Review: Cat with the Yellow Star

Coming of Age in Terezin

By Susan Goldman Rubin with Ela Weissberger

Holiday House; 2006; 40 pages

Juvenile Non-Fiction; History/My Choice

Grades: 3-5

ISBN: 978-0-8234-1831-6

The story of a girl who grew up in the Terezin concentration camp during WWII, and how art, opera, and friendship helped her survive.

My Thoughts:
I initially picked up this book because I had studied the art program at the Terezin concentration camp while taking a study abroad course in Prague as an undergraduate. The book far surpassed my expectations, and I feel that it is a great introduction for young readers to a very difficult topic. The subject matter is hard. People suffer, people die. The writers seem to take the view that children are resilient, and that while they need material at their level, they do not need to be sheltered from realities. Yet, even though the book is bleak, the messages of hope, perseverance, and the indomitability of the human spirit are inspiring. Readers will be able to identify with the main personages. By using children to put faces onto the events, modern children are provided with something familiar while trying to grasp events that will seem foreign.

One of the best things about this book is not the text though, its the artwork. There are TONS of photographs, both of the children and of the locations. Young readers need the visuals to be able to mentally visualize what is being described. Due to the time period almost all of the photographs are black and white, yet the book is full of color. Samples of the childen's artwork that was created in Terezin are interspersed throughout the text. It is awesome. I highly recommend this book, especially to people doing units on the holocaust or a unit on art.

The Thoughts of Others:
Booklist ran a review of the book by Hazel Rochman which appreciated above all how honest the book is. Rochman wrote that "there's a hopeful message about the power of music, art, friends, and teachers, but the account never denies the fact that transports were always leaving for the death camps and some of the prisoners did not survive."

Teri Markson's review for School Library Journal found the book "rich in detail, yet not overwhelmingly dire...a book about remembering, and the importance of sharing one's stories with the next generation, and the next." She truly liked the work, and was especially enamored with the amount of quotes and sources of information used.

Review: Black and White Airmen

Their True History

By John Fleischman

Houghton Mifflin; 2007; 160 pages

Juvenile Non-Fiction; History

Grades: Fifth and Up

ISBN: 978-0-618-56297-8

A story of race and segregation during WWII. Two young men, one white and one black, grew up in the same neighborhood, were in the same grade, and both flew in WWII. Yet, despite all of their similarities, the two do not meet until decades after the war.

My Thoughts:
I did not find this book to be at all engaging, which is a shame since the premise is such a good one. Both topics, WWII aviation and segregation in America, have always been of great interest to me. The fact that, despite my preexisting interest in the subject matter, I was still hard-pressed to slog through this book does not bode well for juvenile readers. The text is clunkily written and devoid of the fascinating tidbits and real life connections that could have made it stand out. The text is formatted into chapters and a narrative, rather than subheadings or fast facts. I worry that it will not hold a young reader's interest...I worry that it won't hold an older reader's interest.

The pictures scattered throughout the book are great, but I would have appreciated it if a few had been larger. Also, especially considering the content, maps and more exact diagrams showing the different kinds of planes would have been helpful. Not every child reading this book, if any even attempt to do so, is going to have a mental image for P-39s or where Sicily is in relation to the US. There is also a lot of references to instruments and instrument panels but nothing really showing them.

The Thoughts of Others:
Kirkus's review in 2007, partially agreed with me. They thought the appeal would be limited to fans of WWII, and wished that more resources had been offered. They did like the pictures though, saying that the "photographs, maps and...variety of other illustrations offer visual appeal to an otherwise uninspiring text."

John Peters, when he wrote a 2007 review for Booklist, completely disagreed with me. He was enthralled by the book and its coincidences. He felt it was a "stinging indictment" of air force discrimination. He summed it up as a "double portrait, which, though slightly unfocused, is often thrilling and consistently absorbing."

Review: On The Wings Of Heroes

By Richard Peck

Dial Books; 2007; 148 pages

Juvenile Fiction; Historical Fiction

Grades: 3-5

ISBN: 978-0-8037-3081-6

Davy's life changes as he gets older and watches his world change. His older brother goes off to war, his father faces hardships at his filling station, his mother takes a job, and his grandparents move in.

My Thoughts:
This was a very good introduction to the hardships that those on the homefront faced during the early years of WWII. Told from a child's perspective, the story brings out the aspects of rationing and war that children would be able to identify with. For example, Davy compares Halloweens before and after the war started. He points out how kids move into town when their mothers get jobs in the factories. The era and the quirks that go along with it are put in terms that modern day children will understand. It also centers more on relationships and people than it does on events or impersonal facts.

Richard Peck is a very good writer. His story is not only historically accurate, but it is engaging. He gives the historical facts, without getting bogged down in them. I think that this book would be a great way to interest kids in the genre. The read is fairly simple, nothing that the average third grader couldn't handle. The story is interesting enough to both encourage gifted second graders and still intrigue older elementary students. Also, the book is not obviously lower level, so slower or reluctant older readers would not be embarrassed to be seen reading it.

The Thoughts of Others:
Sheldon Fogelman of Publisher's Weekly thought in 2007 that this book was a "delicious mixture of humor, warmth and local color." He praised the characterizations in particular. He also appreciated the realism of the child's perspective.

Booklist's 2007 review by Michael Cart stated that "all in all, there remains no more genial guide for a trip down memory lane than the redoubtable Peck." He noted the episodic nature as engaging to children. The rich description was also impressive.