THE LIONS’ RUN, by Sara Pennypacker and Jon Klassen, Balzer + Bray, Feb. 3, 2026, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 8-12)
An orphan discovers unexpected courage within himself when he becomes involved with the Resistance during WWII in The Lion’s Run, by Sara Pennypacker.
Petit éclair. That’s what the other boys at the orphanage call Lucas DuBois. Lucas is tired of his cowardly reputation, just as he’s tired of the war and the Nazi occupation of his French village. He longs to show how brave he can be.
He gets the chance when he saves a litter of kittens from cruel boys and brings them to an abandoned stable to care for them. There he comes upon a stranger who is none too happy to see him: Alice, the daughter of a horse trainer, who is hiding her filly from German soldiers.
Soon Lucas begins to realize they are not the only ones in the village with secrets. The housekeeper at the German maternity home and a priest at the orphanage pass coded messages; a young mother at the home makes dangerous plans to keep her baby from forced adoption; and a neighbor in town may be harboring a Jewish family.
Emboldened by the unlikely heroes all around him, Lucas is forced to decide how much he is willing to risk to make the most courageous rescue of all. —Synopsis provided by Balzer + Bray
When done right, historical fiction sings, and that is the case with Sara Pennypacker’s The Lion’s Run.
Told in short chapters, the story follows Lucas as he navigates life as an orphan during WWII. Lucas is a compelling character who grows in surprising ways. He has so much heart, and you can’t help but want him to succeed.
The Lion’s Run centers on a little-known aspect of WWII: German lebensborns. “The Lebensborn program was designed by the SS to increase Germany’s declining birthrate. It was originally intended to provide pregnant “Aryan” women with financial assistance, adoption services, and a series of private maternity homes where they could give birth. By the end of World War II, Lebensborn became involved in the Nazi regime’s systematic kidnapping of thousands of “biologically valuable” foreign children to be raised in German homes.” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
In The Lion’s Run, Lucas gets to know the head housekeeper and one of the mothers at the maternity home. And those relationships, along with his friendship with the daughter of a horse trainer, profoundly change Lucas. It’s a journey that truly sticks with you.
Pennypacker’s text is strong and accessible. She approaches hard topics with care while not shielding readers from the truth. It’s an excellent read.
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