“Hans Brinker” is a beautiful children’s book published in 1865. It’s about a hardworking, honest Dutch boy whose family is poor and has many problems. Hans wants to skate with his sister Gretel in a big race but is much more worried about his father, who hurt himself when he fell off a dike and needs surgery.
When Hans hears about a rude, expensive doctor who might be able to help his father, he offers the doctor the money he has been saving for race skates. The ending has been exciting and surprising readers for more than a hundred years. Mary Mapes Dodge has written a heartwarming story full of true details about Dutch life in the early 1800s. It is a charming story about a young man’s honor that has stood the test of time.
