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AUSCHWITZ

Name: AUSCHWITZ
Author: Clive A. Lawton
ISBN: 0-7636-1595-1

THE STORY OF A NAZI DEATH CAMP

by Clive A. Lawton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2002

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The name of Auschwitz has become synonymous with the Holocaust and so it is fitting that an entire volume be devoted to describing what happened there. Scrupulously documented, this is short, but packs a lot of information. For this subject, a picture really is worth a thousand words and Lawton carefully lays out the evidence as if with an eye towards the deniers, about which a chapter is included. He uses only the most conservative estimates for the number of people killed at Auschwitz and explains how it is that estimates can be made when the bodies of the victims were burned to smoke and ash and the Germans took such pains to destroy the evidence. Each two-page spread has its own chapter heading, among them “The Transports,” “The Gas Chambers,” and “Burning the Bodies.” A well laid-out combination of text, archival photographs, maps, diagrams of the camp, and survivor testimony provides a many-faceted perspective. Lawton succeeds in conveying the single-minded, machine-like efficiency with which the Germans approached the “final solution” for the “Jewish problem.” Disturbing photographs are included—as they must be if the truth is to be told—of piles of dead bodies, a skeletal girl who was a victim of medical experimentation, naked, emaciated men whose private parts are hidden by text, and an inmate who threw himself against the electric fence, a suicide. The jacket-cover text notes that ordinary people helped carry out the evil perpetrated at Auschwitz and asks: “How did it happen?” While Auschwitz doesn’t answer the question of how this could happen, it certainly captures the horror of what did happen. Gut-wrenching, this will be invaluable to anyone seeking to educate children and young adults. (Nonfiction. 12+)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-7636-1595-1

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORY

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BABY WHALE RESCUE

THE TRUE STORY OF J.J.

by Caroline Arnold & Richard Hewett ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999

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Arnold and Hewett (Stories in Stone, 1996, etc.) record the harrowing rescue of a baby gray whale who had become separated from her mother off the coast of California. She was discovered on January 10, 1997, exhausted, hungry, and near death. J.J. was 14 feet long when she was brought to SeaWorld as a young calf. Gaining 900 pounds in the first month, she had to be moved to a new home by crane. Her caretakers started planning on giving J.J. skills so that she could be released and survive on her own in the ocean. Divers put her food on the bottom of the pool, each day in a different location, so she could practice searching. Arnold is relaxed in her telling, allowing the already dramatic events to unfold naturally: “Everyone cheered as J.J. took a big breath, dove deep, and disappeared. The young whale was on her own.” Full-color photos capture the excitement of J.J.’s release, but also the hard work of preparing her for her return to the sea. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)

Pub Date: March 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-8167-4961-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HISTORY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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KEEPER OF THE LIGHT
by Caroline Arnold ; illustrated by Rachell Sumpter

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BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6
by Caroline Arnold ; photographed by Caroline Arnold

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HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6
by Caroline Arnold ; photographed by Caroline Arnold

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WILLIAM PENN

FOUNDER OF PENNSYLVANIA

by Steven Kroll ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2000

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In his absorbing picture-book biography aimed at a slightly older audience, Kroll (Robert Fulton, 1999, etc.) immediately informs readers that Penn was a rebel. “Born to a life of privilege, William Penn chose dissent instead,” ignoring the status quo in favor of following his convictions, in an era of great religious and political tumult. Drawn by the belief that every individual could communicate directly with God, Penn became a Quaker; his desire for religious freedom and tolerance prompted him and his followers to travel to the land that would become Pennsylvania. Arrested over and over again for espousing his beliefs and betrayed by his business manager, Penn struggled all his life because of his convictions. The text is highly event-oriented and packed with information; the portrayal of Penn is somewhat impersonal, but readers will learn of and be impressed by his accomplishments. Himler’s watercolors accurately conjure time and place, and underscore more somber elements of the story. (chronology) (Picture book/biography. 9-12)