forwordsbooks » Jewish History

An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank

Kathy B. — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:59:42 +0000

While reading this riveting account of the murder of Mary Phagan, a poor, white, 13-year-old factory worker from Atlanta, Georgia, and the trial of her accused murderer, Leo Frank, a 29-year-old, Jewish man from New York, I often had to stop and remember that this event actually took place on American soil in the 20^th century. To read that witnesses, evidence and juries could be manipulated in such a way as to send an innocent man to his death is appalling enough. To then learn that a governor stood up for what was right only to be overridden by a lynch mob is sickening. To then read that not one of the men involved in the lynching were ever punished for the crime of taking the law into their own hands is unconscionable. As you can tell, this book cannot be read without causing a plethora of emotions to emerge.

However, some good did result from all of this tragedy. The Anti-Defamation League was created to see that such a situation never arose again.

This is historical writing at its finest. Mesmerizing, factual, leading the reader step-by-step through the unfolding of a tragic occurrence in American history that began with the murder of an innocent child and ended with the murder of an innocent man. Photographs, newspaper clippings, primary sources and excellent research have created a fabulous tribute to a terrible story.

Grade Level: 5^th- 12th

Ages: 10-18

©2010 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review were provided by my local public library.
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Sharing Our Homeland: Palestinian and Jewish Children at Summer Peace Camp

Kathy B. — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 04:03:12 +0000

Photographs by Cindy Karp

I will admit, when I received this book from the publisher, I was skeptical. This was coming from a secular publishing house, known for its multicultural books. While they had published some excellent Jewish books, were they going to take a “side” with this one? Having read so many books concerning Palestinian and Jewish issues, I was prepared for the worst. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised.

It is wonderful to have a book for children about children that show positive efforts being made toward peaceful reconciliation between Jews and Palestinians. Sharing Our Homeland is especially good, because the Menashe Summer Peace Camp attended by the children in this book will hopefully ensure a future of peace between Israel and Palestine. The descriptions of each child, their family life and the portrayal of the camp experience are sure to have readers interested in knowing where to sign up.

While there are a few minor issues that may be argued when reading the book (e.g. all the children are Israeli citizens, some language in the Holy Land section) overall the text handles “hot button” matters with a directness and balance rarely seen in books on this subject. In addition, while published in a picture book format, the text is most appropriate for older readers, the photographs simply adding a “scrapbook quality” to what is described and discussed.

Grade Level: 5^th-9th

Ages: 10-15

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
The Book used in this review was provided by the publisher.
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Otto: The Autobiography of a Teddy Bear

Kathy B. — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:14:03 +0000

illustrated by Tomi Ungerer

Otto is a teddy bear that begins his life as a special birthday gift for David, a young German Jewish boy, becomes a trusted friend of the boy and his best friend, Oskar and a willing participant in their childhood pranks. When Hitler takes over Germany, David and his family are sent away, and Otto is entrusted to Oskar’s care. The war takes its toll on Oskar’s city and building. Otto finds himself with a new companion, travelling to America, experiencing many different adventures and ultimately landing in an antique store where miraculously he is rediscovered by Oskar and ultimately reunited with David.

While this book is formatted as a picture book and therefore looks as if it is meant for younger readers, it is by no means a book for young children. The writing is at a 5^th grade level, the concepts even higher. For example:

“Whole streets were blown to pieces. Among the ruins and the fires lay innocent victims. Then one day a sudden explosion sent me flying in a cloud of smoke.”

The accompanying illustrations are dark, detailed and somewhat gory pictures of dead soldiers bleeding next to their machine guns, hands sticking out from the rubble of destroyed buildings and fires burning all around. Otto arrives in America to a hero’s welcome, but quickly lands in the hands of thugs and is thrown in the garbage. The bleakness of the illustrations continues even with the reunion of the friends.

This book brought to mind a similar story, Elisabeth by Claire A. Nivola, written in 2001. Although Elisabeth is about a doll that is separated from her young mistress and Otto is about a teddy bear, the issues of appropriateness for children are as true today as they were back then.

Otto is a very realistic Holocaust story, and while told from the viewpoint of a teddy bear, it leaves no detail unrevealed. Be very careful how, when and who you share the contents of this book with.

Grade Level: 6^th-10th

Ages: 11-16

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review were provided by my local public library.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon,

I may receive a very small commission on your purchase.

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I appreciate your support.

Feivel’s Flying Horses

Kathy B. — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:44:13 +0000

Illustrated by Johanna van der Sterre

The author who brought us the delights of Klezmer music in Mendel’s Accordion, now shares a lesser known path from the Jewish immigrant experience, the wooden carousel horse carvers of the 19^th century. This beautifully told tale describes the life of Feivel who leaves his wife and four children to come to America hoping to earn enough money to send for them. It takes him three years and the carving of an entire carousel of horses to achieve his goal.

The illustrations accompanying the story are rich in color and detail, as they capture Feivel intricately carving each horse, remembering his family members by portraying their personalities in the features of the horses he creates. This is an attractive book with a beautiful story to tell about taking a talent and applying those same skills for a completely different purpose somewhere else. A somewhat timely lesson perhaps given today’s economic uncertainties.

Grade Level: 1^st-4^th

Ages: 6-10 years

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Resistance Book 1

Kathy B. — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:26:17 +0000

Art by Leland Purvis

Color by Hilary Sycamore

In this exciting and emotionally powerful graphic novel set in France during World War II, three young people get involved in the French Resistance. Paul and his sister, Marie, must shepherd their Jewish friend, Henri, to a safe house in Paris to meet his parents who have been rescued from the Nazis by the Resistance and are on their way out of the country.

The story is engaging and well told. Several plot twists cause a paniced moment or two, but everything works out in the end as would be expected in a book for children. The illustrations are detailed enough to get the story across, yet not so detailed as to make a young reader ill with the reality of the Nazi’s actions or what actually took place during the war years.

There seems to be a movement toward books about individuals and groups who helped the Jews and others who were persecuted by the Nazis. It is good to know that those people existed who would risk their lives for a friend or family member.

Grade Level: 6^th-12th

Ages: 11-18

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Extraordinary

Kathy B. — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:18:16 +0000

Imagine that in the 18^th century Mayer Rothschild, founder of the famous Jewish banking family, found himself lost in the forest and stumbled upon a portal into the Fairie Kingdom. Fascinated by the Fairie society and enamored by their culture, he fell in love with and had an affair with the Fairie Queen. Unfortunately, he had a wife and infant waiting for him at home. Both he and the queen knew he could not stay in the Fairie Kingdom forever, so the queen favored him with a gift – anything he desired. He requested five sons in order to grow his business and make it something of great renown. The queen agreed, on one condition, he must provide a daughter to the Fairie Kingdom in return. After much thought, Mayer Rothchild agreed that after the third generation of children, the first Rothschild daughter who grew up to be an “ordinary” person, would belong to the Fairie Kingdom. The pact was made. The Rothschild’s went on to make history in banking. The Fairie Kingdom did not fair so well, however, as fulfilling Mayer Rothschild’s wish is costing them their lives as they wait for an “ordinary” female Rothschild.

Enter Phoebe Rothschild, who does not see herself as a valuable addition to her storied family. Is she the long awaited “ordinary” Rothschild daughter? She meets Mallory Tolliver, a new student, who clearly needs friendship and guidance if she is to survive the rigors of middle school and beyond. Mallory introduces Phoebe to her brother, Roland, whose good looks and charm sweep Phoebe off her feet.

This is a page-turner of a Jewish fantasy, coming-of-age novel that will keep you wondering from one chapter to the next who is the good guy and who is the bad? Where is all of this leading and why? Who can you trust? What is real and what is illusion?

The writing is vivid and emotional, bringing you into the fairie world as easily as into real life. The stresses of adolescent uncertainty, the roiling emotions of teenage love and the fluctuations in juvenile friendships are all described in exactly the right way. The realization that an ultimate sacrifice must be made in order for the Fairie Kingdom to survive is heart-wrenchingly palpable and the conclusion breathtaking. If you enjoy fantasy fiction, this will be an excellent choice.

Grade Level: 9^th-12th

Ages: 14-18

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Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

Kathy B. — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:26:52 +0000

by Linda Glaser

Illustrated by Claire A. Nivola

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

~ from The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

I am sure I learned these words by heart in elementary school. Yet, as I was reading this marvelous book, I realized how much I did not know about this poem, its author and the times in which she lived. Emma Lazarus was able to become the voice of the Statue of Liberty because she met and supported the immigrants that came through New York. She helped them with their English and in their struggle to get jobs. She worked on their behalf by telling the immigrants’ story through her writing and poetry. When she learned about the Statue of Liberty and the need to raise money for a pedestal to support it, she wrote The New Colossus to make the country see the new statue as a welcome sign to immigrants from all over the world.

The watercolor and gouache illustrations accompanying the simple but powerful text are outstanding and highly reflective of early 19^th century artwork. They capture the glamour of the life lived by the wealthy in New York as well as the hardships faced by the immigrants both on the boats and upon arrival.

Perhaps the Congressional leaders who need to work on solving our modern immigration issues should begin their work by reading this book. Or at least remember what they learned when they memorized the verses above when they were in school.

Grade Level: K-4th

Ages: 5-10

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Black Radishes

Kathy B. — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:06:34 +0000

In this novel, based on actual experiences of the author’s father and aunt during the War, young Gustave and his family, who are Jewish, flee the Nazi occupation of Paris and find themselves in a small village right on the border of Occupied and Unoccupied France. In order to obtain food for the family, Gustave’s father travels over the Nazi guarded border between the two “countries” and barters merchandise from his former general store with farmers in the outlying area. He even manages to smuggle Black Market goods – chickens and fresh vegetables – over the border using his Swiss passport, his excellent German, a truck with a false back and by offering the Nazi sentries something he knows they love and miss – black radishes – to distract them. Ultimately, his efforts pay off when he and Gustave are able to smuggle their relatives over the border in order to escape from Germany to the United States before the French government turns all Jews, even French born Jews, over to the Nazis.

While this book should not win any prizes for adding to the scope of Holocaust literature, it is interesting in some of the details it provides of life in a small French village far outside Paris and of what people endured trying to get away from the Nazis in France. In addition, the scenes describing the efforts of the French Resistance in trying to rescue people from the Nazis are compelling.

Grade Level: 5^th – 10th

Ages: 10-16

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Benno and the Night of Broken Glass

Kathy B. — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:35:34 +0000

Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

Using picture books to explain the Holocaust to children is rarely a good idea. However, this may be a rare exception. We watch a German neighborhood going about its business in the days leading up to Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) through the eyes of a at building’s cat, Benno. This unique perspective that of an animal used to being fed and loved by the same individuals day-by-day provides the reader with the sense that things are changing.

Benno lives in the basement of an apartment building in Berlin. He visits all the occupants, Jewish and those of other faith backgrounds. He is an active observer of the changes that take place in the neighborhood as the Nazi’s come to power. He is especially aware of the changes – the damage and the missing neighbors – following the Night of Broken Glass.

The language of this book is simple, yet powerful, emotional and compelling. It builds slowly on the changes that occurred in Germany prior to the start of the Holocaust – children who were friends, no longer speaking to one another, the availability of meat scraps ceases. It will raise questions about why one neighbor’s home was spared and another’s was demolished. The Afterword at the back of the book is brief and contains historical facts, figures and photographs.

The illustrations: a combination of collage, drawings and digital montage, really set the scene for the story. They admirably convey the emotions of the individuals in the particular time and place being discussed, whether at the Shabbat dinner table, following Sunday dinner, during the Kristallnacht pogrom or following the night’s terrors.

This book would be an excellent introduction for those looking to discuss the Holocaust, but not sure where to begin.

Grade Level: 4^th-9th

Ages: 9-15

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Annexed

Kathy B. — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:06:20 +0000

Let me state from the beginning that I believe it took an enormous amount of courage, and an iron backbone, for Sharon Dogar to write this book. If there was ever such a thing as canonization in Judaism, I am sure Anne Frank would be in the top ten list of Jewish saints. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is more than just a Holocaust book, for many people all over the world, Jewish or not, Anne Frank’s diary is their first introduction to the personal tragedy of the Holocaust. How many books, analyses, dissertations, memoirs, explorations and the like have been written about the diary? Here comes Ms. Dogar with a novel, actually an overlay based on the diary, letting us imagine the inside of Peter van Pels’ head as he lived in the Secret Annex with Anne and her family.

The novel is excellent, the writing brilliant, crisp yet profoundly emotional. Peter is in the sick bay of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. It is hours before Liberation, and he is remembering his time in the Annex. As we accompany him in his memories, we feel his longing to be a regular teenage boy, his loneliness while surrounded by people, his wrestling with his religious faith and his desire to have some kind of intimate relationship before “the end.” The power of this story lies in our own memories of Anne’s diary, knowing the same people and what they meant to Anne, now seeing them through Peter’s eyes. Despite knowing the final outcome, I wanted so desperately for Peter to find his happy ending. Unfortunately, this is not fantasy, but historical fiction and certain realities had to stay consistent with what actually happened. Yet even there, the writing is powerful, strong, a reminder to keep our ears open to listen for the voices of those who perished. As always, we must never forget.

The back of the book contains an outstanding list of books, DVDs and websites for further information.

Grade Level: 5^th- 12th

Ages: 10-18

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