WAR CAN MAKE YOU DO DANGEROUS THINGS

A review by Theresa from the Central Library: 

Before the war started Hannah, the youngest daughter in the family, was well on her way to become a famous concert pianist. She was also living the life of an average fifteen-year-old girl and about to experience her first date and dance. But for her and her family everything changed abruptly when the Second World War started in Europe because they were not only living in a country at war, they were Jews. Moved from the only home she had ever known into a small apartment in an area just for Jews and forced to wear a yellow star on her clothing, all the familiar things from her life started disappearing. 

Suzy Zail tells this story of a young girl caught in a terrible moment in history in her book Playing for the Commandant. The story though is not just one of many holocaust stories, it has a bit of a twist as Hannah ends being sent to play for the camp commandant every day and while in his home becomes friends with his son Karl. While the harsher elements of this brutal period are less prominent than in other holocaust tales, this story is a good place to start.

For grades 5-8

A FARAWAY ISLAND

This is a thoughtful story about two young Jewish sisters from Vienna, twelve-year old Stephie and her eight-year old sister, Nellie.

During WWII, Stephie and Nellie were separated from their parents who sent them away to an island near Sweden to escape from the Nazis during the war. The sisters expect to stay in there for about 6 months until they can reunite again with their parents in America. Unfortunately, they were separated upon arrival to the island. Nellie stays with a foster family that really cares for her. She has many friends and becomes adapted to the Swedish culture. Stephie on the other hand, has a miserable life. Her foster mother is a cold woman, she has no friends and is constantly bullied at school. She is very jealous of her younger sister. During this journey of being distant from her family, she wonders to herself if she will ever see her parents again. The sadness of familiar separation and the barbarity of Hitler is well expressed telling the story of Jewish children during World War II in Europe.