In free verse form Roy tells the story of her aunt's life and her family's survival in the Lodz ghetto in Poland during World War II. Her Aunt Syvia entered the ghetto at the age of four and was liberated the day before her 10th birthday. She was one of twelve children to survive the ghetto. Through a child's voice we learn the horrors of living in the ghetto and picture of survival for those 800 of 270,000 who lived to tell this story.
It is amazing the compassion and passion Roy evokes in such spare text.
Recommeded for 4-7 grades.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
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1 comment:
This is an excellent Holocaust book for young readers. The use of free verse and the fact that it tells of a ghetto rather than a concentration camp experience makes it noteworthy. Although classified as fiction, it was compiled from memories that the real-life Syvie recalled in conversations with the author. Nazi brutalities look all the worse for being seen through the eyes of a child. The author has managed to inject a degree of suspense to her narrative. This book is a must for middle school collections and probably can be used with upper elementary students as well.
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