Marion Seidemann Fredman (The Collective Book Studio) A Time to Hide is based on the experiences of the author’s Holocaust survivor parents, Julius and Grete. Their story is clearly and simply told, with just the right amount of background detail to help young readers understand why they had to flee to Holland, where devout Christians hid them (the author was born in hiding, with a nasty moment at 16 days old when Nazi troops visited). The account is enhanced by historic photos, and exquisite illustrative art. Age nine up.
Kittens and a racehorse are the focus of rescue missions in The Lions’ Run by Sara Pennypacker (Hodder), quietly paralleled by the hidden Jewish children down the road. This makes the book suitable for readers as young as 11, but there is still no mistaking the risks for Lucas, the nervous grocery delivery boy at its centre, carrying messages for the Resistance. Lucas’s access to food supplies enables him to bring fellow orphans a few treats, and his compassion comes across vividly in his food swaps. He also offers thought-provoking reflections on the bystanders who failed to intervene when the Gestapo came child-hunting.
Staying silent in an entirely different, positive context is celebrated in Anne Fine’s On the Wall (Old Barn Books). At school breaktime, Finley – who happily speaks up in lessons – likes to sit wordlessly on the wall. Juliet is a worrier but finds sitting with Finley calming. Slowly Finley’s mystical influence on the class widens, to include another newbie – teacher Mr Goodhew. A comforting read with a gentle spirituality. Age nine up.
It’s Seder time, and as Talia sets out the HUG-adot (she’s sure that’s what Grandma called them) she wonders when the hugging will start. Talia and the Passover HUG-gadah by Linda Elovitz Marshall (Kar-Ben), for age three up, is a fun twist on the impatience of a young child at the festival table. Fabulously ebullient frog drawings by Francesca Assirelli.
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