This daughter’s re-telling of her mother’s story during the Shoah is simply but effectively done. The idyllic first years of her mother’s life ended when her mother was seven. The policemen she had been taught to go to for help became the hunters and her closest friend was forced to become a stranger. The Germany she knew and loved changed into a land of fright and horror. In her twelfth year, the Jews of Germany were subjected to the horrors of Krystallnach. The contradiction that was now Germany had been fully exposed and wisely, her mother’s parents immediately sought to protect their children. The answer was the Kindertransport and her mother’s years in Scotland are simply, but well described. Her parents were able to join her in England two and a half years later and the family was able to live together in England (which surprised this reviewer, since most adult Jews had to have sponsors or enter the country as domestic servants.) Their visa numbers came up comparatively soon and then they were on their way to America. The illustrations are a bit amateurish, but charming.
An early childhood and special education educator for over thirty years, Linda Schubert writes about the Holocaust in a “bare bones manner” — simply and without going into much detail or emotional content. It is appropriate for bright ten-year-olds and for older children and adults who read or comprehend below grade level or for whom English is a new language.
