Books with title Hans Brinker: Or the Silver Skates

Set in the Netherlands, the beautiful land of windmills, tulips, and wooden shoes, this timeless story relates the adventures of the impoverished but virtuous Brinker family. Young Hans and Gretel work toward two goals: finding the doctor who can restore their father's memory, and winning the competition for the silver skates. Their good deeds help to bring about good fortune for their whole family. With many interesting details about Dutch family life and the history, this charming tale published over 140 years ago continues to delight countless readers with its inspiring story that encourages us all to pursue our dreams.

270 pages, International Collectors Edition with beautiful intricate gold cover design, bookmarks, nice endpapers. Classic work by Mary Mapes Dodge, a story of life in Holland. Originally published in 1865, the story is set in the Netherlands and concerns the fortunes of the impoverished Brinker family. The good deeds of the Brinker children (Hans and Gretel) help to restore their father's health and bring about their own good fortune. The plot of the novel, however, is secondary to informative details about Dutch family life and to considerable history and geography of the country, which Dodge had never visited.

Hans Brinker, or of any boy born and bred in Holland, cannot be fitly told without including something of the story of Holland itself, of its history, its oddities, and the leading characteristics of its heroic and thrifty people. All these must be borne in mind, for some of the traits peculiar to his race are ingrained in every Hollander, young or old, and Holland is as different from Elsewhere as can be imagined. Therefore, necessary and careful descriptions of Dutch life and customs have been given in the narrative, and many of the incidents are drawn directly from life. Even the wonderful experiences of Raff Brinker are 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 two kind friends, natives of Holland, who, after their marriage, had taken up their abode in this country. With generous zeal, they patiently answered questions, and took many a backward glance at their country for my sake, seeing it as it looked, years ago, when the humble home of the Brinkers crouched by the sheltering dike in sunlight and shadow. It was my tardy good fortune to visit Holland not long after this book was written, and see with my own eyes the land I had tried to picture for my readers. The Brinker cottage was empty, and many things in Holland had changed since the days when Hans and his little sister skated on the frozen Y.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst dig

Hans and Gretel On a bright December morning long ago, two thinly clad children were kneeling upon the bank of a frozen canal in Holland. The sun had not yet appeared, but the gray sky was parted near the horizon, and its edges shone crimson with the coming day. Most of the good Hollanders were enjoying a placid morning nap. Even Mynheer von Stoppelnoze, that worthy old Dutchman, was still slumbering “in beautiful repose”. Now and then some peasant woman, poising a well-filled basket upon her head, came skimming over the glassy surface of the canal; or a lusty boy, skating to his day’s work in the town, cast a good-natured grimace toward the shivering pair as he flew along. Meanwhile, with many a vigorous puff and pull, the brother and sister, for such they were, seemed to be fastening something to their feet—not skates, certainly, but clumsy pieces of wood narrowed and smoothed at their lower edge, and pierced with holes, through which were threaded strings of rawhide. These queer-looking affairs had been made by the boy Hans. His mother was a poor peasant woman, too poor even to think of such a thing as buying skates for her little ones. Rough as these were, they had afforded the children many a happy hour upon the ice. And now, as with cold, red fingers our young Hollanders tugged at the strings—their solemn faces bending closely over their knees—no vision of impossible iron runners came to dull the satisfaction glowing within. In a moment the boy arose and, with a pompous swing of the arms and a careless “Come on, Gretel,” glided easily across the canal. “Ah, Hans,” called his sister plaintively, “this foot is not well yet. The strings hurt me on last market day, and now I cannot bear them tied in the same place.” “Tie them higher up, then,” answered Hans, as without looking at her he performed a wonderful cat’s cradle step on the ice.

In Holland, Hans Brinker and his younger sister Gretel long to join in an ice-skating race on the canal, but only own handmade wooden skates. Their father is ill and the children and their mother must work to support the family. There is little money left for buying a pair of silver skates, but somehow Hans is able to manage. When his father requires an expensive operation however, he is forced to choose between following his dreams and helping his family. Join us for a trip to the Netherlands in this tale of youthful honor.

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 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.

10 Hours 21 Minutes. Young Hans Brinker and his sister, Gretel, live in Holland, the colorful land of sparkling canals and great flapping windmills. But the Brinkers are very poor, and the father is ill. How can Hans help his family survive the long Dutch winter that lies ahead? When Hans learns about a race and the prize—a pair of shiny silver skates—he sees a chance to restore security to the Brinker household. But to help his family triumph over hardship, the determined boy and his sister must overcome some almost impossible challenges before the race even begins. Hans Brinker has been classic of children’s literature for over a century. Providing a fascinating look at daily life in Holland, it has inspired generations of American children to appreciate the people and culture of this industrious country. It is also the heartwarming story that made this Dutch boy a symbol for goodness and devotion.

It is the rare writer who through reading and the reminiscences of immigrants alone can bring to vivid life an adventure set in a foreign land. Such a writer was Mary Mapes Dodge, a 34-year-old American magazine editor who in 1865 produced Hans Brinker, Or the Silver Skates- a tale of Holland so convincingly detailed that even the Dutch found it an authentic picture of their country. But this children's classic, composed in a New Jersey farmhouse, offers much more than quaint portraits of dykes, canals and windmills. If Mrs. Dodge had to study Holland, she knew her characters from her heart, and few who meet the cheerful Hans and his sister Gretel will fail to respond to her love for them. The impoverished Hans actually has two goals in the story. One is to get costly medical aid for his long ill father, the other to win a pair of glorious silver skates in a climactic race. The tale is thus both deeply moving and breathtakingly exciting, and Hans himself a boy who in any land would stir one's enthusiasm and admiration.

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