An important work that is immensely personal, powerful, and heart-wrenching.
Born in England just after World War II, young Rosen grew up hearing references about relatives who existed before the war but had disappeared by the time it ended.
There were great-aunts and great-uncles and their families who had lived in France and Poland. His dad knew their names and a bit about them. He assumed they died “in the camps.” At first the child Michael didn’t understand what that meant. As he learned more about the Holocaust, he became determined to find out about his lost relatives. He did extensive research, gathered small clues, and began to dig deeper, becoming consumed by the quest throughout his life. His account includes lots of disappointments and dead ends as well as some remarkable finds that led to information and some answers about missing relatives from both France and Poland. He provides photos and letters that bring these lost souls to life. Speaking in the first person, directly to readers, Rosen explains the unexplainable in simple but not simplistic language, presenting facts without sugarcoating them or underestimating children’s ability to comprehend. He includes poems, some written over many years and some written for this book, expressing his deeper feelings regarding his long search and its mostly devastating results. He links history to modern-day hatreds and reminds his readers of the exhortation “Never again.” “Today; One Day,” a poem of pain and hope, makes a poignant close.
An important work that is immensely personal, powerful, and heart-wrenching. (foreword, family tree, photos, documents, bibliography, index, acknowledgements) (Memoir/history. 10-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1289-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
An authentic and moving time capsule of middle school angst, trauma, and joy.
Through the author’s own childhood diary entries, a seventh grader details her inner life before and after 9/11.
Alyssa’s diary entries start in September 2000, in the first week of her seventh grade year. She’s 11 and dealing with typical preteen concerns—popularity and anxiety about grades—along with other things more particular to her own life. She’s shuffling between Queens and Manhattan to share time between her divorced parents and struggling with thick facial hair and classmates who make her feel like she’s “not a whole person” due to her mixed White and Puerto Rican heritage. Alyssa is endlessly earnest and awkward as she works up the courage to talk to her crush, Alejandro; gushes about her dreams of becoming a shoe designer; and tries to solve her burgeoning unibrow problem. The diaries also have a darker side, as a sense of impending doom builds as the entries approach 9/11, especially because Alyssa’s father works in finance in the World Trade Center. As a number of the diary entries are taken directly from the author’s originals, they effortlessly capture the loud, confusing feelings middle school brings out. The artwork, in its muted but effective periwinkle tones, lends a satisfying layer to the diary’s accessible and delightful format.
An authentic and moving time capsule of middle school angst, trauma, and joy. (author's note) (Graphic memoir. 8-13)Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-77427-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
No one writes history for children better than the latest Wilder Award winner; funny, pungent and impeccably accurate, her contribution to the plethora of books written for the Constitution's bicentennial should be at the top of everyone's purchase list. Assembling attention-grabbing tidbits that illuminate personalities (Franklin observed that if the President's term wasn't limited there'd be no way to get rid of him short of shooting him) re-create conditions in the 18th century (delegates sweltered as windows were kept shut during a heat wave to keep out noise and flies), and give an excellent feel for the kind of horse-trading that was required before an acceptable document was produced (it took 60 ballots just to settle on the Electoral College). Fritz surveys the background that made some kind of unity necessary (during the Revolution, when Washington asked some New Jersey soldiers to swear allegiance to the US, they turned him down flat), as well as events from the gathering of delegates (they trickled in from May to August) to the adoption of the Constitution by the states. She summarizes important features of the Constitution, especially the checks and balances it embodies, and the argumentative response that delayed ratification. A few amplifying notes and the text of the Constitution (as sent to Congress on September 18, 1787) are appended. Lively and fascinating, this will be a delightful surprise to any child who stumbles on it as part of an assignment; it is sure to open minds to the interest and relevance of history.
Pub Date: April 23, 1987
ISBN: 0698116240
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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