Wilson, John Flames of the Tiger.(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)

[G] Kids Can Press, 2003. 176p. Gr. 8-10. 1-55337-619-6. Pbk. $7.95

The story opens as the sun is setting on May 1, 1945. Berlin is in ruins. Germany is in chaos. It's the last days of the war and Germany is losing. Dieter is huddled in a ditch with his little sister, Greta. His last promise to his now-dead parents was that he would do everything he could to get his little sister to safety, to find a Canadian soldier who might be willing to help them. His parents are dead, his older brother has sacrificed himself to save Dieter and Greta, Dieter has abandoned his SS uniform, and now the children are huddled in a ditch, watching a Tiger tank burn while the sun sets on the day before Dieter's 17th birthday. Woken during the night by exploding ammunition from the burning tank, Dieter and Greta set off once again in what they hope is the direction of the Canadian army. When Dieter stumbles and falls into what's left of a body, his sister's exclamation rouses a wounded Canadian soldier. The rest of the story takes place during that night, as Dieter struggles to keep the soldier from falling asleep and dying. To keep the soldier awake, Dieter talks about his life and so the reader learns what it was like to grow up in Hitler's Germany. The next morning, a Canadian patrol finds the wounded soldier--and Dieter and Greta. Dieter's father had given him the name and address of an acquaintance in Canada and, grateful for Dieter's help during ...