The people of the small towns and farms in La Montagne Protestante region of Southern France established homes and schools to rescue children fleeing almost certain transport to Nazi concentration camps. They came from all over Europe, and most were alone. With careful research and interviews, the authors provide background information of several who survived, to create narratives about their experiences before fleeing to Le Chambon and life there. Photographs and sketches accompany their tales, told in diary-like entries: age, date, place and personal stories in short, fast informative chapters. This story is inspiring—not because of the writing style, which is neutral, clear and pedestrian, but because the authors have brought the inspiring deeds of the Chambonese to life. Why did they do it? “Because we could not NOT do it,” said a woman interviewed about the acts of ordinary people who became quiet heroes. An absolute must. (Maps, index, bibliography, photographs, notes, glossary, pronunciation guide, source notes) (Nonfiction. 6-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-8234-1928-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2007
Patent (Children Save the Rain Forest, p. 903, etc.) stresses the importance of protecting the planet's rich gene pool for the survival of all species, and makes clear that seemingly insignificant species may provide medicines and products of great usefulness. With plants and animals in tropical Costa Rica and the more temperate US as models, Patent demonstrates how life forms evolve, adapt, and become extinct. She describes the natural forces of evolution and the threat posed by people. Readers learn of the private and public efforts to catalog and conserve plants and animals, e.g., Costa Rica's National Institute of Biodiversity, a government program that trains local people to collect and categorize specimens. Although Patent mentions the government agreements with drug companies that encourage exploration in exchange for a percentage of the profit when useful substances are identified, there is no discussion of the ethical considerations. The many handsome, full-color photographs are not always well placed and sometimes are only marginally related to the text. Still, this is an attractive and personal discussion of an important issue. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1996
ISBN: 0-395-68704-7
Page Count: 109
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1996
In this introductory volume to the Holocaust Remembered series, Byers presents a comprehensive and dramatic history of the Holocaust aimed at middle-schoolers. Tracing anti-Semitism back to its earliest expression Byers shows how hatred against the Jews, coupled with the rise of National Socialism, provided the force that swept Adolf Hitler to power. She makes clear that, from the very beginning, Hitler methodically conducted a reign of terror against European Jews: boycotts of Jewish businesses, harassment conducted on city streets, the creation of the Nuremburg Laws, and much more. She also outlines the four-part strategy to eliminate the Jews: exclusion, expulsion, enclosure, and ultimately, extermination. Numerous black-and-white period photographs provide evidence of the horrors of WWII. This is a solid introduction to the series, but is also effective as a stand-alone volume, a starting point in the curriculum. (chronology, notes, glossary, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-7660-1062-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Enslow
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1998
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