"On a bright December morning long ago, two thinly clad children were kneeling upon the bank of a frozen canal in Holland."

Thus begins the famous story of Hans and his sister Gretel and the pair of silver skates which were to play such an important part in their lives.

As boys and girls of today follow the adventures of these two children of the Netherlands they will find themselves becoming intensely interested in the traditions of that plucky land which lies behind the dykes that restrain the North Sea. They will become deeply fascinated by its quaint customs, its winter sports, its canals and windmills, its storks and tulip fields and its gallant history.

Truly this is a heart-warming tale of a loyal brother and sister who won something far more enduring than a pair of silver skates in that exciting race by the Zuider Zee so many years ago.

From the dust jacket of the Illustrated Junior Library edition