When the Dikes Broke

I read this during the Covid-19 crisis so I was especially intrigued by the Dutch people’s response to their crisis when the dikes broke in 1953. This story moves quickly as the fictional van Rossem family faces the floods that threaten their lives, home, and farm. The characters were able to help their family and community by using their strengths. Mother was like an anchor to everyone by helping them to feel safe. Lisa had keen eyes for finding anything that was lost. The people were very resilient. The women took care of feeding the hungry and warming the rescued while the men took a shifts trying to fix the break in the dike. The youth and children helped to serve also. This book showed how the unity of the community helped them to heal and rebuild. So this just made me think of the great need to serve others and rebuild as we try to heal from the effects of the Coronavirus. One real take away for me was how the people were able to look at the loss of their material possessions as gains. Where they had lost furniture they had gained space to dance.

This story is about the Van Rossem family and when a flood broke the dikes (water wall) and the family got separated. A book on courage, strength, and loyalty. It’s a good book.

My son read this book while we were doing our water unit and he loved it. Highly recommended.

We loved this book. We did it as a read aloud with my 8 and 10 year old boys. We loved their faith. We loved how everyone pitched in and was willing to serve and help wherever needed after the flood. We also loved the suspense, it kept us turning page after page. Such a great book!

My junior high son and I both LOVED this book. We took turns reading it and both had a hard time putting it down! This historical fiction book teaches a lot about geography, culture, bravery, and love of family. The plot is wonderfully woven with lots of adventure, making this a great book for all ages.