I remember reading this book with my kids a few years ago and it sparked a number of discussions around very interesting topics so when I spotted it in our local library again I had to get it out and reread it.

An Eagle in the Snow is a masterpiece that combines World War I with World War II in a moving story which raises the question of – What if Hitler had not survived the First World War? But the question is not as straight forward as you would think.

When we first read this book years ago the kids and I ended up discussing this idea in great detail and from a number of different angles. It turned into a whole discussion of when is it right to kill someone, can someone be guilty for events that they might do in the future and if you are in war do you still kill the enemy even if they are injured or unarmed. Aah there is a whole range of questions that this one little book raised.

An Eagle in the Snow starts off in the Second World War where you meet a family who has just lost their home in the blitz. You read about life during the war, hiding out in bomb shelters and then going to see what remains even the devastation that they felt when they find their allotment destroyed and their horse killed. Because they have lost everything in the blitz the mother and son decide to take a train to an aunt’s house. On the journey the train gets attacked by a German plane and takes refuge in a tunnel. While in the tunnel another passenger starts telling them a story about his friend Billy and the First World War.

It is a beautiful tale which deals with many aspects of the First World War including how it must have felt to try and put your life back together after the war. However the key point comes when Billy discovers that a German soldier who he chose not to shoot turned out to be Hitler. Naturally Billy starts going through a lot of emotions including regret and guilt.

I don’t want to give too much away but it really is a beautiful story and it deals with life in the Second and First World War.

And the ever important question – how true is it? It is based on a story that both Hitler and the British soldier involved confirmed.

We highly recommend An Eagle in the Snow, it is a great book to read when your kids are studying the World Wars.

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