Books with title Hans Brinker

In Holland, poor but industrious and honorable 15 year-old Hans Brinker and his younger sister Gretel yearn to participate in December's great ice skating race on the canal. They have little chance of doing well on their handmade wooden skates, but the prospect of the race and the prize of the silver skates excites them and fires their dreams. Hans' father, Raff Brinker, suffered head trauma when he fell from a dike. It left him chronically ill, with episodes of amnesia and occasional violent outbursts, so he is unable to work. Mrs. Brinker, Hans, and Gretel must all work to support the family and are looked down upon in the community because they are poor. By chance, Hans meets the famous surgeon Dr.Boekman and begs him to treat their father, but the doctor's fees are expensive. What will Hans do now to help his father? Will he get to live his dream of skating on the ice?

The story of Hans Brinker is a true classic, but few still read the novel, which was written in the 1860s. Now Bruce Coville and Laurel Long are reintroducing the charming tale in this glorious picture book version. Laurel Long’s paintings are breathtaking and luminous. And as he has done in his retellings of Shakespeare’s plays, Bruce Coville has masterfully reshaped the sprawling story into a picture book that’s fresh, engrossing, and faithful to the intent of the original. This is a tale of a family sticking together through hardship, and of wishes granted just in the nick of time. The race to win the silver skates is well-known, but the mystery of the watch and the missing riches is equally enticing. This is the best kind of fairy tale, and kids will be riveted by its drama. For the winter holidays or anytime, this is a book to cherish.

The prize for winning the canal race is a pair of silver skates, but how can Hans or his sister, Gretel, hope to win skating with their handmade wooden skates? Since falling from a dike and hitting his head Hans' father has been unable to work, forcing Hans, Gretel, and their mother to find ways to pay the bills. With barely enough to go around there isn't much left over for fancy skates, but when Hans saves up enough for his own pair and a chance to race he decides that there is something even more important.Continuously in print since it was published in 1865 this edition of Hans Brinker features 65 illustrations and the complete unabridged text of this lovely story.

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.