School Library Connection Reviews
School Library Connection Reviews 2016 May
Anna Bauman is a young Jewish girl living in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. When the elusive Jolanta, who sneaks food, clothes, and medicine into the ghetto, approaches Anna's parents about rescuing her, Anna's life radically changes. Anna must become Anna Karwolska, an eight-year-old Catholic orphan who hates Jews. After a stint in a Catholic orphanage, Anna spends the last years of the war with a Polish family, never revealing her true identity. The story ends abruptly, leaving the reader to make inferences as to whether Anna gets her fairy tale ending or not. The author does not lighten the mood nor diminish the horror of the Holocaust. Real life heroine, Irena Sendler, inspires a few of the characters in this book, with information about her role in rescuing Jewish children from the ghettos found in the Author's Note. Not only is this novel a good pick for reluctant readers—with its short chapters and first-person narrative—but also for teachers wanting to incorporate historical fiction into the classroom.
- Grades 5-8 - Jennifer Parker - Highly Recommended
Anna Bauman is a young Jewish girl living in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. When the elusive Jolanta, who sneaks food, clothes, and medicine into the ghetto, approaches Anna's parents about rescuing her, Anna's life radically changes. Anna must become Anna Karwolska, an eight-year-old Catholic orphan who hates Jews. After a stint in a Catholic orphanage, Anna spends the last years of the war with a Polish family, never revealing her true identity. The story ends abruptly, leaving the reader to make inferences as to whether Anna gets her fairy tale ending or not. The author does not lighten the mood nor diminish the horror of the Holocaust. Real life heroine, Irena Sendler, inspires a few of the characters in this book, with information about her role in rescuing Jewish children from the ghettos found in the Author's Note. Not only is this novel a good pick for reluctant readers—with its short chapters and first-person narrative—but also for teachers wanting to incorporate historical fiction into the classroom.
- Grades 5-8 - Jennifer Parker - Highly Recommended