I am David

Author:

Anne Holm

Illustrator:

Published by:

Farshore

First Published:

1 Jan 1963

Ideal for readers aged

9-12y

My Review

Anne Holm's storytelling in this classic Cold War survival story is as extraordinary and 'other' as David himself. He has lived in a camp for as long as he can remember, witnessing brutality and violence, with no knowledge or memory of the outside world. One night, a guard facilitates his escape. Incredulous, David runs for a freedom he has never experienced, hardly daring to believe that his luck can be real, until he finds the promised compass and water bottle under a tree and begins his journey towards Denmark, following the guards' instructions, not knowing why his life has been spared. On his odyssey he meets the kindness of strangers who accept him despite his strangeness and intensity, and learns much about the world he has been shut off from....but can he ever learn to trust? Will he ever find a home?

It's a stunning and memorable tale of identity found, full of moral conundrums as David muses on mankind's propensity for violence as well as goodness, and with faith overtones as David puts his trust in 'the god of green pastures and still waters' as he travels. In the end, it's a story of the humanity of love, and of hope.

Heads Up!

Written in 1963, this is a story that begins in an Eastern European concentration camp during the Cold War (NOT World War Two). However, the guards and their associates are always described by David as 'them', which means that the story has a universality about it too. 'They', in David's eyes, are any who oppress, who take another human's freedom, who imprison their fellow man.

Publisher Review

‘You must get away tonight,’ the man had told him. David escapes from the concentration camp where he has spent his entire life and flees across Europe. He is utterly alone – who can he trust? What will await him? And all the while, how can he be sure that they won’t catch up with him … This is the remarkable story of David’s introduction to the world: sea, mountains and flowers, the colours of Italy, the taste of fruit, people laughing and smiling, all are new to David. David learns that his polite manner, his haunted eyes and his thin features are strange to other people. He must learn to fend for himself in this strange new world. An incredible story of survival against all odds and self discovery, for readers of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Book Thief.