I Am David is a children's novel written originally in Danish, the native tongue of its author Anne Holm. Holm was a journalist before turning her hand to writing a book. She wrote it because she felt that children had the capacity to love a book more passionately than an adult but were given an enormous quantity of harmless, frivolous entertainment and not nearly enough literature of value. This novel enables children to see the historical setting that David finds himself on through his eyes which enables them to connect more personally with history.
The novel is set during World War II when Germany was governed by dictator Adolf Hitler. Hitler had created a series of concentration camps where Jewish people, gypsies, and those who were perceived to be against his regime were sent to work literally to death. Many were tortured. David had arrived at one of these camps as a baby and had grown up there, never having seen the outside world.
Davis seizes an opportunity to escape and runs as fast as he can so that his enemies do not catch up with him. He has been told to flee to safety in Denmark and the book sees the journey through David's eyes as he lives by his wits and travels through Europe to freedom.
