michelle o. donovan

Life is not easy for nine-year-old Joshua during World War II. Because of his familys Jewish heritage, they are sentenced to live in the concentration camps. Scared and alone, Joshua tries to blend into the camps background and stay in the barracks as long as he can, because he knows that many who leave them never come back. Recalling teachings about Jesus as their Lord and Savior, Joshua prays that God will send him a friend while hes held prisoner. One day, while trying to hide under the floorboards, Joshua meets a little mouse whom he calls Bethlehem. The tiny mouse befriends him; when the boy is taken to live with a German familywho has a nine-year-old son named HelmutBethlehem tags along. Although the boys become fast friends, Joshua isnt sure what will happen if Helmut ever discovers Bethlehems existence. Will Bethlehem be sent away? Will Joshua? Although the cruelties of war eventually separate these unlikely friends, Joshua understands that Jesus is always there for himno matter what his circumstances. He spends his life praying for his lost friends and acknowledges that he will see them again one day, whether in this life or the next.