Though afflicted with hyperbolic commentary that’s more of a distraction than an enhancement, this tale makes riveting reading. The authors braid together an account of how three dozen Ukrainian Jews hid from Nazis and hostile local residents by retreating into a massive complex of gypsum caves for nearly a full year; an ingenious detective story about a modern search for the scattered survivors; and a recent visit to the still-not-thoroughly-explored subterranean complex south of Kiev. The fugitives, some of whom were small children, survived isolation, malnourishment and constant danger for 344 days, and their achievement hardly needs lines like, “ . . . united against a common oppressor, their will to live was unshakable,” or several generic scenes of German soldiers in the field misidentified as Gestapo on a “search for escaping Jews,” shoehorned into the marvelous array of underground photos and old and new family portraits. Based largely on a privately published memoir and an emotionally charged collective interview, this is a unique and absorbing addition to the library of Holocaust testimonials written for younger readers. (time line) (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-58013-260-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2007
Categories: CHILDREN'S HISTORY
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Using a provided packet of helpful tools, readers can search for clues along with a historical spy in the house of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy.
Fans of ciphers and hidden clues will find both in abundance, beginning on the copyright page and continuing to a final, sealed-off section of explanations and solutions. Fictionalized but spun around actual figures and events, the tale centers on Bowser, a free African-American who worked undercover as a maid in Davis’ house and passed information to a ring of white Richmond spies. Here she looks for the key phrase that will unlock a Vigenère cipher—an alphabetic substitution code—while struggling to hide her intelligence and ability to read. As an extra challenge, she leaves the diary in which she records some of her experiences concealed for readers to discover, using allusive and sometimes-misleading clues that are hidden in Cliff’s monochrome illustrations and in cryptic marginal notations. A Caesar cipher wheel, a sheet of red acetate, and several other items in a front pocket supply an espionage starter kit that readers can use along the way; it is supplemented by quick introductions in the narrative to ciphers and codes, including Morse dashes and dots and the language of flowers.
Plenty of work for sharp eyes and active intellects in this history-based series opener. (answers, historical notes, biographies, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7611-8739-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S HISTORY
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A large-format hardcover gathers together true stories of adventure and survival.
Two that are well-known, at least to adults, are Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition and the ordeal of Aron Ralston, who cut off his own arm with a dull pocketknife in order to extricate himself from a dislodged boulder that trapped him in a narrow canyon, the subject of the film 127 Hours. Lesser known is the story of Poon Lim, who survived 133 days alone in the South Atlantic when the merchant ship he was serving on was sunk by a U-boat. At one point, he caught a shark several feet long, pulled it aboard his raft, beat it to death, and proceeded to suck its blood and eat it raw for nourishment. Seventeen-year-old Juliane Koepcke, the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Peruvian rain forest, relied on survival lessons taught by her parents. During her nine-day ordeal, she poured gasoline on her wounds, which succeeded in removing 35 maggots from one arm. In a skiing accident, Anna Bågenholm was trapped under freezing water for so long her heart stopped. Four hours later, medics managed to warm her blood enough to revive her. The attractive design features a full-page or double-page–spread color illustration depicting a pivotal moment in each well-told story. Entirely absent are such standard features as table of contents, source notes, bibliography, or index, pegging this as an entertainment resource only.
A great collection of harrowing, true survivor stories. (Nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-571-31601-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S HISTORY
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