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April 13, 2001/Nisan 20, 5761, Vol. 53, No.28
Books bring Holocaust to life for young readers
SYBIL KAPLAN
Special to Jewish News
Each day a Holocaust book arrives in the mail, either for adults or young readers, and it is no exaggeration that the average reviewer could receive hundreds of these books in a year. All of the books earmarked for young readers will be interesting to adults as well. Here is a roundup of Holocaust tomes published in 2000 and 2001, in commemoration of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, April 19.
"Anne Frank and Me" by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld (G. P. Putnam's Sons, $18.99 hardcover) This book is based on the play that has toured around the country and involves a typical 15-year-old, Nicole Burns, who is knocked unconscious during a school field trip near the Anne Frank exhibit, and awakens to find herself living during the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1942. The book is engaging and presents the Holocaust to teenagers in a unique way.
"When the Soldiers Were Gone" by Vera W. Propp (Puffin Books, $4.99 paperback) This is a true story, adopted into a novel, which takes place between 1942 and 1945 when the Germans occupied Holland. The hero is an 8-year-old boy who was hidden by a Christian family and is then rescued and returned to his parents. The plot is upbeat, positive and masterfully told.
"Anne Frank: A Hidden Life" by Mirjam Pressler (Dutton, $15.99 hardcover) Here is an analysis of Anne, her writings, her experiences, the occupants of the annex and what happened afterward by the woman considered an expert on the life and writings of Anne Frank.
"A Special Fate" by Alison Leslie Gold (Scholastic Press, $15.95 paperback) Chiune Sugihara took incredible risks to save others when he was assigned to the Japanese Foreign Ministry in Lithuania in 1940. Here is the story of a righteous non-Jew.
"Torn Thread" by Anne Isaacs (Scholastic Press, $15.95 hardcover) This novel is based on the true experiences of Eva, a Polish Jew, who was shipped to Czechoslovakia to work in a clothing factory making blankets for the German army.
"Parallel Journeys" by Eleanor Ayer (Aladdin Books, $5.99 paperback) Here is a unique, thought-provoking look at two people who survived the Holocaust - a Christian German Hitler Youth member and a German-Jewish survivor of Auschwitz.
"To Life" by Ruth Minsky Sender (Aladdin Books, $4.95 paperback) Here is the sequel to the autobiography, "The Cage," which takes Minsky from her liberation through Europe and displaced persons camps and after. This "after" the Holocaust shows a different perspective.
"The Butterfly" by Patricia Polacco (Philomel, $16.99 hardcover) Monique is a French girl living in a town occupied by Nazis who discovers secrets in her home and in her life. The story line is original and the writing well done.
"Darkness Over Denmark" by Ellen Levine (Holiday House, $18.95 hardcover) This is the true story of Danish resistance and rescue through people who experienced it. Adults and young readers will find this a fascinating book.
"Escape to the Forest" by Ruth Yaffe Radin (HarperCollins, $13.95 hardcover) Sarah, the narrator, is an 8-year-old Polish Jewish girl living in the ghetto with her family. The novel is based on true experiences and is an absorbing and powerful story with some slightly different angles.
"Fireflies in the Dark" by Susan Goldman Rubin (Holiday House, $18.95 hardcover) This is the testament to Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, artist and teacher, who was sent to Terezin Concentration Camp and who did art therapy to try to make the world a better place for the children there. She and most of the children did not survive but some of their artwork did.
"Forging Freedom" by Hudson Talbot (G. P. Putnam's Sons, $15.99 hardcover) The hero of this true story is Jaap Penraat, a righteous gentile, who maintained friendships with Jews in his native Holland and became involved with the underground. The writing is dramatic and exciting.
"From a World Apart" by Francine Christophe (University of Nebraska Press, $15 paperback) This book, written in the present tense in a non-frightening manner, is the autobiography of a French girl and her mother imprisoned and ultimately sent to a concentration camp. She returns to her childhood home 50 years later.
"In My Enemy's House" by Carol Matas (Aladdin Books, $4.99 paperback) This is the story of 15-year-old Marisa who disguises herself as a Polish girl and becomes a servant in the home of a Nazi. This is a very different perspective that makes for a dynamic, exciting and absorbing novel.
"Thanks to My Mother" by Schoschana Rabinovici (Puffin, $7.99 paperback) This is a heart-rendering, poignant, award-winning autobiography and tribute by a woman to her mother who endured life in a ghetto and concentration camps with her mother. The book is classroom reading in junior and senior high schools in Germany.
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