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A Pocket Full of Seeds. Marilyn Sachs. New York. Scholastic. 1973.137 pages. ISBN 0-590-48375-7

Nicole and her family live in Vichy France never suspecting the German occupation and the round-up of Jews. When it happens, Nicole finally realizes the value and love of her family.

• suitable for less mature reader
• written chronologically
• ALA Notable Book

After the War. Carol Matas. New York. Aladdin Books. 1996. 133 pages. ISBN 0-689-80722-8

After the War tells the story of Ruth Mendenberg's life after Auschwitz; a life with no family survivors except herself; a life that she feels isn't worth living; a life that leads her to Palestine with 200 orphans even though the world doesn't want them there.

• although a postwar story provides flashbacks to life during the war
• a survivor's story
• ALA Best Book for Young Adults
• A Booklist Editor's Choice
• A Junior Library Guild Selection

Along the Tracks. Tamar Berman. Translated by Michael Swirsky. Boston. Houghton Mifflin. 1988. 245 pages. ISBN 0-395-55328-8

As his family travels to Russia fleeing the ghettoization of Lodz, Yankle is stranded when the train is strafed by enemy planes. Along with other "lost" children, Yankle struggles to survive.

• a story of ingenuity, hunger and fear
• based on the real experiences of a friend of the author
• tells about a little known chapter of World War II

Anton the Dove Fancier and Other Tales of the Holocaust. Bernard Gotfryd. New York. Washington Square Press. 1990. 175 pages. ISBN 0-671-699137-6

This collection of stories tells of Bernard Gotfryd's life as a young Polish boy before the onslaught of World War II, through the agony of deportation and the horrors of the camps and life after. Through his eyes, we meet the faces of the victims, the perpetrators, the bystanders and those who chose to help.

• each story can be used independently of the others although some stories are enhanced in others
• provides insight into the unthinkable, the "choiceless" choices
• suitable for use by high school students
• winner Ze'ev Prize of the Ministry of Education in Israel

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Behind the Bedroom Wall. Laura E. Williams. New York. Scholastic Inc. 1996. 169 pages. ISBN 0-590-21415-2

To young Korinna, a member of the Jungmadel, showing loyalty to Hitler and her country is a given until the day she discovers her parents are hiding Jews behind her bedroom wall. Suddenly, the question of loyalty isn't as clear.

• snapshot of the effects of Nazism on the young in Germany during World War II
• good for the novice reader

The Borrowed House. Hilda van Stockum. Bathgate, ND. Bethlehem Books. 1975. 221 pages. ISBN 1-883937-46-9

Janni, a young German girl, and her parents move into a "borrowed" house in occupied Holland. As Janni investigates the house she learns the story of the family who lived there and discovers that the lessons she learned in the Hitler Youth were not true.

• good for middle school and up
• provides historical background as story is told
• offers the perspective of a young German who learns that what she has believed to be the truth is, in fact, lies

The Boys from St. Petri. Bjarne Reuter. New York. Puffin Books. 1991. 215 pages. ISBN 0-14-037994-0

Based on the true story of Danish boys who secretly harassed German soldiers, The Boys from St. Petri is the fictional telling of the story. Lars and the others make up the St. Petri group. Their goal, to harass the Germans, until one time things go too far.

• lead in to discussions of whether what one person does matters in relation to the whole framework of events
• ALA Notable Book
• Winner of the Mildred. L. Batchelder Award

Briar Rose. Jane Yolen. New York. Tom Dohety Associates, Inc. 1992. 200 pages. ISBN 0-812-55862-6

Becca has heard her grandmother's story of Briar Rose her whole life. Upon her grandmother's death, Becca leads us on a journey to learn the true story of Briar Rose; a journey that takes us to despair and back.

• not for the novice reader
• not a "fairy tale"
• provides a perspective of partisans
• ALA Best Book for Young Adults
• 1992 Nebula Nominee

**Burying the Sun. Gloria Whelan. New York. Harper Collins Publishers. 2004. 205 pages. ISBN 0-06-054113-X

Through the eves of fourteen year-old Georgi we experience the German siege of Leningrad; the destruction, hunger, and bitter cold. Too young to join the army Georgi travels across Lake Ladoga to help transport food for the starving city.

• suitable for grade 5 and above
• some historical background helpful
• contains author's note on siege of Leningrad, glossary of Russian terms, brief bibliography
• gives hints of life under Stalin
• companion book to Angel on the Square and The Impossible Journey (Russian epics)

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**Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi. David Chotjewitz. New York. Antheneum Books for Young Readers. 2004. 298 pages. ISBN 0-689-85747-0.

When Daniel learns he is half Jewish his comfortable life as a young German in 1933 begins to fall apart. His best friend, Armin, joins the Hitler Jurgend and their friendship starts to unravel. Despite this, they continue to hold sway over each others life.

• suitable for middle school
• written chronologically with short titled chapters
• contains reference to historical events and insight into life as a Jew in Nazi Germany
• contains afterword and glossary

Daniel's Story. Carol Matas. New York. Daniel Weiss Associates, Inc. 1993. 136 pages. ISBN 0-590-46588-0

Daniel's story is told as he talks about the photos of his world; his family, life in Frankfort and the Lodz Ghetto, and the horrors of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Through Daniel's story we learn the history of the Holocaust.

• detailed enough to help the reader understand, but not too graphic
• published in conjunction with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Darkness Casts No Shadow. Arnost Lustig. Evanston, Illinois. Northwerstern University Press. 1976. 173 pages. ISBN 0-8101-0704-X

Two teenage boys escape a train taking them to Dachau and try to travel through Germany to their home in Prague. Told primarily through dialogue between the two boys with flashbacks to the Auschwitz, the story takes the reader on a terrifying journey.

• recommended for high school and above
• at times difficult to identify who is talking
• flashbacks written in italics which helps with shifts
• contains sections which would be excellent for use as short readings, ie. stories of what happens to people when faced with death/ staravation
• based on author's own experiences

David and Max. Gary Provost & Gail Levine-Provost. New York. The Jewish Publication Society. 1988. 180 pages. ISBN 0-8276-0392-4

Twelve year-old David spends his summer vacation with his Grandfather Max and his family. While searching form a man from his grandfather's past, David learns about his grandfather's life under Nazi persecution.

• suitable for intermediate grades
• deals with relationships and friendships

The Devil's Arithmetic. Jane Yolen. New York. Viking Penguin Books, Inc. 1988. 170 pages. ISBN 0-440-84316-2

Hannah, a young Jewish girl from New Rochelle, is transported back through time to Poland in 1942 where she becomes Chaya, a Polish Jew. As Chaya, Hannah learns to appreciate her religion and the learnings of the Holocaust.

• not for the novice reader due to time shift
• background of Jewish customs helpful, but not required
• emotional
• National Jewish Book Award
• American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists"

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Escape from Warsaw. (Original Title; The Silver Sword) Ian Serraillier. New York. Scholastic, Inc. 218 pages. ISBN 0-590-43715-1.

The story of three children separated from their parents during the war and their journey after the war from Warsaw to Switzerland to join their parents. Separated from each other, but reunited the trio are helped by Jan, a young Polish orphan, who possesses the link between the children and their family, the silver sword.

• easy to read
• picture of life of children during and after the war
• background information not overwhelming
• not "brutal"

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Faraway Home. Marilyn Taylor. Dublin, Ireland. The O'Brien Press. 1999. 221 pages. ISBN 0-86278-643-6

Karl and Rosa were part of the Kindertranport, children from Nazi occupied Europe provided sanctuary by the English Parliament. Most of the Kinder were given shelter in England. Karl and Rosa, however, were sent to Ireland. This is their story of life living on a farm with other Kinder as they wait for their parents to escape and join them.

• good for less sophisticated readers
• written chronologically with short chapters divided into sections, not overly detailed
• provides historical framework within text, limited but enough to help reader
• contains afterword, bibliography
• winner children's books Ireland Bisto Book of the Year

Fateless. Imre Kertesz. Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern University Press. 1992. 191 pages. ISBN 0-8101-1049-0

Gyorgy Koves, a 14 year-old Hungarian Jew, felt his life in Auschwitz and Buchenwald were normal because "In the concentration camp it (such treatment) is natural." Through Gyorgy's eyes we live the horrors of survival and the day to day life in hell. Upon being told to forget the terrors when he returns home after the war, he questions why since he would need to "hope for something impossible."

• suitable for high school and above
• Kertesz, as a youth, spent a year as a prison in Auschwitz
• author 2002 winner Nobel Peace Prize winner

The Final Journey. Gudrun Pausewang. New York. Scholastic. 1992. 154 pages ISBN 0-439-05643-8

Eleven year old Alice has lead a sheltered life. Suddenly she is on a train headed for the "east", and she discovers the reality of her world. She learns "How much a human body can bear."

• starts slow, but draws the reader in
• takes the reader on a journey from life to the indescribable

Finding Sophie: A Search for Belonging in Postwar Britain. Irene N. Watts. Toronto. Tundra Books. 2002. 136 pages. ISBN 0-88776-613-7.

Sophie has lived with Aunt Em for 6 years since her arrival on a Kindertransport from Germany at the age of seven. Now that the war is ending she wants to stay in England, the only home she has really known.

• suitable for middle school
• short chapters
• third book about Kinder by Watts
• prologue makes connection between Sophie and Marianna, the main character of the first two books
• provides insights into the concerns of Kinder about reunions with parents they don't remember

**For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy. Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. New York. Delacorte Press. 2003. 181 pages. ISBN 0-385-72961-8.

Thirteen year old Suzanne lives in Cherbourg, France and dreams of being a professional singer. With the Nazi invasion of France her life changes and she becomes a courier for the French underground. Not until the end of the war does she learn the importance of her messages. Based on the true story of Suzanne David Hall, a former opera singer and a spy for France.

• suitable for middle school and above
• short readable chapters
• enough historical background given to understand what is happening
• Junior Library Guild selection

Friedrich. Hans Peter Richter. New York. Scholastic, Inc. 1970. 149 pages. ISBN 0-590-46763-8

The story of the friendship of two young boys, one a Jew and one a non-Jew. Written chronologically each chapter relates the experiences of the boys as the laws of the Third Reich against Jews are passed and enforced. Told through the eyes of Friedrich's best friend, who is not Jewish, we learn his fate.

• contains a chronology of laws, decrees, and regulations
• chapter events follow the timeline of the chronology
• chapters are short and relate only a single event

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Gentlehands. M.E. Kerr. New York. Banton Books, Inc. 1978. 135 pages. ISBN 0-553-23004-2

It's the perfect summer. Buddy and Skye are in love. In order to impress Skye, Buddy introduces her to his Grandfather. A man he doesn't know: a man accused of being the Nazi killer, Gentlehands.

• a story about adolescent issues; "fitting in", learning from others, parental authority, making choices
• deals with prejudice in daily lives
• New York Times Best Book of the Year

Good-bye Marianne: A Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany. Irene N. Watts. Toronto. Tundra Books. 1998. 105 pages. ISBN 0-88776-445-2

Marianna finds her life in Berlin in 1938 changing drastically as the restrictions against Jews increase. This book tells of life in Berlin between Kristallnacht and Marianna's selection for the Kindertransport and her journey to England.

• written simplistically
• suitable for less proficient readers
• short chapters
• first of three book series by Watts about Marianne; can be read independently of others
• winner Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People
• winner Isaac Frischwasser Memorial Award for Young Adult Fiction

Greater Than Angels. Carol Matas. New York. Aladdin Books. 1998. 180 pages. ISBN 0-689-83084-X

Fifteen year old Anna is a German Jew. After her family is deported to southern France, Anna is given safe haven by the citizens of Le Chambon France. Although fiction, the reader is given the history of the courageous village of Le Chambon and Pastor Trocme.

• not just a story of "survival", but also righteous gentiles
• provides historical background of the situation in France: Germans and Vichy Government
• Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

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Hide and Seek. Ida Vos. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1981. 132 pages. ISBN 0-395-56470-0.

Based on the experiences of Vos's family during World War II, Hide and Seek tells of the Nazi occupation of Holland, the restrictions placed on Jews and, finally, life in hiding.

• short chapters, written simply
• suitable for less proficient readers
• contains forward by author explaining why she wrote book
• story of day to day life under occupation and in hiding

**A High and Hidden Place. Michele Claire Lucas. San Francisco. Harper. 2005. 273 pages. ISBN 0-06-074056-6

Christine is six years-old when she arrives at a convent in France in 1944. She is introduced as "the one from Oradour". She avoids the memories of her life prior to her arrival at the convent until the violent death of President Kennedy. In order to save herself from the nightmares, she sets out to learn about Oradour and what happened there.

• suitable for high school and above
• a fictionalized account of the actual events in the small French farm community of Oradour in 1944
• to learn more about the massacre at Oradour see Oradour: Village of the Dead by Philip Beck (London; Leo Cooper LTD, 1979)
• chapters describing the massacre at Oradour present the unimaginable
• end becomes "preachy" about her belief in the existence of God

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I Was There. Hans Peter Richter. New York. Puffin Books. 1972. 204 pages. ISBN 0-14-032206-X

Through the eyes of a young boy and his two friends who join the Hitler Youth, we learn how the youth of Germany are affected by the events of the time. Written chronologically starting in 1933 and ending in 1943, the story takes us from triumph to despair.

• contains reference notes that further explain language/ events that are useful in understanding the story.
• necessary at times to reread to understand what is happening
• Chris, age 13: This book shows the pressure placed on the youth to join the Hitler Youth.

If I Should Die Before I Wake. Han Nolen. New York. Harcourt, Brace, and Co. 1994. 225 pages. ISBN 0-15-238040-X

Hilary, a teenage Neo-Nazi, is injured in an accident and lapses into a coma where she becomes Chana, a teenage Jew in Nazi occupied Poland. As Chana, Hilary experiences the horrors of the Holocaust from the Lodz ghetto to Auschwitz, and through Chana's eyes learns humanity and forgiveness.

• allows the reader to become involved
• for the experienced reader
• at times it is difficult to keep track of who is talking as Hilary moves back and forth between her time and Chana's
• a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age

In My Enemy's House. Carol Matas. New York. Aladdin Paperbacks. 1999. 168 pages. ISBN 0-689-82400-9

For Marisa and her family life for Jews in Eastern Poland under German occupation was full of danger. As it becomes more difficult, Mirisa decides to "pass" and goes to Germany as part of the Polish labor forces. There she finds herself living with the family of an offical of the Nazi Party and she must use her wits to keep from being discovered.

• suitable for middle school
• provides a different perspective of life in hiding

The Island on Bird Street. Uri Orlev. Boston. Houghton Mifflin, Co. 1981. 162 pages. ISBN 0-395-33887-5.

After his father is caught in a round up, Alex waits as instructed at #78 Bird Street in the deserted ghetto. He learns to survive while avoiding capture.

• a story of ingenuity and survival
• some background of ghettos helpful
• Mildred L. Batchelder Award
• ALA Notable Book
• Association Jewish Libraries Booklist Editor's Choice
• Darcie, age 13; I would recommend this book because it was easy to understand. I liked it because I learned how someone survived on his own.

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Jacob's Rescue: A Holocaust Story. Malka Drucker and Michael Halperin. New York. Bantam Doubleday Bell Books for Young Readers. 1993. 117 pages. ISBN 0-440-40965-9

This is the story of Jacob, a young Jewish boy, who is hidden by Christians. At risk to themselves and their children while enduring increasing hardship, Mela and Alex provide a hiding place for Jacob in Warsaw, Poland.

• suitable for less proficient readers
• contains afterword that gives a brief historical background
• presents the day to day aspects of survival

The Journey. Ida Fink. New York. Farrar Straus and Giroux, Inc. 1990. 250 pages. ISBN 0-374-28541-1

In 1942 two Jewish girls disguised as Polish peasants escape the ghetto. This is the harrowing story of how they journey into war torn Germany where they work as hired labor in the factories, farms and villages constantly changing their identities.

• suitable for high school and up due to changing of characters identities
• outstanding description
• full of suspense
• Ida Fink author of A Scrap of Time and Other Stories

Journey to America. Sonia Levitin. New York. Scholastic, Inc. 1970. 150 pages. ISBN 0-590-46728-X

Lisa, her mother and father, and two sisters live in Berlin. In 1938 as the persecution of Jews heightens, Lisa's father leaves for America to find a place for the family. This is the story of Lisa, her mother and sisters' life in Berlin as the Nazis come into power and in Switzerland as they wait for the paperwork allowing them to go to America.

• suitable for lower middle school
• title doesn't fit the story
• winner National Jewish Book Award

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Katarina. Kathryn Winter. New York. Scholastic, Inc. 1998. 255 pages. ISBN 0-439-09904-8

In 1942 Katarina's quiet life is disrupted as the Germans round up the Jews in her Slovakian village. Although Katarina doesn't consider herself Jewish since her family has never been observant, she has to go into hiding with a peasant household. When it is discovered that she is Jewish she is forced to wander from village to village looking for shelter until it is safe for her to return to her family. Throughout her journey she holds to the belief that everything will be fine.

• suitable for middle school
• provides a perspective of non practicing Jews and how they were affected by the war
• tells the story of everyday life

Kindertransport: The Play. Diane Samuels. London. Nick Hern Limited Books. 1995. 88 pages. ISBN1-85459-227-0

Samuels interviewed several Kinder and incorporated their stories into this play about the Kindertransport, the rescuing of nearly 10,000 unaccompanied children from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia in the 9 months before the start of World War II. This two act play tells the story of Eve/Evelyn and the effect of the Kindertransport on her life.

• contains background of Kindertransport and personals stories of Kinder
• can be confusing to "read" as two scenes are frequently taking place at the same time on the same stage
• winner 1992 Verity Bargate Award

Kris's War.(Original title: Code Name Kris). Carol Matas. New York. Scholastic, Inc. 1989. 152 pages. ISBN 0-590-45034-4

Jesper and Stefan join the Danish resistance. Telling his story as he sits in jail after being captured and tortured, Jesper, code name Kris, tells how he moved from innocent acts of resistance to sabotage and then killing as he becomes more involved with the attempts to disrupt the German occupation of Denmark.

• suitable middle school
• sequel to Lisa's War, but can be read independently
• holds readers' attention

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Lisa's War. Carol Matas. New York. Scholastic, Inc. 1987. 108 pages. ISBN 0-590-43517-5

Twelve year old Lisa, who is Jewish, is living in Denmark with her brother and parents when the Germans invade in 1940. She joins the resistance with her brother. Initially, she distributes flyers, but she becomes more and more involved in resistance activities. Finally, she and her family must leave Denmark to escape the German round up of Jews.

• suitable for less proficient readers
• story of how one person can make a difference
• foreword contains brief historical overview of events prior to April 9, 1940 and the German invasion of Denmark

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The Man from the Other Side. Uri Orlev. New York. Penguin Books. 1989. 186 pages. ISBN 0-14-037088-9

Marek, a young Pole, dislikes his stepfather Anthony, who states "I may not like Jews, but I have nothing against human beings.", but helps him smuggle supplies into the Warsaw Ghetto until Jozek, a Jew, comes into their lives and Marek learns, "all people looked alike when they smiled."

• Marek is telling us his story and jumps around as a storyteller might
• deals with Warsaw Ghetto uprising
• "choices" and the resulting consequences
• based on real events and real people
• National Jewish Book Award
• Mildred L. Batchelder Award
• ALA Notable Book
• ALA Best Book for Young Adults
• NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book
• IBBY Honor Book

**Milkweed. Jerry Spinelli. New York. Alfred A. Knopf. 2003. 208 pages. ISBN 0-375-81374-8

We know him as Stopthief, "filthy son of Abraham," Runt, Happy, Fast. He is an orphan surviving in Warsaw by stealing food for himself and other orphans. He delights in the "parade" as the Nazis march into Warsaw and dreams of one day becoming a Jackboot, as the children call them. After Uri, his protector, gives him the name Misha, he befriends a Jewish family and becomes a Jew living in the Warsaw Ghetto and through his eyes we live the horrors of ghetto life and deportation.

• suitable for grade 5 and up
• background information prior to reading would be helpful

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The Night Journey. Kathryn Lasky. New York. Puffin Books. 1986. 150 pages. ISBN 0-14-0323480-2

This is not a Holocaust story. Rather it tells of the pogroms against the Jews in the Czar's Russia prior to World War II. Rachel learns her great-grandmother's story of courage and ingenuity when faced with death.

• provides a view of anti-Semitism prior to the Holocaust
• winner National Jewish Book Award
• an American Libraries Association Notable Book

Nightfather. Carol Friedman. New York. Persea Books. 1991. 135 pages. ISBN 0-89255-210-7.

A delicately written story of Freidman's father's experiences in the concentration camps told through the eyes of his children. She recounts his war experiences and its after effects. The story relates the effect of the Holocaust on the survivor's children.

• chapters are short and the vocabulary is easy; although the concepts addressed are not.
• told in the "present day", chapter titles focus of chapters
• Jennifer, age 14: I recommend the book because it shows how much one person went through and what he did to help himself.

Number the Stars. Lois Lowry. New York. Dell Publishing. 1989. 137 pages. ISBN 0-440-40327-8.

Ten year old Anne Marie decides if all Denmark would be the king's bodyguard, then all Denmark must be the bodyguards for the Jews. When Denmark's Jews, including Anne Marie's best friend Ellen, are to be "relocated", Anne Marie is asked to do just that.

• short readable chapters
• background information needed provided in text
• not overwhelming
• School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
• American Booksellers Pick of the Lists
• An American Library Association Notable Book
• 1990 Newbery Award Medal

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Other People's Houses. Lore Segal. New York. New Press. 1990. 312 pages. ISBN 1-56584-143-3

She was #152 on a list of 600. Seven months after the annexation of Austria by Germany, 10 year-old Lore is sent to England on the first Kindertransport to leave Vienna. She spends the next seven years "living in other people's houses."

• recommended for sophisticated reader as story jumps around
• different perspective of life as a Kinder than Pearls of Childhood; Lore's parents join her in England
• Part 2 dealing with life in Dominican Republic and New York is very confusing
• describes train journey from Germany to Holland and "slave market" atmosphere at Dovercourt in England

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Remember Me: A Search for Refuge in Wartime Britain. Irene N. Watts. Toronto. Tundra Books. 2000. 174 pages. ISBN 0-88776-519-X

A sequel to Good-bye Marianna, the story starts with Marianna's arrival in Liverpool Station on a Kindertransport. Life as a Kind is not a happy one for Marianna. As she attempts to "fit in" she is constantly trying to get visas for her parents. With the evacuation of London's children she is placed with another family who wants her to be someone she is not.

• can be read without reading sequel
• provides a picture of the difficult life of some Kinder
• suitable for middle school

**Run, Boy, Run. Uri Orlev. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 2003. 186 pages. ISBN 0-618-16465-0

After a brief time in the Warsaw Ghetto, Srulik begins a life on the run in the Nazi-occupied countryside, hiding in the forest and living with those who provide him shelter in return for work. He follows his father's advice to "...forget everything, even his parents, but never to forget that he is a Jew." Based on a true story of a 9 year-old boy.

• suitable for middle school
• translated from Hebrew the sentence structure is, at times, choppy and stilted
• epilogue tells what happened to the real life Srulik
• winner The Batchelder Award by the American for Library Servicce to Children, American Library Association

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Schindler's List. Thomas Keneally. New York. Simon and Schuster. 1982. 398 pages. ISBN 0-671-44977-X.

Based on the testimonies of the Schindlerjuden, Schindler's Jews, Keneally shares with us the story of Oskar Schindler, a man of contradictions. Keneally attempts to answer the questions: Who was Oskar Schindler? What motiviated him to do what he did?

• appropriate for high school and above
• an interesting read when comparing content of book to content of the Speilburg's movie, Schindler's List
• contains a wealth of information not found in the movie

A Scrap of Time and Other Stories. Ida Fink. New York. Pantheon Books. 1987. 165 pages. ISBN 0-394-55306-5.

From the beginning we are asked to view the world differently; our view of time, our hopes for our immediate lives, our relationships with others. A collection of brief stories based on authentic experiences about life in Poland at the time of the Holocaust, A Scrap of Time, takes us on a journey where we are asked to experience the unimaginable, to make the unmakable decision in the world outside the camps.

• each story stands by itself
• powerful and emotionally painful
• Anne Frank Prize for Literature

The Shadow Children. Steven Schnur. New York. Scholastic, Inc. 1994. 86 pages. ISBN 0-590-93429-5

After World War II eleven year old Etienne visits his grandpere in the mountain village of Mout Brulant. While there, he encounters the shadow children, the lost children whose fate had been decided by the Nazis, and he learns the horrible secret shame of Mout Brulant.

• contains beautiful black and white illustrations that are delicate, yet at times, disturbing
• good for the reluctant reader with short chapters
• reflects upon choices that should not have needed to be made

Soldier Boys. Dean Hughes. New York. Simon Pulse. 2001. 230 pages. ISBN 0-689-86021-8

Dieter joins the Hitler Youth and is worried the war will end and there will be no battles for him to prove himself. After Pearl Harbor, Spence joins the paratroopers with dreams of returning home to show the town what he could do. As war brings these two lives together at the Battle of the Bulge, both boys discover war is not glorious, but filled with pain, fear, promises, and pressures to be brave.

• suitable for middle school
• story alternates between two boys
• historical background of period would be helpful

**Soldier X. Don Wuffson. New York. Penguin Group. 2001. 227 pages. ISBN 0-14250073-9

, Erika Brandt, or X as he becomes known, is a young German teenager drafted into the Germany army in 1944 and sent to the Eastern front. There he is confronted by the horrors of war and in an attempt to save his life makes a decision that could mean his death.

• suitable for mature middle school readers
• war details graphic
• based on a true story
• contains historical facts, dates, events
• winner of Christopher Award, a BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, an NCCS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, and an ALA Best Book for Young Readers

Stones in Water. Donna Jo Napoli. New York. Puffin Books. 1997. 209 pages. ISBN 0-14-130600-9.

Stones in Water addresses an aspect of the war not often found in literature, Italy. Roberto and his friends sneak off to see a movie, an American western, when suddenly they are rounded up by German soldiers. Roberto, a non Jew, and his friend Samuele, a Jew, end up in a work camp where Samuele must hid his true identity if he is to survive.

• loosely based on a true story
• readable and interesting
• the story of a friendship
• an ALA Notable Book
• an ALA Best Book for Young Adults
• Winner of the Sydney Taylor Jewish Book Award

The Sunflower. Simon Wiensenthel. New York. Schocken Books. 1976. Part 1, 99 pages; Part 2, 105 pages. ISBN 0-8052-0578-0

A Jew is taken into a German hospital and left in the room with a dying Nazi soldier, a member of the SS. He listens to the man's story of his life prior to the war, all the while reflecting on the circumstances of his own world. The Jew is asked by the German for forgiveness for a terrible wrong. We're left with the question that still goes on through time; Should he forgive?

• man's place in the world in relation to others
• Should we forgive?
• What is our role as our brother's keeper?
• Jennifer, age 13; I would highly recommend this book because it had a lot of sense to it.

The Survivor. James D. Forman. Toronto. McGraw-Hill Ryerson LTD. 1976. 272 pages. ISBN 0-374-37312-4

The Ullmans, as most Jews living in Holland prior to the Nazi occupation, thought of themselves as Dutch. Life changed with the start of World War II. This is the story of a family's journey through the hardships of Nazi occupation, life in hiding, capture, life in the camps and, finally, liberation.

• told from the viewpoint of the teenage son
• multiple perspectives of the war, i.e. resistance, life in hiding, "ignoring" the Nazis and trying to live everyday lives
• suitable for sophisticated middle school

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Touch Wood: A Girl in Occupied France. Renee Roth-Hano. New York. Macmillan Publishing Co., 1988. 297 pages. ISBN 0-02-777340-X

Expecting that everything will be all right there, her parents move Renee, her two sisters and her grandmother to Paris when the Germans invade France. Rather they find restrictions against Jews increase and life becomes more difficult and dangerous. Renee and her sisters are sent to stay at a Catholic residence in Normandy where it is felt they will be safe.

• suitable for experienced middle school readers
• autobiographical
• tells of life in German occupied France as a citizen and as a Jew

Twenty and Ten. Claire Hicket Bishop. New York. Puffin Books. 1952. 76 pages. ISBN 0-14-031076-2

The fictional story of twenty French children who had been sent to refuge in the mountains of German occupied France and how, with the help of Sister Gabriel, they hid ten Jewish refugee children from the Nazis.

• brief and easy to read
• a view of the role of righteous ones
• contains little historical content

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Village of a Million Spirits: A Novel of the Treblinka Uprising. Ian MacMillan. New York. Penguin Putnam, Inc. 1999. 257 pages. ISBN 0-14-029033-8

We learn of the uprising in Treblinka through the voices of people both inside the camp and in the surrounding countryside: Janusz, a sixteen-year-old Polish prisoner; Voss, an alcoholic SS officer; Anatoly, a Ukrainian guard; and, Madga, his Polish lover who is pregnant with his child. They tell us of the horrors of a place called Treblinka.

• suitable for high school and above
• time shifts and changing narrator could make for confusion
• contains a readers' guide
• Winner PEN Center USA West 2000 Literary Award in Fiction

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When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. Judith Kerr. New York. Dell Publishing. 1971. 191 pages. ISBN 0-440-49017-0

Anna's father is a journalist who is in danger when Hitler comes into power. This is the story of the family's journey to stay ahead of father's arrest and of Anna's childhood disrupted.

• suitable for the less sophisticated reader
• tells of day to day life
• an American Libraries Association Notable Book

When the Soldiers Were Gone. Vera W. Propp. New York. Puffin Books. 1999. 103 pages. ISBN 0-698-11881-2.

Young Henk was happy. He enjoyed life until the day he is introduced to the strangers who come to visit, his real father and mother. Set in Holland after the war, this is the story of a young boy sent into hiding by his parents during the German occupation and his return. Based on a true story.

• suitable for less proficient readers with short chapters
• simple history lessons are incorporated as Benjamin learns why he was hidden

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