dike?
• What did Gabe tell Izaak about his family?
• How did his feelings toward Gabe change?

chapter 10.

• Describe the argument between Izaak and Gabe when they heard German motorcycles approaching?
• What did Gabe do to protect Izaak?
• Describe the scene Izaak watched after he woke up.

chapter 11.

• How did Izaak feel after Gabe, Clasina and Hero were gone?
• Who came to the village to liberate Friesland?
• Describe how Izaak felt the night Hera was born.

chapter 12.

• How did Marijke know that Hero was coming home?
• How had Gabe, Clasina and Hero escaped from the Germans?
• Izaak had one wish left. Did his wish come true?

Writing Activities

• Choose one of the characters, write a paragraph and draw a portrait.
• If Izaak had stayed with his mother in Amsterdam, what do you think would have happened. Write a different ending and share with classmates.
• How many heroes did you find in the story? Make a booklet and create a page for each hero. Don't forget to illustrate your book. Share.
• Who is your hero today? ( hockey player, actor, astronaut) Write about your hero and share.

Word Study

Working in small groups, choose five challenging words from the text. Describe the meaning and use the word in a sentence. e.g. hero air raid courier Allied

Self and Society

Discussion

• Working in small groups, discuss the differences between Izaak's life during the last year of the war and your life in today's society.
• Using chart paper and markers, divide the paper in half, choose one student to record the observations.

Drama

• Working in small groups, each group is assigned a chapter. Groups can be made up depending on the number of characters in the chapter.
• Students will rehearse their parts and make props.
• The final outcome is when each group performs their chapter in front of their peers.

Tableaux

• Working in small groups, the students agree on one scene from the book. They work on the scene and their assignment is to create a tableaux.

Music

Listen to music from the war years. Try to dance to his music.

• Many war hits are out on CD: for example, Vera Lynn's Hits from the Blitz is now available on CD.
• Some examples of popular songs are: "There'll be Blue Birds Over the White Cliffs of Dover", "When the Lights Go On Again", "Comin' In On A Wing and a Prayer", "He Wears a Pair of Silver Wings", "It's Been a Long, Long Time", "Sentimental Journey" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To".

Community Involvement

Write or contact the local Legion Branch and invite World War II veterans to visit the classroom and talk about their experiences.

Care Packages

• Brainstorm how you could fill a care package. Use a shoe box and fill with e.g. soap, band aids, face cloth, toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, comb, mittens, socks, small teddy bear or other small toy etc. .
• Decide which war-torn country is in need of these packages.
• Bring boxes and collect needed items. Fill the boxes and send them to the Red Cross or contact a Military Base or any other organization that is involved in these operations.

Art

• Organize a poster contest with the title "How to Stop War!" Display the posters all over the school.
• Character bags. Each student chooses a character from the book. In a brown paper bag, collect items that would identify each character. e.g. Izaak ( metal horse and wagon, toy bike, drawing paper and pencil, wooden shoes, miniature horse, toy horse or pictures of horses, farm animals or these animals could be made out of plasticine etc.) Share the bags.

For more information about the war and ideas for activities visit the study guides for Daughter of Light

A Time to Choose

When the War is Over.