• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

During World War II, Hendrik, the son of a fisherman, notices his Jewish friends being ostracized. When he realizes the danger that Hitler’s policies ultimately mean for his friends and their families, he hatches a plan to smuggle them out of the country by boat.

Debbie Spring has been writing for over twenty years. Her publication The Righteous Smuggler from The Holocaust Remembrance Series (Second Story Press) was shortlisted for CBC's Young Canada Reads. Her short story "The Kayak" was published in the anthology Takes: Stories for Young Adults (Thistledown Press), which won the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Award and the Saskatchewan Book Award for Education.

Debbie Spring's profile page

"Suspenseful, fast-paced and detailed with historical information."

Canadian Children's Book News

"An important story, not just for its historical merit. It is an example to inspire young people."

CM Magazine

"The story teaches young readers the value of sticking to one’s conviction – even in the face of unthinkable evil."

Calgary's Child

"Photographs at the end of this book add to its power and the courage of its protagonists."

Resource Links

"Spring has created a memorable, must-be-read testimonial for Jews and Gentiles alike."

Books in Canada

"Sping has carefully crafted this historical action, with a satisfying ending, including photos that bring the story to life."

Jewish Book World

The Righteous Smuggler

Twelve-year-old Hendrik Vandinther is witness to the WWII occupation of his native Holland, and experiences the anxiety and helplessness of his community’s inability to stem the tide of global events. The fictionalized account of his decision to act in the face of evil, is the latest publication in the Holocaust Remembrance series from Second Story Press. The Righteous Smuggler begins on Hendrik’s twelfth birthday, May 10, 1940, as the forces of Nazi Germany roll into Holland and his coastal fishing village. The tale ends in modern day Israel in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations in the Holocaust Museum. This garden is dedicated to those non-Jews who aided Jews during the Holocaust.

Hendrik narrates this tale which vividly portrays the process of oppressive occupation by outside forces and the eventual alienation and extermination of Dutch Jews, many of whom are Hendrik’s boyhood friends. Hendrik’s awareness, disbelief and outrage are realistically portrayed as is his decision to resist and save those that he can from the extermination camps. His fishing skills and his conviction are necessary to escape capture and imprisonment for his resistance measures. Hendrik finds the courage to abandon the safety of the bystander and to act.

Photographs from the era enhance the story’s truthful inspiration and help the reader see another side of that time, the life of those whose nation is occupied. Suspenseful, fast-paced and detailed with historical information, this book will appeal to readers who are fascinated with the adventure of world historical events.

The Righteous Smuggler (Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers)

The latest book in this award-winning series. During WWII, a young boy in Amsterdam hatches a daring plan to help smuggle his Jewish friends out of the country by boat.