Finally! A superb book landed in my hands!! I was completely mesmerized and utterly clinging to the story's journey, especially on the last 10 pages. I tell ya, David would be a great poster boy for integrity. I loved his character development. Too good to be true as he may be, the walk of his life was a message of love, life, and prospect. Brilliant! I agree with The Horn Book, "Read it, read it!". Be warned though, brace your heart. My quote-ables:"I don't know anything! How can I stay free when I don't know what everybody else knows! I don't even know what's good to eat and what's poisonous..." pg 38"In the camp, thinking would have made life unbearable, but when you were free, it was necessary..." pg 54"God of the green pastures and the still waters, I am David and I choose You as my God! But You must please understand that I can't do anything for You, because I've always been in a wicked place where no one could think or learn or get to know anything, and so I know nothing about what people ought to do for their God. But the David Johannes used to talk about knew that even if he couldn't see You, You were there and were stronger than any men. I pray You will help me so that they won't catch me again. Then perhaps I can gradually find out about You so that I can do something in return ... I am David, Amen." pg 68-69"Johannes said that when you very much want something you haven't got, you no longer care for what you have got. I'm not sure that I understand, but I suppose he meant that things are only worth having if you think they are." pg 83-84"But he would have to do it on his own; since he had not found anything he could do in return, he could not go on asking God for things --it would be greedy, and God might very soon grow tired of a boy who was always frightened and could never do anything for himself." pg 94"God of the green pastures and the still waters, please don't help me. I want to do it by myself so that You'll know I've found something I can do for You ... I am David. Amen." pg 106"Joy passed, but happiness never completely disappeared; a touch of it would always remain to remind one it had been there. It was happiness that made one smile, then. He would always remember that." pg 113"Politeness is something you owe other people, because when you show a little courtesy, everything becomes easier and better. But first and foremost, it's something you owe yourself. You are David. And if you never allow other people to influence what you're really like, then you've something no one can take from you --not even they." pg 121"It's horrible and wicked ... and no one has any right to take other people prisoner. Everybody has a right to his life and freedom, and anyone who takes them away has lost his own right to be a human being." pg137"The way you spoke was a reflection of how you thought, and that could not possibly have anything to do with whether you were a tramp or whether you had somewhere to live and had many things of your own." pg 169"All suffering has an end, David, if only you wait long enough." pg 194"Johannes had once said that violence and cruelty were just a stupid person's way of making himself felt, because it was easier to use your hands to strike a blow than to use your brain to find a logical and just solution to a problem." pg 201"Never let me hear you say it's someone else's fault. It often is, but you must never shirk your own responsibility ... You can't change others, but you can do something about a fault in yourself." pg 211"... So one could get something for nothing after all?" pg 234Jinky is Reading
WOW!!! I am David is a very well-written, captivating and very thought provoking story of David, a 12-year-old boy who is mysteriously given instructions about when and how to "escape" a concentration camp during World War II. David has only known life within the barricade of this hell hole, but now he's given a mission by someone he's only ever known as his captor. Along with the instructions as to the escape, David is provided with a compass, a knife, a bottle of wter, some brea, a letter of introduction and specific instructions on how to make the long trek to safety and freedom in Denmark. This is where the mystery begins and the unfolding of which leaves you speechless on the last page. David is an unforgettable character in this absolutely unforgettable book! Every once in a while you read a book with a character and story that you know you'll remember for life. David is one of those characters and I am David is one of those books! I HIGHLY recommend reading this book. I'm serious, this book is a "must read"! I can't imagine someone not being deeply moved by this character and this story! This is the book I'll be giving for Christmas gifts this year. Yeah I know it's only Feb, but THAT is how incredible I think this book is!! The book was adapted to film and I'll bwe viewiing it soon too! :)
Do You like book I Am David (2004)?
I was really disappointed in this book because I made the mistake of actually reading the reviews that were plastered all over the cover before I read the book. The main problem I have with I Am David is the lack of background information for the setting. It would have been an exponentially better experience for me if there had been a Prologue or Introduction that would have explained the setting in time and place. I found myself wondering throughout the entire novel: where EXACTLY did David's journey begin and what were the EXACT circumstances for his being taken prisoner and who EXACTLY were his captors? These questions drove me to distraction and made it very difficult for me to give my attention to the amazing journey (both developmental and physical) that David makes on his way to his final destination.I strongly feel that this novel has the potential to be placed in the category of "Great Literature" but only if in a future edition there is an adequate and expansive revelation of the background available to the readers who are not already familiar with it.
—Allison
I probably should have read this book earlier since it's more for sec age I guess. Simple, but very meaningful story. About the cruelties of life, and about hope and love and what makes this world beautiful, and about doing things yourself, about keeping true to your identity. I think it teaches a lot. It brings awareness to the "God of green pastures and still waters" - how strong God is, and how kind He is. It teaches you not to take for granted your family - the plight of a child who has "seen much", having lived in a concentration camp all his life and how he never felt belonged in another home no matter how kind the people were. How to keep true to yourself - no violence, that is only stupidity; politeness and courtesy - even to your enemies, that's for yourself. And it teaches you to never stop hoping, because just at the moment we need it most, miracles and grace is showered upon those whose help is in the God of green pastures and still waters. He restores my soul.
—Hong
This was another book in my students' Holocaust unit that I needed to read before they did. I was actually really surprised by this one.The beginning starts off weirdly. I think part of it is simply because David is a weird character. He doesn't really understand the world around him, and there's a disconnect there. But once I got used to his character, I came to appreciate it and him.The plot does seem to meander aimlessly for a while. Or at least it felt like it did. We know so little of David's background until nearly the end of the story, and it's really hard to stay interested when there's so little there about him. Again, once I started figuring things out, it got much better.It's definitely a different kind of Holocaust book. While David does escape from a concentration camp, it never says which one and it never actually refers to the Nazis or even Germans by name. There's more of a vagueness about the concentration camps than in other books. It's never even really clear whether or not David is Jewish. I'm not sure how much of this was intentional for historical reasons and how much were accidental plot issues. I guess we'll never really know.In a literary realm where Holocaust books can be really dark and depressingly realistic, this one does seem a bit more far-fetched and...well, "light-hearted" is certainly not the right word, but you get the idea. It's not gory or horrifying, but it does deal with the usual Holocaust issues.
—Holly
