SuitabookThe Hunt For David Berman
Claire Mulligan
- Reading
- Consider reading alongside the child, pausing after tense sections to check in. Afterwards, discuss safety, belonging and how war affects children without requiring personal disclosure.
- Themes
- Friendship across displacement: Robert and David have both been removed from familiar homes, and their friendship develops through mutual support and shared experiences. The friendship is presented positively, with trust, kindness and emotional support at its centre.
- Children affected by war: Robert is evacuated from London, while David reaches Britain through Kindertransport and is separated from family members amid persecution. The story focuses on individual children’s experiences of wartime upheaval rather than presenting war only as distant history.
- Antisemitic persecution: David is a Jewish refugee from Germany whose family has been endangered by Nazi actions, and he is pursued because of a codebook hidden in his suitcase. Persecution is presented through David’s fear, losses and flight, with sympathy directed towards him rather than towards Nazi ideology.
- Worth knowing
- The book includes antisemitic persecution, separation from parents, bereavement, forced flight, cruel foster care, bullying, nightmares, bed-wetting and threats from a Nazi agent. Suspense is repeatedly described as tense or sinister.