The Boys Who Challenged Hitler ― Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club

A YA true account of seven Danish teens who dared to fight the Nazi war machine, from a National Book Award– and Newbery Honor–winning author.

Overwhelmed by Nazi aggression at the outset of World War II, Denmark did not resist German occupation. Deeply ashamed of his nation's leaders, fifteen-year-old Knud Pedersen resolved with his brother and a handful of schoolmates to take action against the Nazis into their own hands. Naming their secret club after the fiery British leader, the young patriots in the Churchill Club committed countless acts of sabotage, infuriating the Germans, who eventually had the boys tracked down and arrested. But their efforts were not in vain: the boys' exploits and eventual imprisonment helped spark a full-blown Danish resistance.

Interweaving his own narrative with the recollections of Knud himself, Phillip Hoose tells young adult readers the inspiring story of these young war heroes in The Boys Who Challenged Hitler.

This thoroughly-researched and documented book can be worked into multiple aspects of the Common Core curriculum.

Praise for The Boys Who Challenged Hitler:

“These teenagers risked all—and lost much. . . . This energetic work of nonfiction . . . will cheer the hearts of readers whatever their age.” —The Wall Street Journal

“An outstanding addition to the WWII canon . . . Hoose brilliantly weaves Pedersen's own words into the larger narrative of Denmark's stormy social and political wartime climate.” —The Horn Book, starred review

Phillip Hoose is the author of Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, a National Book Award winner, a Newbery Honor Book, a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, a YALSA Finalist for Excellence in Young Adult Fiction, and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. His other books include Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95,also a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book; and We Were There, Too!, a National Book Award finalist. Mr. Hoose lives in Portland, Maine.