The Lions’ Run
In German-occupied France in 1944, two young people from very different backgrounds bond over a common love of animals. When Lucas, an orphan from the local abbey, finds a horse stable in which to stash the kittens he’s rescued, he discovers Alice, a well-off horse trainer’s daughter, who is hiding a beloved horse to keep it from being taken by the Nazis as a battle mount.
While Lucas is disparagingly called the “petit éclair” by the other rough-and-tumble orphans for being kindhearted and soft, his bravery, along with Alice’s thoughtful and detailed planning, make this a book the reader won’t be able to put down.
That’s due in large part to Pennypacker’s unique approach to the well-trod topic of World War II in this middle-grade historical novel, combining the characters’ mutual love of animals with a plot thread involving the Lebensborn, the Nazis’ maternity homes designed to breed and care for pure-born Aryan children. It’s there, while delivering goods for the greengrocer each day, that Lucas experiences the only maternal love he’s ever known. It’s also where he’ll face the ultimate challenge of what it means to truly be kind and brave.
With a tight plot and young characters who actively resist and thwart the Nazis while remaining tenderhearted, The Lion’s Run is sure to delight readers ages 8-12 as well as their teachers.
