A Tale of a Holocaust Survivor

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
Publication Date: 2006
Awards: 2007 ALA Notable Children's Book, 2006 School Library Journal Best Book, 2011 Rebecca Caudill Nominee
Interest Level: 6th-8th, Reading Level: 6.1

If you were inspired by Anne Frank, I highly recommend, Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy.

The author, Jennifer Roy, had recently discovered, her Aunt Syvia (renamed Sylvia when she immigrated to the United States) was a survivor of the Holocaust. Jennifer and her aunt felt they needed to share her story with the world, so Jennifer recorded all that her aunt recounted. She created a stirring novel, written in first-person free verse, so the story flows so nicely and your are finished before you know it! It moves so quickly it will leaving you craving for more.

Syvia was only four years old when Nazis invaded her hometown, and forced her to move into a ghetto in Lodz, Poland. She was forced to leave her home for a small, one-bedroom apartment that she was expected to share with her mother, father, and older sister. Things around her change dramatically. There were curfews and her close friends and neighbors are always disappearing. Her family is forced to sell what little possessions they managed to bring with them, even Syvia's most precious companion, her doll.

Conditions only grew worse for Syvia and her family in the ghetto. More and more people were forced to live in the already cramped space. The Nazis were allowed to shoot anyone in the ghetto, whether they had broken a law or looked at them the wrong way, sometimes for no reason at all. Syvia had even witnessed the a murder in the middle of a crowded street.

The food was always sparse and what little food there was, was usually rotten or filled with dirt, glass, or debris. Syvia survived harsh winters that froze her fingers, and resulted in the death of many neighbors. She managed avoid the trains that would bring her to the Nazi concentration camps, thanks to her cunning father. She escaped the wrath of the Nazis and certain death by hiding in a dismal graveyard in the freezing cold night. When she finally walked out of the ghetto, she was ten years old.  270,000 people entered the ghetto and only 800 walk out. 12 of those 800 were children. Syvia was one of these children.

You will be reading true survivor story. You will travel on a journey with a girl who overcame all odds, no matter how terrible, because, even in the worst of times, the love of her family and hope for the future kept her alive. I highly recommend you read this book and prepare for a life-changing experience.

Check out this website to learn more about the Lodz Ghetto: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/

More Stories about the Holocaust:
Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer
Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle
Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Grand Mosque of Paris by Karen Gray
Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Maus & Maus II by Art Spigelman
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli
Behind the Bedroom Wall by Laura Williams
The Book Thief by Marcus Zuska

Want to find out More?
We Remember the Holocaust by David A. Adler
Tell Them We Remember by Susan D. Bachrach
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitlers Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The Hidden Children by Howard Greenfeld
The Holocaust by Patricia Levy
Smoke and Ashes: the Story of the Holocaust by Barbara Rogasky
Hiding to Survive by Maxine B. Rosenberg
Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II by Marisabina Russo
Life in a Nazi Concentration Camp by Anne Grenn Saldinger
Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary by Ruud Van der Rol

The Museum of Thieves

Hey readers! I have another great new series that is sure to wrap you in. The Museum of Thieves is a exciting new series by author Lian Tanner.

In the city of Jewel, all rules are expected to be followed. It is a world that expects you to remain meek and timid. Anyone that displays any sign of impatience or gives any indication of boldness, are quickly dealt with by the Blessed Guardians. All children are to remain chained to an their parents or a Blessed Guardian until their sixteenth birthday, to "protect" them from the dangers of kidnappers, disease, ferocious animals, and drowning. There is no war, no pain, and no hazards. The city of Jewel seems like a place of peace and security, but looks can be deceiving.

Twelve year old, Goldie Roth is a girl who has constantly defied her Blessed Guardians Hope and Comfort. Don't let the names of the Guardians fool you. They are demanding, oppressive, and cruel. They strike fear into the hearts of many. No one dare cross the Blessed Guardians, not even the adults. Anyone who steps out of line is forced to wear heavy brass chains that weight down their shoulders, and those who wear the these chains are shunned by others. Goldie has been made to wear the Punishment Chains many times.

Goldie is counting down the days to Separation Day, the day she no longer has to wear the thin silver chain that confines her to the guardians. The day she is free from the Blessed Guardians tyrannical control. The day they can no longer force her to wear the dreaded Punishment Chains. The day when she will be free to walk the streets of Jewel on her own! The Grand Protector, ruler of the city of Jewel has decided to lower the age of Separation to twelve, and to Goldie, this news is golden!

Goldie is anxious for the day to arrive and will even do as Guardian Hope and Guardian Comfort command, if only it will mean her separation from these horrible chaperons. The day has finally come, Goldie has made it to the stage. The scissors are just about to cut her chain, when suddenly the Fugleman, enters the ceremony with some terrible news. There has been a bombing, and the Separation Ceremony must be canceled. This is the worst news Goldie has ever heard. She cannot endure another four years with the Guardians, she just can't! She makes a quick plan of escape and is off before anyone can stop her.

Now the hunt is on as the Guardians raid the city for the runaway child. She has become an outlaw. Her parents will go to Repentance (a jail for adults) and, when she is caught, she will be forced into Care (a jail for children). Goldie is distraught with what she has done and does not know where to turn. She is being followed at every turn by the Guardians and a strange man, and it is only a matter of time before she gets caught.

Enter the Museum of Dunt. Goldie stumbles upon the strange building in her attempt hide from the Guardians. It is her she meets a strange cast of characters that care for the building, and is soon recruited to care for the building herself. In a museum that is ever changing, and has quiet a temperament, she discovers this might be harder than expected. As she learns her new trade, Goldie discovers dangers that could destroy her city if ever released. There is a sinister plan brewing that just might release these dangers, and it is up to Goldie and her new colleagues to stop it!

The next in the series, City of Lies, is due to come out some time in October 2011.



If you like The Museum of Thieves, you might also enjoy:
The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi
Gregor the Overlander Series by Susan Collins
The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby
Theodosia Series by R.L. LaFevers
The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch