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Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates

Mary Mapes Dodge created an instant bestseller with "Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates." She wanted the book to be partly a book of travels and partly a domestic story. It is a tale written for children that adults also find interesting and uplifting. Dodge writes as if she is sending a series of letters from Holland to children in America, and her you-are-there perspective is aided by a nice attention to detail and vivid imagery.

The Brinkers are a poor but stoic family under a dark cloud - Raff, the man of the house, fell from the dikes while reinforcing them during a bad storm, and for ten years he has been in a vegetative state. With no steady income, the family's lot is grinding poverty. Despite their unfortunate circumstances, Hans and Gretel are cheerful children, yet always attentive to the needs of their mother and their present-but-not-really-there father. Their social standing is very low, but they both attract firm friends, even among the gentry, for their honesty, industry, and good-heartedness.

Then a glorious skating race is proposed for the town of Broek, with the prize a pair of silver skates for both the winning boy and girl. In the weeks leading up to the race, we follow the adventures of five of the local boys who are showing a visiting relative from England the sights of the Netherlands. Hans improbably meets the one man who might be able to heal his father, and somehow Hans finds a way to afford some skates so that he and Gretel can enter the race.

This all leads up to a dramatic, moving, and entirely satisfactory conclusion. "Hans Brinker" hits a series of high notes and encourages children to cultivate and display their finer qualities.

Year of Publication: 1865Genres: Children's Fiction

Running Time: 9 hours 57 minutes 16 seconds

#	Chapter Name
1	Preface/A Letter from Holland Mark F. Smith	7:38
2	Hans and Gretel Mark F. Smith	9:15
3	Holland Mark F. Smith	19:09
4	The Silver Skates Mark F. Smith	10:44
5	Hans and Gretel Find a Friend Mark F. Smith	13:46
6	Shadows in the Home Mark F. Smith	14:36
7	Sunbeams Mark F. Smith	9:07
8	Hans Has His Way Mark F. Smith	8:07
9	Introducing Jacob Poot and His Cousin Mark F. Smith	11:51
10	The Festival of Saint Nicholas Mark F. Smith	18:14
11	What the Boys Saw and Did in Amsterdam Mark F. Smith	19:24
12	Big Manias and Little Oddities Mark F. Smith	16:31
13	On the Way to Haarlem Mark F. Smith	7:29
14	A Catastrophe Mark F. Smith	7:22
15	Hans Mark F. Smith	11:08
16	Homes Mark F. Smith	14:36
17	Haarlem--The Boys Hear Voices Mark F. Smith	12:09
18	The Man With Four Heads Mark F. Smith	10:15
19	Friends in Need Mark F. Smith	14:39
20	On the Canal Mark F. Smith	12:57
21	Jacob Poot Changes the Plan Mark F. Smith	14:15
22	Mynheer Kleef and His Bill of Fare Mark F. Smith	5:57
23	The Red Lion Becomes Dangerous Mark F. Smith	23:27
24	Before the Court Mark F. Smith	6:45
25	The Beleaguered Cities Mark F. Smith	11:51
26	Leyden Mark F. Smith	11:59
27	The Palace in the Wood Mark F. Smith	6:10
28	The Merchant Prince and the Sister-Princess Mark F. Smith	25:29
29	Through the Hague Mark F. Smith	14:49
30	A Day of Rest /Homeward Bound Mark F. Smith	13:02
31	Boys and Girls Mark F. Smith	11:12
32	The Crisis Mark F. Smith	13:15
33	Gretel and Hilda Mark F. Smith	13:19
34	The Awakening Mark F. Smith	6:43
35	Bones and Tongues Mark F. Smith	6:51
36	A New Alarm Mark F. Smith	9:12
37	The Father's Return Mark F. Smith	9:17
38	The Thousand Guilders Mark F. Smith	10:16
39	Glimpses Mark F. Smith	7:34
40	Looking for Work Mark F. Smith	10:09
41	The Fairy Godmother Mark F. Smith	11:01
42	The Mysterious Watch Mark F. Smith	16:37
43	A Discovery Mark F. Smith	16:46
44	The Race Mark F. Smith	33:17
45	Joy in the Cottage Mark F. Smith	15:54
46	Mysterious Disappearance of Thomas Higgs Mark F. Smith	5:38
47	Broad Sunshine Mark F. Smith	10:37
48	Conclusion Mark F. Smith	6:57