QUESTIONS I AM ASKED ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST

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QUESTIONS I AM ASKED ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST

Name: QUESTIONS I AM ASKED ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST
Author: Hédi Fried
ISBN: 9781957363233

A YOUNG READER’S EDITION

by Hédi Fried ; translated by Alice E. Olsson ; illustrated by Laila Ekboir ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2023

Sheds light on a devastating topic with empathy, sensitivity, and honesty.

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Answers to the questions that a Jewish Swedish Romanian educator and survivor of Auschwitz fielded most often.

Until her death in 2022, Fried lectured in schools about one of the most horrific events in living memory. Translated from Swedish, this work is an approachable adaptation of her 2019 volume. Illustrated with plain, almost stiff artwork in muted colors, common questions such as “Why did Hitler hate the Jews?” and “Why did you not fight back?” are interspersed with more surprising queries. Fried’s shock at being asked, “What was the best?” is palpable, yet she gives as much consideration to this question as she does to the others. In response, she describes how she and Olga, another girl, risked their lives to smuggle a few leaves into the barracks. An account that could be framed as utter horror becomes, in Fried’s telling, a moment of breathless joy. Ekboir’s accompanying illustration, sunlight bursting through a tree’s canopy, evokes an impossibly distant hope. Fried closes by reminding her readers that “Are you able to forgive?” is not the important question when there’s work to be done. She draws parallels to contemporary issues such as the prejudice faced by refugees and “racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Romanyism, and Islamophobia.” In her pragmatic words, the horrors of the Holocaust become if not comprehensible then perhaps a little easier for readers to wrap their minds around.

Sheds light on a devastating topic with empathy, sensitivity, and honesty. (further reading, map, timeline, glossary, reflections on identity and society, bystanders and upstanders, questions for a reading group, context of Jewish identity at the time, historical context of the Holocaust, recipe for Swedish hot cocoa) (Nonfiction. 8-11)

Pub Date: April 4, 2023

ISBN: 9781957363233

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Scribble

Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S HISTORY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE STORY OF BODRI
by Hédi Fried ; illustrated by Stina Wirsén ; translated by Linda Schenck

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OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

ALL THE COOL BITS IN BRITISH HISTORY

by Martin Oliver & illustrated by Andrew Pinder ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2010

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Fans of Terry Deary and Martin Brown’s Horrible Histories and their ilk are unlikely to consider this latest imitation more than an also-ran. Oliver surveys British history from the Isles’ Ice Age formation to the not-exactly-hot-off-the-presses 2005 news that London will host the 2012 Olympics. Though accurate enough in his broad picture, the author’s debatable facts (“…the Romans introduced really useful things such as toilets and even vegetables to the people of Britain”) and awkwardly written generalizations (“The Celtic kings consulted religious advisors to help them rule, known as druids”) drag the bland text down even further. Pinder's pen-and-ink illustrations attempt snark but too often fall flat: “That girl was always getting in my way,” remarks Bloody Mary as Lady Jane Grey’s newly severed head bounces by. This catalog of major British kings, queens, wars, pivotal events and cultural milestones is unlikely to entertain—much less resonate with—American audiences. (index, royal timeline) (Nonfiction. 8-11)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-906082-72-7

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Buster/Trafalgar

Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2010

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE HOW-TO HANDBOOK
by Martin Oliver ; Alexandra Johnson

- BOOK REVIEW
BOYS ONLY
by Martin Oliver & illustrated by Simon Ecob & edited by Hannah Cohen

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A LAND OF BIG DREAMERS

VOICES OF COURAGE IN AMERICA

by Neil Waldman & illustrated by Neil Waldman ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2011

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Thirteen prominent American men and women are briefly profiled in this collection. Chronologically ranging from Thomas Jefferson to Barack Obama, each entry features an inspiring quote from its subject and a concise explanation of his or her context in history. Opposite each page of text is a watercolor painting by the author depicting an image or montage of the notable individual and illustrating the work they achieved or how they lived. Each one evokes the emotions the book is meant to inspire: courage, strength and determination. Franklin Roosevelt gazes reassuringly out at readers above a line of hungry people at a soup kitchen; Rachel Carson smiles at readers against a picture of a soaring bald eagle and an inset of her peering into a microscope. The selection includes four women and five male ethnic minorities. Almost all are familiar faces in collective biographies, including Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, but some names may be new to young readers, such as Emma Lazarus and Cesar Chavez. Included in the backmatter are thumbnail biographies of each figure and a list of source notes. The profiles are indeed inspiring, and younger readers will likely learn something new. For deeper research, students will have to look elsewhere but could use this book as an excellent starting point. (Collective biography. 8-11)