JELLA LEPMAN AND HER LIBRARY OF DREAMS

Newbery Medalist Paterson looks at a woman who fought tooth and nail to give children access to literature.

If children’s books are “nourishment for the soul,” then what do you do when there are none to be found? German-born Jewish Jella Lepman spent the better part of World War II in England, where she had escaped with her two teenaged children. When the war ended, she found herself conscripted as an adviser for women’s and youth affairs. Sending herself on fact-finding missions, she determined that while food was necessary, books for the children of Germany were imperative. Paterson has addressed the task of making clear just how difficult it was to save these children from the adults in their lives who never gave up on Nazism. The author has triumphed—Lepman comes across as spiky and sometimes difficult, but also a steadfast and courageous advocate for children and their books. Paterson pulls no punches; when discussing how the German demagogue played on the populace’s fears, she writes scathingly, “Hitler promised to make Germany great again.” Art drawn in a limited palette mixes, mingles, and merges with pertinent photography, giving the book interest and immediacy. The subject’s dedication, candor, and sheer chutzpah burst off the page. An acknowledgments page lists Paterson’s sources and the people she consulted.

A stirring, singular tribute to a woman well aware of the importance of children’s books in times of trauma and recovery.