Hans Brinker; Or, The Silver Skates

In the Netherlands, Hans Brinker and his sister Gretel are the poorest children in their village. Ten years earlier their father fell from a dyke during a storm, and the injury left him unable to recognise his family or remember where he hid their savings. While the children dream of winning the silver skates in the great race on the frozen canal, Hans seeks help from the famous surgeon Dr Boekman, and a group of village boys skate to Haarlem, Leiden and The Hague, learning the history and customs of Holland along the way.

Mary Mapes Dodge (1831–1905) published the novel in 1865, before she had ever visited the Netherlands, and it made the country's skating, canals and dykes famous among young readers. It also popularised the legend, told in one chapter, of the boy who saved Haarlem by holding his finger in a leaking dyke. Another classic set in the mountains of Europe is Heidi.