This beautifully illustrated book is the story of Nicholas Winton son of a Jewish-German immigrant a remarkable young man who saved more than 699 children helping them to escape from Czechoslovakia. In WW2

I've read many books about WW2 but this is a very beautiful story of a man who has a heart of gold and who made the impossible to save as many children as he could.


Thank you, NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing, for the advanced copy of The Light that Shines Forever in exchange for my honest review.

What a beautiful book. I had heard of Mr. Winton's story before - I think I saw a Youtube video about it - but the book, although short, was powerful enough that I got choked up while reading it. One man's courage and selflessness helped to save 669 children from almost certain death and unspeakable horrors. I plan on reading this story to my children, and encouraging all of us to continually look outside of ourselves to see who we can help. It might not ever been on such a grand scale as this, but even helping one person can make such a difference.

What an incredible story about an incredible man. This was very well written and the pictures in the book are so beautiful and touching. I highly recommend!

3.5 stars.

The Light That Shines Forever: The True Story and Remarkable Rescue of 669 Children on the Eve of World War II is a beautiful book that I have a couple problems with, so let's get into it.

I'll start with what I liked. Holocaust education is so important, and I'm always grateful seeing new children's books to educate the next generation with (especially since Holocaust education is slipping as fewer and fewer survivors are still alive to talk about it). Sir Nicholas Winton's story is a timely one that could easily apply to the countless refugees around the world today, making it all the more important to share. It's a pretty well told picture book biography that covers some of the details of his life with a focus on his work helping Jewish children flee Prague before the Holocaust truly began. The painted illustrations are done in a realistic style and very beautiful to look at. The afterword from Winton's son is moving and enlightening. Truly other than the couple of issues I have, this is mostly a very good book.

I have three real issues with the book, and they tie in together. The first issue is that there isn't really anything at all to address the lives of the children Winston saved. What happened to them and what were their lives like where they were sent? It notes that most of them lost their families in the Holocaust, but not really anything else. This is a fairly minor complaint, especially since it's a biography about one person, but I wish even a page had been spent on this. The second issue I have is the limited general information about the Holocaust. Again, this is something that is relatively minor, but given that it's a picture book for children who are probably learning about the Holocaust for the first time, additional general info (even some kind of timeline at the end) could have really boosted it. My final complaint is something I was genuinely very uncomfortable with, which is this book's affiliation with the Mormon church. Given the church's history with posthumous "baptisms" of hundreds of thousands of Jews who died in the Holocaust, I am extremely uncomfortable with this affiliation, and it honestly makes me less likely to recommend the book despite it not really impacting the book at all.

Overall, it's a decent book with a couple of issues that really impacted my experience reading it. I wouldn't recommend against it, but it's best saved for kids who have already read a few other Holocaust books first and have some background knowledge going in.

A beautiful story of one selfless man that change the lives of hundreds of children during World War II. A touching story with beautiful illustrations. Some of the illustrations were not visible on my ebook, but what I saw were lovely. It was as if you could look into there souls. I’m not sure how much children will enjoy the story, but as an adult, I thought it was inspirational. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love the true story of The Light That Shines Forever by David Warner! The Light That Shines Forever tells the story of Nicholas Winton and how he saved hundreds of children from the Nazi's. I love and an admire Mr. Winton and what he did to save lives. I admire him all the more because of how he did it quietly and with integrity. I highly recommend The Light That Shines Forever! Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the opportunity to read this book. My review is also on Goodreads.

I love the story and messages conveyed in this book, about how an ordinary person decided to do something to help Jewish children during World War II. The illustrations are beautiful. The language and writing make this somewhat more of a picture book for adults than for kids, but it's a lovely, inspiring story.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I was there when this story was unfolded at the Christmas Concert! I am so glad it is now available for the the public to enjoy! Such an inspiring story of fortitude to do what needs to be done in the moment! Not putting it off for someone else to do at a different time. This was a lovely book filled with gorgeous pictures and a beautiful story that needed to be told. Loved it!

A beautiful book for children to learn something historical and educational from. Even I learned from it myself! Beautiful illustrations to look at. Such a fascinating and heroic story of how so many children were saved during World War II. Sir Nicholas Winton gave something so simple and yet so beautiful of himself; he gave his time and effort to right something in the world that he saw was wrong. He saved lives, hundreds of them. So many people are alive today because of him. Overall, this is just a wonderful addition to your child's bookshelf!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley, but was not required to leave a positive review.

This books tells the story of Nicolas Winton and the Kindertransport. We have survivors coming into school to talk to the children and those who came to England always mention the Kindertransport. This is a child friendly explanation on such an important part of our history. Important to learn the lessons. I would use this in lots of lessons.

An inspiring story of one man who helped 669 children find refuge just before WWII as told by Sir David Suchet when he participated in in the annual concert of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Beautiful illustrations! I also loved how it finished reminding us to be a light in the dark.

While I read this short book I realized I had seen a documententary where many adults that stood up in recognition of a man who had saved him. This added an emotional level to this book for me when I made the connection. I'm grateful for men like him who saved others.

This book includes a short biography with beautiful illustrations and is definitely a must read. Be prepared to be moved.

This beautifully illustrated children's book tells the story of Londoner, Nicholas Winton, who made it his business to organize for host families to help Czechoslovakian refugee children escape the Nazis. I enjoyed learning about this unknown hero, and was especially touched by the part of the book that tells of his finally being reunited with some of the children when they were in their fifties and sixties. Overall, I liked this book. However, I felt like it was a bit disjointed in the way it was organized. Also, some of the wording would be extremely difficult for a child to comprehend.

One person can make a huge difference. Have you heard of Nicholas Winton? Neither had I, yet in 1938 at the age of 29, he traveled to Prague from his home in London to rescue hundreds of children before Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia. Parents trusted him with their children, even infants, because for a short time children could leave the country without their parents if a host family would take them in. Can you imagine being trapped and unable to leave, yet sending your child to live with a stranger far away, not knowing if you would ever see them again?

The names and information on 669 children were kept by Nicholas in a scrapbook in his attic and discovered 50 years later by his wife Grete. After word got out, they were guests on a BBC television program and received an overwhelming surprise. He insists he isn’t a hero and says he “just did what needed to be done.”

I think everyone needs to read this picture book. It is full of beautiful illustrations and actual photographs of the people involved. A link is also included to a performance of this story by the Tabernacle Choir. The story stays with you long after reading it and leaves you to ponder what you can do to bring light to others. As Nicholas often said, “If it’s not impossible, there must be a way to do it.” Thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing for a temporary digital ARC to use for my review.

The Light That Shines Forever is the kind of book I really like to read to my children. It is a beautiful picture book that tells a true story about a historical event that is little-known, and it presents a good example of a person who bravely did what was right even in the face of danger.
The year before Hitler invaded Poland, as he was beginning his “ethnic cleansing” in Czechoslovakia, Nicholas Winton traveled from his home in London to Prague on the invitation of a friend who wanted him to see what was happening there. His heart broke at the plight of thousands of Jewish families who huddled around the city in refugee camps. What could he do for them? He hatched an ingenious plan to at least save their children. Within the next nine months, until war was declared and the border sealed shut, he was able to get 669 children to safety in England.
Fifty years later, Nicky’s wife happened upon an old scrapbook tucked away in the attic, which she had never seen. It was full of the only records in existence of Nicky’s rescue work, and she was astounded to learn what her husband had done and never talked about! She made sure the world learned about his work to save as many children as possible.
The Light That Shines Forever is a picture book about the Holocaust—but it does not show or describe any of the horrors of that time, except for children having to leave their parents. This is a gentle way to begin teaching children about what happened during that period of history. It would make a wonderful addition to any shelf of picture books.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

This is a heartwarming true story of a man who chose to make a difference. Nicholas Winton chose to help many refugee children and families during WWII. He was instrumental in saving so many lives. He never looked at is a being heroic, just something that anyone would do in the same circumstance.
I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and ShadowMountain for allowing me to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I had not heard of this particular event from world war 2. The book gave a very brief summary of the good done by one man. There was a definite religious tone to it which would make it challenging to have in a classroom. This would make a great book for home to share with young children. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

A little too long for a picture book. I think children will get bored from the wordiness. The story is pretty straightforward without much 'storytelling' as much as a 'history narrative'. A beautiful story to be shared but might have been better told from a child's point of view. A decent adult picture book because the illustrations are beautiful.

This children's book tells the true story of Nicky Winton. In the early years of WW2, he saw people in need and knew how he could help.
On a trip to Europe, he saw Jewish families living in tent cities, in the winter. Instead of thinking, "Someone should do something", he asked himself what could he do?
This lead to the rescue of 669 children. Though he kept a scrap book, he never talked about it.
When he was 80 years old, he was introduced to some of those children he helped to rescue.
A very good short story with a big impact. This book encourages the reader to look around and ask, What can I do to help?.

The Light That Shines Forever is the touching account of Nicholas Winton’s decision to do “active goodness” in order to assist in saving over 660 Jewish children in 1938 Czech. Once he saw what was happening to the Jews, he used his gifts and abilities over the next year to organize rescues for the children in the form of sponsoring, fundraising, and securing visas. A scrapbook was kept, but not found until much later when Nicky was in his 80s. As the story came to light, so did the innumerable lives that were touched by his actions. A short, stunning pictorial storybook that captures the essence of the power shining the light.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.