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GRANDPA'S THIRD DRAWER

Name: GRANDPA'S THIRD DRAWER
Author: Judy Tal Kopelman
ISBN: 978-0-8276-1204-1

UNLOCKING HOLOCAUST MEMORIES

by Judy Tal Kopelman ; illustrated by Judy Tal Kopelman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2014

The story is obviously purposive, but as discussion starters go, it’s certainly a good choice.

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A carefully nonexplicit lead-in to a discussion of the Holocaust with young children, with photo-collage illustrations made of artifacts from Terezín.

A child—at least a supposed one—narrates (sample line: “There’s a kind of quiet in Grandma and Grandpa’s house. It’s the silence of people who come from a faraway world—a vanished world that still lives in memories”). He recalls playing with the crayons and antique toys in his loving grandfather’s desk. One day he discovers the key to a desk drawer that is always locked. Grandpa has a strong reaction when he sees the boy holding a yellow Star of David patch. Recovering, he sits down to describe how the Nazis first sent Jews to ghettos and later split up families and sent them away, never to be reunited. Gatherings of antique photos, childhood drawings and toys in the first part give way to close-up views of a battered rag doll, a striped uniform, homemade dominoes and other memorabilia arranged as if in a just-opened drawer. “I asked…so many questions,” the narrator concludes. “I never knew that Grandpa was such a brave kid.”

The story is obviously purposive, but as discussion starters go, it’s certainly a good choice. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: May 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-8276-1204-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Jewish Publication Society

Review Posted Online: April 19, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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THE MONKEY WHO WANTED THE MOON

by Anne Mangan & illustrated by Catherine Walters ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2001

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This preachy, pedestrian cautionary tale isn’t going to convince many children to change their ways. Simia, a young monkey, wants everything. But the flower she grabs on a tree branch turns out to be attached to a thorny cactus, a beautiful orange object is a snarling jaguar, a zigzag shape is a snake that “uncoiled itself and shot into the air” (say what?), a “coconut” turns out to be a wasp’s nest, and so on. Later, Simia picks a flower that wilts, snatches a pretty stone from playmates and throws it into the lake, then almost falls out of a tree reaching for the moon. Mother monkey hammers the lesson home: “ ‘Some things are for yourself, some things are for others, and some things . . . are for everyone to share. You don’t have to own things to enjoy them.’ ” Instantly, Simia is satisfied. Right. Walters (Are You There, Baby Bear?, 1999) sets her little monkey into a series of lush, if static, forest scenes. An also-ran next to such similarly themed books as Marcia Brown’s How, Hippo (1969) and Kate Banks’s Baboon (1997). (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001

ISBN: 1-56656-376-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Crocodile/Interlink

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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THE MIDDLE SHEEP

From the Ernie & Maud series , Vol. 2

by Frances Watts & illustrated by Judy Watson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2010

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Oh, the curse of being the only child—not adorable like the baby and not smart like the older sibling! Invisible, that’s how Marvelous Maud, sheep sidekick to only-child, newly selected superhero Extraordinary Ernie, feels. Maud decides to adopt a sidekick of her own. Turns out being a sidekick is no job for a middle kitten, bunny, tortoise, horse, goldfish, duckling or mouse, so Maud decides to hold a contest. Along the way, she enjoys hearing the travails of all the middle critters, but she does not notice when Ernie feels left out of the discussion. When the Baxter Branch of the Superheroes Society meets, Ernie’s ennui becomes obvious. Valiant Vera (the bravest and fastest superhero) throws down the gauntlet and bans the argumentative aces until they can work together. Decorated with frequent humorous black-and-white illustrations of winsome animals and adults in leotards, this offering is just right for readers ready for the challenge of a chapter book. Sibling conflict, animals and superheroes are all high on the interest level of young readers, making this a series to watch. (Fiction. 7-9)