Books with title Hans Brinker: The Silver Skates

In this classic winter tale, set against a backdrop of frozen canals in a land of windmills and wooden shoes, the year’s most thrilling event is about to take place — the race to win the coveted Silver Skates.For youngsters of the Dutch village, the time is especially exciting. But Hans and Gretel Brinker, with their hand-carved wooden blades, can hardly expect to compete against their well-trained young friends who own costly steel skates. Raff Brinker, their father, is seriously ill, and the desperately poor family is struggling to survive. To win the race, the siblings will need a miracle — and a helping hand.First published in 1865, Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates was greeted with instant popular acclaim. The heartwarming tale continues to delight countless readers today with its messages of virtue rewarded and the importance of maintaining courage in the pursuit of one’s dreams.

This little work aims to combine the instructive features of a book of travels with the interest of a domestic tale. Throughout its pages the descriptions of Dutch localities, customs, and general characteristics have been given with scrupulous care. Many of its incidents are drawn from life, and the story of Raff Brinker is founded strictly upon fact.While acknowledging my obligations to many well-known writers on Dutch history, literature, and art, I turn with especial gratitude to those kind Holland friends who, with generous zeal, have taken many a backward glance at their country for my sake, seeing it as it looked twenty years ago, when the Brinker home stood unnoticed in sunlight and shadow.Should this simple narrative serve to give my young readers a just idea of Holland and its resources, or present true pictures of its inhabitants and their every-day life, or free them from certain current prejudices concerning that noble and enterprising people, the leading desire in writing it will have been satisfied.Should it cause even one heart to feel a deeper trust in God’s goodness and love, or aid any in weaving a life, wherein, through knots and entanglements, the golden thread shall never be tarnished or broken, the prayer with which it was begun and ended will have been answered. - Taken from "Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates" written by Mary Mapes Dodge

Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates (full title: Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland) is a novel by American author Mary Mapes Dodge, first published in 1865. The novel takes place in the Netherlands and is a colorful fictional portrait of early 19th-century Dutch life, as well as a tale of youthful honor. The book's title refers to the beautiful silver skates to be awarded to the winner of the ice-skating race Hans Brinker hopes to enter. The novel introduced the sport of Dutch speed skating to Americans, and in U.S. media Hans Brinker is still considered the prototypical speed skater. The book is also notable for popularizing the story of the little Dutch boy who plugs a dike with his finger. Dodge, who never visited the Netherlands until after the novel was published, wrote the novel at age 34. She was inspired by her reading of John L. Motley's lengthy, multi-volume history works: The Rise of the Dutch Republic (1856), and History of the United Netherlands (1860-1867), Dodge subsequently did further bibliographical research into the country. She also received much firsthand information about Dutch life from her immigrant Dutch neighbors, the Scharffs, and Dodge noted in her preface to the 1875 edition of the book that the story of Hans Brinker's father was "founded strictly upon fact". Full of Dutch cultural and historical information, the book became an instant bestseller, outselling all other books in its first year of publication except Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. The novel has since been continuously in print, most often in multiple editions and formats, and remains a children's classic. This one is part of the Educator Classics Library.

Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates is a novel by American author Mary Mapes Dodge, first published in 1865. The novel takes place in the Netherlands, and is a colorful fictional portrait of early nineteenth-century Dutch life, as well as a tale of youthful honor. The title of the book refers to the beautiful silver skates to be awarded to winner of the ice-skating race Hans Brinker hopes to enter. The novel introduced the sport of Dutch speed skating to Americans, and in U.S. media Hans Brinker is still considered the prototypical speed skater. The book is also notable for popularizing the story of the little Dutch boy who plugs a dike with his finger.

First published in 1865, Mary Mapes Dodge’s “Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates” is an endearing children’s story about a hard-working, honorable Dutch boy and the challenges he faces as a result of his family’s poverty. Hans dreams of entering a big ice-skating race with his sister Gretel so that he may win the beautiful silver skates he desires. Yet, he is also very concerned for his father, who has been injured from a fall off of a dike and in need of surgery. When Hans learns of an expensive doctor who may be able to treat his father, he offers his money, saved for the race skates he would need to win the competition, to the doctor for the surgery. This heartwarming tale with its surprising ending was an instant commercial success and has remained in print ever since its publication. Dodge’s story, full of authentic detail of Dutch life in the early nineteenth century, has provided readers with a charming tale of youthful honor that has stood the test of time. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

"Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates" is a novel by the American author Mary Mapes Dodge, first published in 1865. The novel takes place in the Netherlands, and is a colourful fictional portrait of early nineteenth-century Dutch life, as well as a tale of youthful honor. The title of the book refers to the beautiful silver skates to be awarded to the winner of the ice-skating race Hans Brinker hopes to enter. The novel introduced the sport of speed skating to Americans.The book is also notable for popularising the story of the little Dutch boy who plugs a dike with his finger. (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

In this classic winter tale, set against a backdrop of frozen canals in a land of windmills and wooden shoes, the year’s most thrilling event is about to take place — the race to win the coveted Silver Skates.For youngsters of the Dutch village, the time is especially exciting. But Hans and Gretel Brinker, with their hand-carved wooden blades, can hardly expect to compete against their well-trained young friends who own costly steel skates. Raff Brinker, their father, is seriously ill, and the desperately poor family is struggling to survive. To win the race, the siblings will need a miracle — and a helping hand.First published in 1865, Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates was greeted with instant popular acclaim. The heartwarming tale continues to delight countless readers today with its messages of virtue rewarded and the importance of maintaining courage in the pursuit of one’s dreams.