The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die
- Format
- Paperback
- gbp prices
-
Save £2.00Offer price: £5.99
- Rewards/RRP: £7.99
Buy this and your school gets £1.20 to spend on books
Rated 3/5 from 2 ratings
0 reviews (Add a review)
Delivery information
- FREE UK delivery on orders £30 or over
- £4.95 delivery charge on UK orders under £30.00
Book Club orders
- FREE delivery to schools
- Books will be despatched after the school's order is confirmed
UK delivery within 2-3 working days
Delivery charges and times vary for overseas addresses
More books for 9 - 10 year olds
Categories
- All About You > Books To Make You Think
- All About You > Coping with Death, Grief, and Loss
- All About You > Discrimination
- All About You > Families
- All About You > Prejudice and Tolerance
- Biography and Autobiography
- History > Second World War
- Non-fiction
- Theme Days, Weeks and Months > Holocaust Memorial Day
- True Stories
- War and Combat
Product description
“Deeply moving” – Booktrust“A gripping story of love, courage and triumph over evil” - The Bookseller“Can, and should, be read by an audience of any age.” – Jewish NewsWINNER: THE UK LITERACY ASSOCIATION BOOK AWARDS 2024: INFORMATION BOOKSHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKSELLER CHILDREN’S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024A story of survival, of love between mother and son and of enduring hope in the face of unspeakable hardship. An important read.The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die describes an extraordinary journey, made by Peter, a boy of five, through war-torn Europe in 1944 and 1945. Peter and his parents set out from a small Hungarian town, travelling through Austria and then Germany together. Along the way, unforgettable images of adventure flash one after another: sleeping in a tent and then under the sky, discovering a disused brick factory, catching butterflies in the meadows – and as Peter realises that this adventure is really a nightmare – watching bombs falling from the blue sky outside Vienna, learning maths from his mother in Belsen. All this is drawn against a background of terror, starvation, infection and, inevitably, death, before Peter and his mother can return home.
- Author Professor Peter Lantos is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and in his previous life was an internationally renowned clinical neuroscientist. His memoir, Parallel Lines (Arcadia Books, 2006) was translated into Hungarian, German and Italian. Closed Horizon (Arcadia, 2012) was his first novel.
- Peter was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2020 for ‘services to Holocaust education and awareness’
- He is one of the last of the generation of survivors and this – his first book for children – will serve as a testimony to his experience.
- Peter lives in London.
MORE REVIEWS OF THE BOY WHO DIDN’T WANT TO DIE “the book [is] absolutely compelling, partly because it is a true story of extraordinary resilience and survival in unimaginable circumstances, but also because Lantos’ stark recollections make very powerful reading.”Gaby Wine, The Jewish Chronicle
Our January 2023 Ages 11+ Book of the Month
Our choice for children aged 11+ this month is The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die, the extraordinary real-life story from Peter Lantos, a Holocaust survivor.
This is the story of an incredible journey, made by Peter, a boy of just five, through war-torn Europe in 1944 and 1945. Along the journey we see unforgettable images of adventure – sleeping in a tent and under the sky; catching butterflies in meadows; discovering a disused brick factory – until Peter realises that the adventure is really a nightmare. The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die is a story about survival, love and of enduring hope in the face of unspeakable hardship.
This is an important and unforgettable book written by one of the last survivors of the Holocaust and deftly introduces young readers to the story of the Holocaust. It’s also a great choice for children to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on the 27th January.

Product Details
Catalogue number
994 in SCB Offer May 2025 and 8098 in Schools Catalogue 2024/25
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780702323089
Publisher
Date published
January 5th, 2023
Lexile measure
740L
Accelerated Reader
AR book level: 5.4; Middle years; 6.0 points
Other details
- 224 pages
Condition
New
Available in these packs
-
10books
Key Stage 3 & 4 Stories of the Holocaust PackNew
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £67.40
- Rewards/RRP: £89.90
-
5books
What to Read After: The Boy- gbp prices
- Offer price: £34.00
- Rewards: £39.95
- RRP: £40.95
Reviews
This product has not been reviewed yet.
Add a review
Customers also bought
-
Flying High
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £5.84
- RRP: £8.99
- Not available to buy with Rewards
-
Grandad's Star
New
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £8.44
- RRP: £12.99
- Not available to buy with Rewards
-
Fast Forward Silver: The House of Wisdom (Non-fiction) Level 24
- gbp prices
- Price: £8.55
- Not available to buy with Rewards
-
Dive, Dive into Night Sea
New
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £8.44
- RRP: £12.99
- Not available to buy with Rewards
-
Pass Your 11+: Vocabulary Flashcards
- gbp prices
- Price: £6.99
-
Flower Block
New
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £5.19
- RRP: £7.99
- Not available to buy with Rewards
-
Letters in Charcoal
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £8.44
- RRP: £12.99
- Not available to buy with Rewards
-
Usborne Graphic Legends: The Adventures of King Arthur
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £9.00
- Rewards/RRP: £9.99
-
19books
The Carnegies 2025 Writing Longlist PackNew
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £112.00
- RRP: £172.81
- Not available to buy with Rewards
-
Signs of Survival
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £5.99
- Rewards/RRP: £7.99
-
Velvet Fox
Award-winning author
-
The Unlikely Rise of Harry Sponge
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £5.99
- Rewards/RRP: £7.99
-
The Story of Britain's Black Airmen
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £5.99
- Rewards/RRP: £8.99
-
Wild
New
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £5.19
- RRP: £7.99
- Not available to buy with Rewards
-
Family of Liars
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £4.99
- Rewards/RRP: £8.99
-
6books
Sue Wallman Pack x6New
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £37.50
- Rewards/RRP: £49.94
-
Smile/Sisters/Guts Box Set
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £19.99
- Rewards/RRP: £26.97
-
Fast Forward Purple: Volcanoes (Non-fiction) Level 19
- gbp prices
- Price: £8.55
- Not available to buy with Rewards
-
Termly Assessment Tests: Year 3 Reading Test A x 10
- gbp prices
- Price: £25.00
-
6copies
The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler x 6- gbp prices
- Offer price: £37.75
- Rewards/RRP: £41.94
-
6copies
Dave and the Tooth Fairy x6- gbp prices
- Offer price: £43.15
- Rewards/RRP: £47.94
-
6copies
Penguins of Antarctica (PM Non-fiction) Level 24 x 6- gbp prices
- Price: £44.10
- Not available to buy with Rewards
-
Jamie Johnson #5: World Class (2022 edition)
-
The Giver
Award-winning
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £7.20
- Rewards/RRP: £7.99
-
Lots of Things to Know About Seas and Oceans
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £7.99
- Rewards/RRP: £9.99
-
Like a Girl
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £5.99
- Rewards/RRP: £8.99
-
6copies
Matilda x 6Award-winning team
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £42.20
- Rewards/RRP: £47.94
-
3books
World of Harriet Muncaster Pk- gbp prices
- Offer price: £9.99
- Rewards/RRP: £20.97
-
Lots of Things to Know About Dinosaurs
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £7.99
- Rewards/RRP: £9.99
-
Sometimes You Have To Be a Little Bit Naughty
Award-winning illustrator
- gbp prices
- Offer price: £5.99
- Rewards/RRP: £7.99