Trading Places?

Lois Lowry tackled a hairy beast when she slammed the architects of the Holocaust into the realm of kiddie books. Yet she did it with such style and finesse that the Nazis become man-eating ogres, Annemarie and Ellen are best friends trying to outwit the monsters, and everyone else becomes lovable figures from Kansas/Oz as the delightful ending brings tears to our eyes.
Different strokes for different folks, and so it was for the Danish people at the end of WWII. Their tiny country was bewildered by the pro-violent, anti-Semitic attitude of their conquerors, and had no intentions of assimilating Uncle Adolf's claptrap despite the consequences. The more the SS ridiculed King Christian and persecuted their Jewish friends, the more stubborn the peaceloving population became. Annemarie embodies the attitude of her people as her denial turns to anger over what SS plans are for best friend Ellen and her family. Mama, Papa, Uncle and everyone helps temper her emotions, eventually strengthening her to play a climactic role in delivering her Jewish friends from evil and across the sea to Sweden and political asylum.
Sound a bit much for our precious children of today? Wake up and smell the coffee, people. Racial and social prejudice is alive and well not only in America but around the planet. For every glass that was lifted in harmony to celebrate the Millenium, there was a bottle hurled in protest against a fascist regime in some less fortunate corner of the world. Kids need to know what happens when the strong are allowed to pick on the weak, and when no one does anything to prevent it. It starts in the playground, continues onto the street, then into the workplace and eventually into the courthouse. Lois Lowry had a vision of how people in Copenhagen dealt with it, and it worked well enough for her to walk away with a ton of literary prizes for her efforts.
I recommend this for grade-schoolers on the intermediate level. Lowry hasn't written this like a fairy tale because it is designed for impressionable minds. Read it and it just might make an impression on yours.