Holocaust Literature for Children



This annotated bibliography will be updated each year in the Fall. If you are interested in subsequent editions, please send a request to Molly Maffei, at cmaffei@brrsd.k12.nj.us

These are suggested titles for the read-aloud experience. If you choose to assign them for independent study, re-think the grade assignations.

Please judge each book according to your own needs. My opinion is simply that. As you initially read the books you choose, decide how you could present them to the class. The key is the personal touch you bring to each book.


Holocaust Literature 1999


Gene Brown: Anne Frank, Child of the Holocaust
Blackbird Press, Inc., CT, 1991; ISBN: 1-56711-049-5

This biography of Anne Frank sets her in the Nazi world, explaining the persecution of the Jews in Europe and the situation of those who were close to the Frank family. Photographs and a glossary add to this concise history.
Excellent
Grades 4-6

Inge Auerbacher: Beyond the Yellow Star to America
Royal Fireworks Press, NY, 1995; ISBN: 0-88092-252-4

A sequel to her book, I Am a Star, the author continues her story upon arrival in the United States in 1946. A lengthy stay in a hospital because of tuberculosis complicated Inge’s adjustment to her new life. Her success as an adult is a tribute to her determination and compassion.
Excellent
Grades 6-8+

Eilis Dillon: Children of Bach
Faber and Faber, MA, 1993; ISBN: 0-571-16811-6

Peter, his brother, sister and friend are left to survive on their own after returning home from school and discovering the adults had been taken prisoner by the Nazis. From a family of classical music players, the children remember their father’s words, “Music and painting and books are the only things that lift people above the animals and make them able to feel the presence of God.” The children must determine who among those they meet will help them.
Very Good
Grades 3-5

Clara Isaacman: Clara’s Story
The Jewish Publication Society, PA, 1984; ISBN: 0-8276-0506-4

The author describes her family’s experiences during the two and a half years the spent in hiding in Antwerp, Belgium during the Nazi occupation. Living in cellars, attics, and secret rooms, Clara survives while most of her friends did not.
Excellent
Grades 6-8

Nechama Tec: Dry Tears, The Story of a Lost Childhood
Oxford University Press, NY, 1984; ISBN: 0-19-503500-3

The author’s family found refuge with Polish Christians during the Holocaust. Events in Lublin describe Jewish life before and after the war. Eleven-year-old Nechama learned to “pass” in the forbidding Christian world.
Very Good
Grades 6-8

Gundrun Pausewang: The Final Journey
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1996; ISBN: 0-439-05643-8

The poignant story of a young girl’s journey as she travels in a cattle car to Auschwitz. Events of her sheltered childhood are recalled as she is forced to confront the reality of her destination.
Excellent
Grades 6-8

Inge Auerbacher: I Am a Star, Child of the Holocaust
Puffin Books, NY, 1986; ISBN: 0-14-036401-3

The author tells her story poignantly, tracing the historical events that took her family from a peaceful life in Germany to the Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Inge’s poems are interspersed throughout the story.
Excellent
Grades 4-6

Carol Matas: In My Enemy’s House
Simon & Schuster, NY, 1999; ISBN: 0-689-81354-6

When German soldiers arrive in Zloczow, Poland, Marisa and her family witness the brutal “actions” and round-ups. When the family is affected, Marisa assumes the identity of a non-Jewish Polish girl and works in Nazi households. The author infuses her story with much of the detailed insight of unpleasant Nazi practices.
Excellent
Grades 5-8

Uri Orlev: The Lady with the Hat
Penguin Putnam, NY, 1995; ISBN: 0-14-038571-1

In 1947, seventeen-year-old Yulek is the only member of his immediate family to survive the German concentration camps. He joins a group of young Jews preparing to live on a kibbutz in Israel, unaware that his aunt in London is looking for him.
Very Good
Grades 5-8

David A. Adler: The Number on My Grandfather’s Arm
UAHC Press, NY, 1987; ISBN: 0-8074-0328-8

A granddaughter tells the story of how she learned about the Holocaust when she discovered the numbers of her grandfather’s arm. The photographic essay is simply and poignantly told.
Excellent
PIC 2-3

William Kaplan: One More Border, The True Story of One Family’s Escape from War-torn Europe
Groundwood Books/Douglas & McIntyre, Toronto, 1998; ISBN: 0-88899-332-3

The story of the Kaplans attempt to flee Hitler, from Russia to Japan, with Sugihara’s help, to Canada. Photographs, maps and sidebars help explain the conditions in Europe at the time.
Very Good
Grades 3-5

Eleanor Ayer/ Helen: Parallel Journeys
Simon & Schuster, NY, 1995; ISBN: Waterford/Alfons Heck

Excerpts from the autobiographies of a Hitler Youth member, Alfons, and a Holocaust survivor, Helen, are told along with the events of World War II, detailing the rise of Hitler and the destruction of the Jews. After meeting in San Diego in the 1980’s, Helen and Alfons began a partnership that enabled them to tour and speak to schools and groups.
Excellent
Grades 5-8

David A. Adler: A Picture Book of Anne Frank
Holiday House, NY, 1993; ISBN: 0-8234-1078-1

A short biography of Anne, incorporating the history of Jewish persecution, with excellent illustrations.
Excellent
PIC 2-4

Marilyn Sachs: A Pocket Full of Seeds
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1973; ISBN: 0-590-48375-7

Nicole’s family has often taken in refugees during the Nazi occupation of France, often debating whether they, too, should escape over the border to Switzerland. Nicole returns from school one day to find them gone. Her attempts to find their whereabouts are in vain.
Very Good
Grades 4-5

Jo Hoestlandt: Star of Fear, Star of Hope
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1993; ISBN: 0-590-86467-X

Lydia and Helen are friends when the Nazis occupy northern France in 1942. During a birthday sleepover, a Jewish refugee accidentally appears at their door. Lydia becomes nervous and asks to be taken home. While Helen never sees Lydia again, she remains hopeful.
Excellent
PIC 3-4

Rosemary Wells: Streets of Gold
Penguin Putnam Inc, NY, 1999; ISBN: 0-8037-2149-8

Based on the memoir of Mary Antin as she escapes with her family from persecution in Russia to Boston in 1894. Her desire to become educated enabled her to become a notable writer.
Excellent
PIC 3-4

Donna Jo Napoli: Stones in the Water
Dutton Children’s Books, NY, 1997; ISBN: 0-525-45842-5

After being taken from a local movie theater by German soldiers, Roberto and his friends are forced to work for the German war effort. Roberto escapes into the Ukraine winter, desperately trying to return to Venice.
Very Good
Grades 5-8

Renee Roth-Hano: Touch Wood, A Girlhood in Occupied France
Puffin Books, NY, 1989; ISBN: 0-14-034085-8

In this autobiographical novel set in Nazi-occupied France, Renee, a young Jewish girl, and her family flee their home in Alsace and live a precarious existence in Paris. Renee and her sisters escape to the shelter of a Catholic women’s residence in Normandy.
Good
Grades 4-7

Philip Brooks: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Grolier Publishing Co., Inc., NY, 1996; ISBN: 0-51626071-5

The planning and building of the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C. is told using photographs, descriptions of the exhibits, and a short history of events in Europe from 1933-1945.
Excellent
Grades 4-6

Michael Morpurgo: Waiting for Anya
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1993; ISBN: 0-590-46849-9

In a small village if occupied France, Benjamin waits for his daughter, Anya, so together they can escape to Spain. He takes young Jo into his confidence – Ben has been hiding and leading refugee children over the mountains for two years. Jo becomes involved and one day must help take a group of children out under the constant scrutiny of the Germans and their collaborators. Ben is captured and sent to Auschwitz. Anya makes her way to the village after the war.
Very Good
Grades 4-6

Judith Kerr: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Bantam Doubleday Dell, NY, 1971; ISBN: 0-440-49017-0

Set in 1933 Germany, Hitler’s rise to power is viewed with alarm by Anna’s family. After her father’s disappearance, Anna and her brother, Max, are hurried out of Germany by their mother. They are reunited in Switzerland and spend the following years living in and adjusting to many different countries.
Very Good
Grades 4-6

Vera W. Propp: When the Soldiers Were Gone
G.P. Putman’s Sons, NY, 1999; ISBN: 0-399-23325-3

After the German occupation of the Netherlands, Benjamin must leave the Christian family with whom he has been living. He is reluctantly reunited with real parents he does not remember and who returned from hiding to collect him. Slowly Benjamin comes to terms with his new life and his Jewishness.
Very Good
Grades 3-5



Holocaust Literature 1998


Carol Matas: After the War
Simon & Schuster, NY, 1996; ISBN: 0-689-80722-8

After being liberated from Buchenwald at the end of the war, Ruth tries to return home. The fifteen-year-old believes her entire family of more than eighty relatives has been wiped out by the Holocaust. Ruth joins an underground organization which aids the smuggling of illegal immigrants to Palestine.
Good
Grades 5-8

Ida Vos: Anna Is Still Here
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1986; ISBN: 0-590-60228-4

For three years Anna hid from the Nazis in an attic in Holland. When the war is over and the family reunited, Anna can’t pick up the pieces of her life. Her parents refuse to talk about what happened.
Good
Grades 4-6

Yona Zelids McDonough: Anne Frank
Henry Holt & Co., NY, 1997; ISBN: 0-850-4924-X

This story traces the life of Anne as she chronicles her day-to-day activity in a diary as she hid in an attic during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Before and after events are related along with a timeline.
Excellent
PIC 3-4

Rund van der Rol and Rian Verhoeven: Anne Frank Beyond the Diary
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1992; ISBN: 0-590-47447-2

This book combines excerpts from Anne’s diary with photographs of the family to create a full portrait of a teenager. Included are sections describing occupation, fleeing to another country, deportation, hiding, rationing, and daily life during the war.
Excellent
Grades 3-6+

Johanna Hurwitz: Anne Frank: Life in Hiding
Beech Tree Books, NY, 1988; ISBN: 0-688-12405-4

Hurwitz tells the story of Anne’s life just prior to and during the time in hiding. It is well written and sensitive, giving a concise account of events.
Very Good
Grades 4-6

Laura E. Williams: Behind the Bedroom Wall
Milkweed Editions, MN, 1996; ISBN: 1-57131-606-X

Thirteen-year-old Korinna is active in the Hitler Youth movement. She believes Hitler’s helping Germany by dealing with the “Jewish problem.” Korinna’s parents are secret members of the underground. She discovers they are hiding a Jewish family behind the wall of her bedroom. Her sympathies begin to turn.
Excellent
Grades 3-6

Isabella Leitner: The Big Lie
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1992; ISBN: 0-590-45570-2

Isabella tells of her experiences in occupied Hungry. Her family is sent from the ghetto to Auschwitz. Four sisters and one brother survive. The survivors are forced to march to Bergen-Belsen at the war’s end. Isabella and her two sisters escape.
Excellent
Grades 3-5

Elizabeth Reuter: Best Friends
Yellow Brick Rd. Press, , 1993; ISBN: 0-943706-18-1

Judith and Lisa live in 1938 Germany and are best friends until Judith learns about all the propaganda and hateful consequences. Lisa starts believing and pulls away. After Kristallnacht, Judith disappears. Lisa looks but never finds Judith.
Very Good
PIC 3-4

David A. Adler: Child of the Warsaw Ghetto
Holiday House, NY, 1995; ISBN: 0-8234-1160-5

Froim, youngest of seven, must enter the Orphan’s House in Warsaw when his mother is unable to care for him. Poland is evaded and Froim and family move to the ghetto, where the uprising is described. The family is sent to Auschwitz. Based on a true story.
Very Good
PIC 3-5

Chana Byers Abells: The Children We Remember
Greenwillow Books, NY, 1986; ISBN: 0-688-06371-3TR

Through moving photographs of Jewish children, archivist Abells creates an unforgettable essay about the children who lived and died during the Holocaust. While it is a story of death and loss, it is also a story of courage and endurance.
Excellent
PIC 3-5

Janice Cohn: The Christmas Menorahs
Albert Whitman & Co., IL, 1995; ISBN: 0-8075-1152-8

Based on a true story about the town of Billings in Montana whose residents ban together to fight a series of hate crimes. Jewish homes displaying menorahs have rocks thrown through windows. Townspeople of all faiths then displayed menorahs during the holidays. Eventually these acts cease.
Excellent
PIC 2-4

Maxine rose Schur: The Circlemaker
Puffin Books, NY, 1994; ISBN: 0-14-037997-5

In mid-nineteenth century Russia, the Czar’s soldiers are riding into villages seizing Jewish boys for the military. Twelve-year-old Mendel Cholinsky knows that he will be taken unless he can escape. The woods are filled with bounty hunters and borders are heavily guarded.
Excellent
Grades 4-6

Clara Issacman: Clara’s Story
The Jewish Publication Society, PA, 1993; ISBN: 0-8276-0506-4

The author describes her family’s experiences during the two and one half years they spent in Antwerp, Belgium during WWII. They are continually on the run – hiding in cellars, attics and secret rooms, surviving difficult experiences.
Excellent
Grades 7-8+

Carol Matas: Daniel’s Story
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1993; ISBN: 0-590-46588-0

No longer able to practice their religion, vote, own property, or work, Daniel’s family is forced from their home in Frankfurt to the Lodz ghetto, then to Auschwitz. Daniel tells his story through a series of photos from a treasured album. Daniel survives finding hope and love in the midst of despair.
Very Good
Grades 4-6

Doris Orgel: The Devil in Vienna
Puffin books, NY, 1978; ISBN: 0-14-032500-X

Inge and Lieselotte are best friends in 1937 Austria. Inge is Jewish and Lieselotte is in the Hitler Youth – at the insistence of her Nazi father. The friendship survives and even helps Inge’s family escape to Yugoslavia.
Very Good
Grades 5-6

Patricia Lakin: Don’t Forget
Tambourine Books, NY, 1994 ; ISBN: 0-688-12076-8

Sarah gets the idea to make her mother a birthday cake. She visits the greengrocer and the baker, getting hints for her baking. Sarah visits the Singers for the rest of her supplies and is caught noticing the blue Nazi numbers on their arms. She remains there and bakes the cake, now feeling more comfortable about the Singers.
Good
PIC 2-3

Michael Pariser: Elie Wiesel
The Millbrook Press, CT, 1994; ISBN: 1-56294-743-5

The life story of this Holocaust survivor is told in a concise and thorough manner. Elie and his family were taken to the ghetto, a concentration camp, then on a death march – until only Elie is left. He went on to become a writer and a humanitarian, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
Excellent
Grades 4-6

Ian Serrialier: Escape from Warsaw (formerly The Silver Sword)
Scholastic Inc., NY, 19; ISBN: 0-590-01516-8

In 1942 Warsaw, Edek’s father is dead and his mother is about to be arrested. Enraged, he shots one of the Nazi Storm Troopers. Now Edek and his two sisters must escape, fleeing across rooftops and through dangerous countryside to safety.
Good
Grades 4-6

Paula Kurzband Feder: The Feather-Bed Journey
Albert Whitman & Co., IL, 1995; ISBN: 0-8075-2330-5

When Grandpa’s old pillow rips, Rachel and Lewis can’t understand why Grandma worries about saving each feather. So Grandma tells the story of a feather bed that ends up as a treasured pillow. It is a story of a Jewish family in Poland who relies on others for survival against Nazi persecution.
Very Good
PIC 3-4

Miriam Nerlove: Flowers on the Wall
Margaret K. McElderry Books, NY, 1996; ISBN: 0-689-50614-7

Rachel, a young Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, struggles to survive with her family. She tries to retain hope by painting colorful flowers on her dingy apartment walls. Eventually the family moves to the ghetto, then to Triblinka.
Excellent
PIC 3-4

Lila Perl and Marion Blumenthal Lazan: Four Perfect Pebbles
Greenwillow Books, NY, 1996; ISBN: 0-688-14294-X

A mother, father and two young children became trapped in Hitler’s Germany. They leave for Holland, but are caught again returned to Germany. During their six and a half year ordeal, the Blumenthals lived in refugee transit, prison and concentration camps. If young Marion could find four pebbles of almost the same size and shape, it meant her family would remain whole.
Excellent
Grades 4-6

Hans Peter Richter: Friedrich
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1970; ISBN: 0-590-46763-8

Friedrich and his best friend are growing up in Germany during the early thirties. At first, Freidrich seems to be more fortunate. When Hitler comes to power, Friedrich’s world is turned upside down. His friend watches the alienation of Jews – to a heart-stopping ending.
Excellent
Grades 5-6+

Edith Baer: A Frost in the Night
Schocken Books Inc., NY, 1980; ISBN: 0-8052-0857-7

Eva lives in Thalstadt, Germany during the years leading up to WWII with her extended family in Grandfather’s house. Everyday life, situations and conversations are laid out – explaining, in part, the author’s experiences.
Good
Grades 5-6+

Jacqueline Jules: The Grey Striped Shirt
Alef Design Group, CA, 1993; ISBN: 1881283-06-2

While visiting her grandparents, Frannie discovers a box containing an old grey stripped shirt. She questions her grandparents and little by little their story of ghetto life, exile, and concentration camps emerge.
Very Good
Grades 3-4

Marion Hess Pomeranc: The Hand-Me-Down Horse
Albert Whitman & Co., IL, 1996 ; ISBN: 0-8075-3141-3

Before she leaves for America, Aunt Rachel gives David a full box of English words to learn. World War II is over, and David’s family has survived Nazi persecution. While waiting to immigrate to America, someone leaves David a beautiful rocking horse – a gift from a child who has already emigrated. David must promise to pass the horse on to another child who waits.
Good
PIC 2-3

Ida Vos: Hide and Seek
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1981; ISBN: 0-590-60227-6

Rachel Hartog and her family go into hiding in 1940 when the Nazis invade Holland. In the process, Rachel and her sister, Esther, are separated from the family. They find it difficult to be hidden children. Based on the author’s experiences.
Good
Grades 4-6

David A. Adler: Hiding From the Nazis
Holiday House, NY, 1997; ISBN: 0-8234-1288-1

Based on the true story of Lore Baer, a young Jewish child who was born in Holland just before the outbreak of WWII, this book I s a moving account of the Holocaust through the eyes of a child. At the age of four, Lore was separated from her parents and sent into hiding with several different Christian families. She finally ends up within the Schouten family on a Dutch farm where she hid for several years.
Excellent
PIC 3-4

David A. Adler: Hilde and Eli
Holiday House, NY, 1994; ISBN: 0-8234-1091-9

Hilde Rosenweig and Eli Lax were born in Germany and Czechoslovakia, respectively. Both were children during the early years of Nazi rule in Germany. On the way to the ghetto, Hilde’s freight train was filled with poison gas. Eli was killed in the showers of Auschwitz. Very moving and traumatic.
Excellent
PIC 3-4

David M. Schwartz: How Much Is a Million
Mulberry Paperback Book, NY, 1985; ISBN: 0-688-09933-5

Text and pictures try to make possible the conceptualization of a million, a billion and a trillion. Useful in attempting to comprehend just how 6 million or 11 million people looks like.
Excellent
PIC 2-6+

Livia Britton-Jackson: I Have Lived a Thousand Years
Simon & Shuster, NY, 1997; ISBN: 0-689-81022-9

This is the memoir of Elli Friedmann, 13 years old in March 1944, when the Nazis invade Hungary. It describes her arrival in Auschwitz where she is selected for work instead of extermination, and the tiny but miraculous twists of fate that help her survive. A searing story of cruelty and suffering, faith, hope, perseverance and love.
Excellent
Grades 6-8

Uri Orlev: The Island on Bird Street
Houghton Mifflin Co., NY, 1984; ISBN: 0-395-33887-5

During World War II, a Jewish boy is left on his own for months in a ruined house in the Warsaw ghetto. While waiting for his father’s return, he must learn all the tricks of survival under constantly life-threatening conditions. The house is really not very different from a desert island.
Excellent
Grades 4-5

Hans Peter Richter: I Was There
Puffin Books, NY, 1972; ISBN: 0-14-032206-X

The narrator and his friends, Heinz and Gunther, are members of the Hitler Youth movement in Germany. The narrator and Gunther are enthusiastic, but Gunther participates under pressure. All three eventually become involved in combat – tragically. Based on the author’s experiences.
Very Good
Grades 5-8

Malka Drucker & Michael Halpern: Jacob’s Rescue
Bantam Doubleday Dell Inc., NY, 1993; ISBN: 0-440-40965-9

Jacob and his family live comfortably in Warsaw, Poland until the Nazis invade in 1939. Once in the ghetto, he is slipped through the wall to be hidden by his new family. Eventually the Roslans also save Jacob’s two brothers. Suspenseful and dramatic.
Excellent
Grades 3-5

Sonia Levitin: Journey to America
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1970; ISBN: 0-590-46728-X

Lisa Platt’s family escaped from Germany in 1938 when life was becoming increasingly more difficult for Jews. Lisa’s father left for America, promising to send for the family. Until then, they must make their own way to Switzerland to wait.
Very Good
Grades 4-6

Olga Levy Drucker: Kindertransport
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1993; ISBN: 0-590-89745-4

Many families chose to send their children to live in England when persecution of the Jews became more intense in Germany. The Levys arranged for their children to be part of the Kindertransport operation in 1939. This autobiographical story shows a different side of WWII.
Very Good
Grades 3-5

Margaret Wild & Julie Vivas: Let the Celebrations Begin!
Orchard Books, NY, 1991; ISBN: 0-531-07076-X

As World War II nears its end, 12 year-old Miriam and the women in the camp plan a very special party for the children. They make toys out of scraps of cloth and rags. When the soldiers liberate them, they will celebrate their freedom.
Very Good
PIC 2-4

Shulamith Levey Oppenheim: The Lily Cupboard
Bantam Doubleday Dell, NY, 1992; ISBN: 0-440-83174-1

Miriam goes into hiding in Holland in 1940 with a farmer, his wife and son. A whistled warning sends Miriam into the cupboard when danger is near. One day she must find her pet rabbit before she hides.
Excellent
PIC 2-3

Margaretha Shemin: The Little Riders
Beech Tree Books, NY, 1988; ISBN: 0-688-12499-2

In occupied Holland, Johanna takes responsibility for the 12 metal figures on horseback who ride forth each hour from the clock on the ancient church tower. When the Nazis want the metal for the war effort, Johanna hides them in her house – difficult when a Nazi is quartered in her house.
Excellent
Grades 2-4

Uri Orlev: The Man from the Other Side
Puffin Books, NY, 1989; ISBN: 0-14-037088-9

Marek had never thought about the Jews who live in the Warsaw Ghetto near his home until he helps his stepfather smuggle food and guns through the sewers to sell there. Even then, he doesn’t understand what it means to be persecuted at the hands of the Nazis until he helps a Jewish man on the run.
Excellent
Grades 5-8

Alison Leslie Gold: Memories of Anne Frank
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1997; ISBN: 0-590-90723-9

Anne Frank’s close friend, Hannah Goslar, survives Westerbork and her struggles during the war. Hannah tells of a young, funny, bright Anne who had sleepover parties, flirted, and wanted to be famous. They both meet briefly at Bergen-Belsen just before Anne’s death.
Excellent
Grades 4-6

Isle Koehn: Mischling, Second Degree
Puffin Books, NY, 1990; ISBN: 0-14-034290-7

Isle is classified a Mischling – a second-degree citizen because her father’s mother is Jewish. To avoid consequences in Nazi Germany, Ilse is not told and joins the Hitler Youth movement.
Good
Grades 5-6

Karen Ackerman: The Night Crossing
Bullseye Books, Random House, NY, 1994; ISBN: 0-679-87040-7

Clara and her family are leaving 1938 Austria. The Nazis have come and Jews are no longer safe. Taking only what they can carry, Clara’s two straw dolls hold Mama’s silver candlesticks. At the border, Nazis question Clara before allowing passage into Switzerland.
Excellent
Grades 2-3

Louis Lowry: Number the Stars
Dell Publishing, NY, 1989; ISBN: 0-440-40327-8

Annemarie and Ellen are best friends in 1943 Copenhagen. When Denmark’s Jews are “relocated,” Ellen moves in with Annemarie and pretends to be part of the family. Annemarie carries out a dangerous and unique mission to save Ellen’s life.
Excellent
Grades 4-6

David A. Adler: One Yellow Daffodil
Gulliver Books, Harcourt Brace & Co., NY, 1995; ISBN: 0-15-200537-4

Morris Kaplan, a Holocaust survivor, is reluctant to celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah. But through the love and encouragement of Jonathan and Ilana and their family, Morris is able once again to embrace the traditions and celebrations of his childhood, and to remember.
Good
PIC 2-3

Ken Mochizuki: Passage to Freedom, The Sugihara Story
Lee & Low Books, Inc., NY, 1997; ISBN: 1-880000-49-0

Based on the true story of a Japanese consul to Lithuania who is asked to write visas for Jewish refugees. Denied permission to do so by Japan, Hiroki consults with his family, ignores the government’s position, and writes. Hiroki writes until the train returning the family to Japan pulls away.
Excellent
Grades 2-4

Gerda Weissmann Klein: Promise of a New Spring
Phoenix Folis, AZ, 1987; ISBN: 0-940646-51-X

The author, herself a survivor, relates the Holocaust to a forest where the seasons are the order of life. The forest is set on fire where young, old, beautiful, plain, wise or simple were destroyed – only a few were saved. The survivors tell their story to their children, grandchildren and all children.
Excellent
PIC 3-5

Norman H. Finkelstein: Remember Not to Forget
Franklin Watts, Inc., NY, 1985; ISBN: 0-688-11802-X

This is a brief introduction to the Holocaust, going back to the roots of anti-Semitism. The Jews endured because of pride, tradition and religion. Surviving the events of World War II, Jewish people will again never allow the memory to be erased. Yad Vashem and yom Hashoa are established to help remember.
Very Good
Grades 3-5

Roberto Innocenti: Rose Blanche
Creative Education Inc., MN, 1985; ISBN: 0-87191-994-X

Rose is living in Germany when the soldiers and trucks rumble through town. She watches as a boy runs from a truck and is recaptured. Rose follows the trucks to a concentration camp. Repeatedly Rose returns there with food. Unfortunately, one day Rose does not come home – she is shot.
Very Good
PIC 3-4

Steven Schnur: The Shadow Children
William Morrow and Co., NY, 1994; ISBN: 0-688-13281-2

While spending the summer on his grandfather’s farm in the French countryside, eleven-year-old Etienne discovers a secret about the town dating back to WWII. He encounters the ghosts of Jewish children who were reluctantly turned over to the Nazis by the townspeople.
Excellent
Grades 3-5

Christa Laird: Shadow of the Wall
Beech Tree, NY, 1989; ISBN: 0-688-15291-0

Misha is a smuggler in the Warsaw Ghetto. He becomes involved with Dr. Janusz Korczak who asks him to smuggle his baby sister over the wall and out. Dr. Korczak’s orphanage was a reality during the war until all were sent to Treblinka.
Very Good
Grades 5-7

Mary Baylis-While: Sheltering Rebecca
Puffin Books, NY, 1989; ISBN: 0-14-036448-X

Rebecca is a Jewish refugee smuggled out of Germany in time to avoid the Nazis. In England, Sally develops a special bond with Rebecca as war approaches. The survival of Rebecca’s family is uppermost in their minds as the war ends.
Very Good
Grades 4-6

Barbara Rogasky: Smoke and Ashes
Holiday House, NY, 1988; ISBN: 0-8234-0878-7

This story of the Holocaust examines the causes, events, and legacies, which resulted in the extermination of six million Jews. The roots of anti-Semitism, the role of the U.S. and British governments, and resistance are among topics discussed. Readable history – well written.
Excellent
Grades 6-8+

Candice F. Ransom: So Young to Die, The Story of Hannah Senesh
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1993; ISBN: 0-590-44677-0

The biography of Hannah Senesh shows how she grew up under Hitler’s influence. Born in Hungary in 1921, Hannah left home in 1939 and went to Palestine to join the struggle for a Jewish homeland. She was executed by the Nazis for her role in a top secret Allied mission.
Good
Grades 4-6

Eve Bunting: Terrible Things
The Jewish Publication Society, PA, 1993; ISBN: 0-8276-0325-8

In this allegory, the animals of the forest are carried away, one type after the other, by the Terrible Things, not realizing that if perhaps they would all stick together and not look the other way, such terrible things might not happen.
Excellent
PIC 2-4

Robert Cormier: Tunes for Bears to Dance To
Bantam Doubleday Dell Books, NY, 1992; ISBN: 0-440-21905-5

After his brother’s death, Henry and his parents move to a new town. He befriends Mr. Levine, an elderly survivor of the Holocaust who spends his days carving a replica of his childhood village. A Mr. Hairston arrives holding power over henry’s life. He makes glittering promises, but exacts a terrible price from Henry, which involves his friendship with Mr. Levine.
Very Good
Grades 6-8

Claire Huchet Bishop: Twenty and Ten
Penguin Books, NY, 1980; ISBN: 0-440-84886-5

During the German occupation of France, twenty French children are sent to a refuge in the mountains with Sister Gabriel. When ten Jewish children are brought to the school, hiding them seems like a game – until the Nazis arrive while Sister is in town. The twenty children are responsible for their safety.
Excellent
Grades 3-4

Aranka Siegal: Upon the Head of the Goat
Puffin Books, NY, 1981; ISBN: 0-14-036966-X

Based on the author’s experience, Piri comes to realize about war and German soldiers when she is forced to stay at her grandmother’s farm. Upon returning to Hungary, Piri discovers life for a Jew is dangerous – the family ends up in Auschwitz.
Very Good
Grades 5-7

Johanna Reiss: The Upstairs Room
Scholastic Inc., NY, 1972; ISBN: 0-590-44067-5

Annie de Leeuw’s life in Holland becomes increasingly difficult after the Nazi invasion. Based on the author’s experiences, the story of two sisters in hiding with a Gentile family shows the strengths and weaknesses of all involved.; ISBN:
Good
Grades 4-6

Shane DeRolf: Generic, The Crayon Box That Talked
Random House, NY, 1997; ISBN: 0-679-88611-7

Although there are many different colors, the crayons in the box discover that when they get together, they can appreciate each other and make a complete picture.
Excellent
PIC2-3