It’s important that this survivor testimony has been captured, but this is not a particularly compelling addition to the...
An account of the Holocaust through the eyes of 7-year-old Lyuba, a real Jewish girl who survived by hiding in a haystack for 18 months.
It is 1941, and Lyuba and her mother have been terribly injured in a pogrom. Her father is making preparations that Lyuba, for the most part, doesn’t understand and can’t explain, though she knows that life has gotten scary. When the Nazis prepare to murder everyone in the ghetto, Lyuba’s parents send away her sister, Hanna, who is blonde and blue-eyed and can pass for non-Jewish. (Horribly, Hanna is the only member of the family not to survive the war; she is captured and tortured to death at age 11, as readers learn toward the end.) Lyuba and her parents, meanwhile, hide for a year and a half in the haystack of their beloved Ukrainian friend Pavlo. They whisper, barely moving, and fall silent when warned of Nazis by Pavlo’s dog. A few chapters purport to be from the dog’s perspective rather than Lyuba’s; these impair the book’s verisimilitude without improving the emotional or narrative flow. Overall, much of the process is choppy, and Lyuba’s naiveté necessarily restricts the narrative. A biographical note by MacWilliams, who interviewed Lyuba (now known as Laura Oberlender), tells us that she came to the United States, married, and now has six granddaughters.
It’s important that this survivor testimony has been captured, but this is not a particularly compelling addition to the rich canon of Holocaust survivor memoirs for children. (historical note, photographs) (Historical fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: March 20, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-947175-09-9
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Serving House Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Much has been written for children about Mount Rushmore. While this isn’t a must-have, it offers a new approach to this...
You’re a dutiful son; your father, renowned sculptor Gutzon Borglum, designed the presidential monuments on Mount Rushmore. You finish the job when your father dies, but history will ignore you.
This book’s aim is to rectify history’s misstep. It takes readers from Lincoln Borglum’s shy childhood to the beginning of the project in 1927, when he was a teen, and on through its completion 14 years later. Lincoln was deeply involved, working at many grueling tasks alongside hundreds of crewmen. Readers learn that Gutzon designed a Hall of Records, never constructed, to be built behind the sculptures. They also discover that Jefferson’s head was once carved on a different site on the mountain but had to be demolished and reconstructed elsewhere. Lincoln did swing under a president’s nose, although, despite the title, the author doesn’t confirm it was Jefferson’s. Mount Rushmore commemorates four presidents; this serviceably written book memorializes the younger Borglum. Lincoln is sympathetic, and readers will be glad he enjoyed future success, described in an afterword. The acrylic-and-pastel paintings are rendered in earth and muted tones and give a sense of the monument’s scale. The final endpapers depict the four presidents; younger children would benefit from their being identified. A mostly outdated, seemingly child-unfriendly bibliography is unhelpful.
Much has been written for children about Mount Rushmore. While this isn’t a must-have, it offers a new approach to this landmark. (Picture book/biography 7-10)Pub Date: May 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3731-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2012
Of possible interest where poppies are distributed around Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Imbued with an unwavering sense of duty and patriotism, a woman conceives a lasting tribute to war veterans.
Georgia schoolteacher Moina Michael, deeply saddened at the outbreak of World War I, wanted to help departing soldiers. She rolled bandages, knitted socks and sweaters, and boosted morale by delivering books, food and goodwill. These efforts, even combined with waving farewell at train stations, weren’t enough; Michael yearned to do more. Working with the YMCA in New York City, she offered support and kindness to soldiers. A chance rereading of the famous wartime poem “In Flanders Fields,” with its images of poppies on graves, galvanized Michael into action, and she devoted herself to seeing that a red poppy became a symbol to memorialize the war dead. Her idea eventually led to the public distribution of paper poppies to raise funds for veterans and military families, a tradition that continues in some communities. Michael’s moral force and commitment are commendable and noteworthy, but this is a well-meaning, though only serviceably written, overwrought book that will resonate more with adults. Children of military families may take it more to heart than other youngsters, especially those unfamiliar with the tradition. The heroic oil paintings are colorful, and Michael looks nothing less than beatific.
Of possible interest where poppies are distributed around Memorial Day and Veterans Day. (prologue, epilogue, author’s note, bibliography) (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59078-754-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
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