Evaluating and Suggesting Holocaust Books for Children

Kathe S. Pinchuck

Evaluating and Suggesting Holocaust Books for Children

Book Suggestions

Evaluation Strategies

Azrieli Foundation Memoirs Program. See website for information about ordering free books for your library or school. The books are also available for download free of charge.

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. The Boy Who Dared: A Novel Based on the True Story of a Hitler Youth.New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0-439-68013-4. Helmuth Hubener was a German teenager during World War II. He listened to foreign broadcasts and distributed pamphlets based on the information he heard. For these illegal activities, he was condemned to death. On the day of his execution, Helmuth sits in prison. As he waits, his memories are seen as flashbacks told in the third person. He reflects on his life in Hamburg, Hitler’s rise to power, his Mormon beliefs, and the events that led to this day. (12 and up)

Codell, Esme Raji. Vive La Paris. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2006. ISBN: 0-7868-5124-4. Paris McCray is a fifth grader with four older brothers, a musician father and a mother living in Chicago. Paris enjoys reading and playing the piano, and takes lessons with her neighbor Mrs. Rosen, a Holocaust survivor. Her brother Michael accompanies her to the apartment. When Mrs. Rosen gives Paris the yellow star she had to wear during World War II, Paris’ ignorance of the Holocaust and what the star means results in a faux pas of major proportion. As she learns about the Holocaust, she becomes aware of her error and gains even more respect for Mrs. Rosen. From her studies, she sees that ignorance and violence must be faced and stopped, and she intercedes with the bully who is bothering her brother. When Mrs. Rosen does not show up to hear Michael sing at his school talent show, Paris realizes she has died. Mrs. Rosen bequeaths all her sheet music to Michael, and sets up a trust fund so that Paris can visit The City of Lights when she gets older. (8-12)

Fitzgerald, Stephanie. Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass: Igniting the Nazi War Against Jews. (Snapshots in History). Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2008; ISBN: 978-0-7565-3489-9. Excellent resources that includes a timeline with hour by hour events of November 9th and 10th, 1938. Gives enough background and information about what happened afterward without loosing focus on the subject matter. Straightforward presentation makes the narrative very effective in relating the fear and horror wrought by the Nazis. (12 and up)

Fleischman, Sid. The Entertainer and the Dybbuk.New York: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2007. 180 p. $16.99. ISBN: 978-0-06-134445-9. When the spirit of a 12-year old Jewish boy, murdered by the Nazis, possesses the body of an American GI traveling through Europe as a second-rate ventriloquist, the pair is able to unmask the Nazi responsible for the boy’s death. (12 and up)

Levine, Karen. Hana’s Suitcase. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2002; ISBN: 189676455X. This is the true story of a Tokyo Holocaust education center that receives a suitcase from Auschwitz as an artifact for display. The director travels to Europe and Canada to get information about Hana’s childhood and meet with her brother. Chapters alternate between the activities in 2000 Tokyo and Europe in the 1930’s and 1940s. (8-12)

Steele, D. Kelley. Would You Salute?: One Child’s Story of the Holocaust. Statesville, North Carolina: Hidden Path Publications, 2005; ISBN: 0-9711534-2-6.The title question is posed by the protagonist of the book, Margot Wimpfheimer, the daughter of a Jewish father and a Christian mother growing up in Germany. When Hitler comes to power, her idyllic life changes gradually as people “do the salute,” wear uniforms, and become openly anti-Semitic. The family’s possessions are confiscated by Nazi soldiers and her father is prohibited from practicing medicine. Margot’s father commits suicide, and Nazis do not bother Margot and her mother. At the end of the book, the reader finds out that Margot and her mother came to the United States in 1939 and settled in New York. (8-12)

Zullo, Allan and Mara Bovsun. Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust. New York: Scholastic, 2004; ISBN: 0-439-66996-0. Eight stories of young survivors are disturbing for their graphic details, but also an inspiring tribute to the human spirit. (13 and up)

Caring Makes a Difference

Common. The Mirror and Me. Illustrated by Lorraine West. Chicago: HipHop Schoolhouse, 2004; ISBN: 0-9768674-0-0. A boy from South Africa learns to appreciate his unique qualities. (8-12)

Cooper, Ilene. The Golden Rule. Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-8109-0960-1. “Grandfather explains that the Golden Rule is a simple statement on how to live that can be practiced by people of all ages and faiths, then helps his grandson figure out how to apply the rule to his own life.” (5-10)

Cuyler, Margery. Kindness Is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler. Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-689-87344-7. “Mrs. Ruler guides her students in discovering ways of being kind to their family members, each other, and their community.” (5-10)

Doros, Alex and Dorros, Arthur. Numero Uno. Illustrated by Susan Guevara. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2007; ISBN: 978-0-8109-5764-0. In a classic battle of brains versus brawn, Hercules and Socrates constantly argue, until the town sends them away for three days to see who they will miss the most. Through cooperation and the use of everyone’s talents, a bridge is built. (4-8)

Keller, Laurie. Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2007; ISBN: 978-0-8050-7996-8. A rabbit is worried about how he will get along with his new neighbors, until the owl tells him to treat the otters the same way he would the otters to treat him. Humor and puns makes a lesson in the golden rule funny and painless. (5-10)

Lamstein, Sarah Marwil. I Like Your Buttons! Illustrated by Nancy Cote. Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company, 1999. ISBN: 0-8075-3510-9. Cassandra admires her teacher’s button, which starts a chain of complements and good will throughout the day. (3-8)

McCloud, Carol. Have You Filled a Bucket Today?: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids. Illustrated by David Messing. Northville, Michigan: Ferne Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-1-933916-16-3. “The concept of bucket filling is an effective metaphor for encouraging kind and considerate behavior and for teaching the benefits of positive relationships. (8-12)

Naliboff, Jane. The Only One Club. Illustrated by Jeff Hopkins. Brooklyn, New York: Flashlight Press, 2004. ISBN: 0-972-92253-9. The premise of the book – that everyone has something special about them and we should acknowledge and respect that, is a good lesson for children. Jennifer Jacobs is the only Jewish person in her class. While the other students make Christmas decorations, she makes dreidels and six-pointed stars for Hanukkah. When she goes home after school, she makes herself a glittery badge that says “The Only One Club.” Her fellow students want to join the club, but she is hesitant. After thinking it over, she comes to school the next day with a badge for all her classmates, who all have something unique – red hair, the last name “Raven,” etc. (4-8)

Pearson, Emily. Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed. Illustrations by Fumi Kosaka (Gibbs Smith, 2002; ISBN: 978-0-87905-978-1). “A young girl’s good deed is multiplied as it is passed on by those who have been touched by the kindness of others.” (4-8)

Rosenthal, Amy Krouse. Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons. Illustrated by Jane Dyer. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-06-058081-0. Words are defined through the baking and sharing of cookies. (5-10)

Symes, Ruth. Harriet Dancing. Illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church. New York: Chicken House (Scholastic), 2008; ISBN: 978-0-545-03204-9. Harriet is dismayed when the butterflies will not dance with her, but soon her other friends join her and prove that anyone and everyone can dance (4-8).

Vision, David and Mutiya. What Makes Me Beautiful? Illustrated by Ignacio Alcantara. New York: Soul Vision Works Publishing, 2004; ISBN: 0-9659538-4-X. A child recount the different qualities that make him beautiful. (5-10).

Wallace, Nancy Elizabeth. The Kindness Quilt. (Marshall Cavendish, 2006; ISBN: 978-0-7614-5313-0). After Minna and her class hear the Aesop fable of “The Lion and the Mouse,” they think of ways to be kind and draw pictures of their activities, which eventually become a big quilt wall hanging. (5-10)

Units

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow. New York: Scholastic, 2005; ISBN: 0-4393-5379-3. This well-researched, large-format book describes the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party, and World War II and its aftermath, though the eyes of twelve ordinary young people in Germany including those who participated in the Hitler Youth movement and those who resisted. (12 and up)

Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk. Aram’s Choice. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2006; ISBN: 978-1550413526. “Aram's story is based on the life of an Armenian orphan brought to Canada in 1923. Aram's journey out of Turkey (with his grandmother) during the Armenian Genocide, to an orphanage in Greece, and on to a farm in rural Ontario is one of new discoveries and experiences--unforgettable are his nighttime swim around the skeleton of a sunken ship, arriving at the Port of Quebec, and eating his first banana.” – Rosemarie Reichel (5-10)

Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk. Call Me Aram. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2008; ISBN: 978-1554550012. Aram Davidian, like his fellow orphaned Armenian refugees, is delighted with his new home on a farm in Georgetown, Ontario. But despite the excitement his new surroundings, Aram worries about his young friend Mgerdich, who was injured on the long trip to Canada and is recovering in France. And what is more worrying is that he and the other boys have been assigned new English names. How will their extended families find them one day if all the boys have new identities? Even when their translator assures them that their hosts want only the best for the boys, Aram cannot accept the name David Adams. When Mgerdich finally arrives at the farm, a relieved Aram finds the courage to lead the boys in a gentle revolt. Together, they must find a way to convince the Canadians adults that the boys, as grateful as they are for their new lives, they cannot forget their old ones. They must keep their names. (9-12)

Wood, Angela Gluck. Holocaust: The Events and Their Impact on Real People. New York: DK Publishing in association with USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, 2007; ISBN: 978-0-7566-2535-1.This highly visual history spans the origins of Jews, life in Europe, and the history of anti-Semitism to the post-WWII period, including the survivors, Nazi trials, stolen property, and concentration camps and present-day memorials. The book is supplemented by a DVD of personal testimonies from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. (12 and up)

Prejudice and Discrimination

Hausfater, Rachel. The Little Boy Star: An Allegory of the Holocaust. Illustrated by Olivier Latyk. Milk & Cookies Press, 2006; ISBN: 978-1-59687-172-4. A young Jewish boy is given a star to wear. At first he is proud of the decoration, but soon finds the star overshadowing him — no one sees the boy, only the star. Lonely, frightened, and helpless, he watches as other star-wearers are led away into the night. This affecting allegory, rich with symbolism, educates children about the events of the Holocaust in a way that young minds can easily grasp. Told in simple, poetic language, the book offers a tender message of tolerance and inner strength. (8-12)

The World Changes: Rise of Nazism

Barth-Grozinger, Inge. Something Remains, A Novel. Translated (from German) by Anthea Bell. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2006; ISBN: 0-7868-3880-9. A Jewish boy comes of age during the 1930’s in Germany and experiences the gradual but significant changes, the growing feeling of helplessness and disillusionment, and the hope that the situation will improve as things keep getting worse. (10-14)

Glatshteyn, Yankev. Emil and Karl. Translated by Jeffrey Shandler. New Milford, Connecticut: Roaring Brook Press, 2006; ISBN 1-69643-119-9. The story of two boys left alone in Vienna after their parents have been arrested by the Nazis. (12 and up)

Kacer, Kathy. The Underground Reporters. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2004; ISBN: 1-89676-485-1. A group of Jewish children in a small town in Czechoslovakia publish a newspaper called Klepy, or “gossip” in Czech, during World War II, until they are deported to concentration camps. (10 and up)

Littlesugar, Amy. Willy & Max: A Holocaust Story. Illustrated by William Low. New York: Philomel Books, 2006; ISBN: 0-399-23483-7. This heartwarming tale of kindess, truth, honesty, and friendship during the Holocaust also introduces readers to the widespread theft and looting by the Nazis of artwork belonging to European Jews. (8-12)

Life in the Ghettos and Camps

Bogacki, Tomek. The Champion of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2009; ISBN: 978-03743-4136-7. From Publishers Weekly: Bogacki’s (Daffodil, Crocodile) tender but somber book explores the humanitarian’s commitment to children’s rights. He is shown fighting hunger among the indigent, treating children wounded in the Russo-Japanese war and creating an innovative orphanage with a self-governing body of child residents who, despite being relocated to the ghetto during WWII, Korczak refused to abandon. (9 and up)

Hesse, Karne. The Cats in Krasinski Square. Illustrated by Wendy Watson. New York, Scholastic Press, 2004; ISBN: 0-439-43540-4. A young Jewish girl in occupied Warsaw befriends the many stray cats and helps the Jewish resistance thwart attempts to stop the smuggling of food into the Ghetto by the Nazis. (8-12)

Laskier, Rutka. Rutka’s Notebook. New York: Time Inc. Home Entertainment, 2008; ISBN: 978-1603200196. Rutka Laskier, a 14-year-old Jewish girl in the town of Bedzin in Poland, died in Auschwitz in 1943. But she left behind a notebook in which she recorded her thoughts, fears and dreams. Now, after 60 years in the keeping of a friend, that notebook has been recovered - and it opens a unique, moving window into the everyday life of Polish Jews caught in the throes of Adolf Hitler's Final Solution. The editors of TIME add annotations, photos, maps, and quotations that help bring this tragic era into compelling focus for today's readers. (14 and up)

Roy, Jennifer. Yellow Star. Tarrytown, New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2006; ISBN 0-7614-5277-X. Told in verse, this is the story of Syvia Perlmutter, one of twelve surviving children, who hid in the Lodz ghetto with her family. (12 and up)

Rubin, Susan Goldman with Ela Weissberger. The Cat with the YellowStar: Coming of Age in Terezin. New York: Holiday House, 2006; ISBN: 0-8234-1831-6. This impressively researched photographic memoir tells of a young girl from Czechoslavakia who studied with Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and participated in the children’s opera Brunidar at the Terezin concentration camp during World War II. (10-14)

Hiding, Escape, and Rescue

Abramson, Ann. Who Was Anne Frank? Illustrated by Nancy Harrison. (Who Was…? Series) New York: Grosset & Dunlap (Pengiun Group), 2007; ISBN: 978-0-448-44482-6. Abramson has penned a biography of Anne Frank that includes world events and details about certain personalities and events mentioned in the text. Anne Frank’s short life is recounted, from her birth, her family’s move to Amsterdam, their life in the secret annex until they were discovered, and her death in a concentration camp. Timelines and a bibliography are included at the end. (8-12)

Borden, Louise. The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A.Rey. Illus. by Allan Drummond. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. ISBN: 0618339248. This delightfully written story tells how Margret and H.A. Rey escaped from Nazi-occupied France in 1940, carrying in their bicycle baskets the manuscripts that would become their beloved picture books about Curious George, the little monkey. (8-12)

Clark, Kathy. Guardian Angel House. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2009; ISBN: 978-1-897187-58-6. “Guardian Angel House” was the nickname given to a convent operated by the Sisters of Charity in Budapest that sheltered over 120 Jewish children in German-occupied Hungary during World War II. This book tells the story of author Kathy Clark’s mother and aunt, who were sheltered there by the nuns. Includes historical photographs and notes about the author’s family and the Hungarian convent.

DeSaix, Deborah Durland and Ruelle, Karen Gray. Hidden on the Mountain: Stories of Children Sheltered from the Nazis in Le Chambon. New York: Holiday House, 2007. 275 p. $24.95. ISBN-10: 0-8234-1928-2; ISBN-13: 978-0-8234-1928-9. A small, Protestant town in the plateau region of South Central France became an example of faith and courage during World War II when the citizens sheltered thousands of refugees, most of them Jewish, and protected them from the Nazis. The authors interviewed many of these people, traveling the world to contact some of them, and their stories make up the chapters of the book. The first three chapters give an overview of the situation at the time in Europe, particularly in VichyFrance, and some background about Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and the plateau region. Also included are maps, a time line, and an author’s note and prologue, which help put the events in perspective, as well as many photographs. (10 and up)