THE END OF THE LINE

Two kindhearted, confirmed-bachelor brothers take in an endangered little Jewish girl during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam.

Historical fiction for children is fraught with traps, and none more so than those introducing young readers to Holocaust history. This novel manages to walk that tightrope, allowing children to learn some grim realities without annihilating their sense of hope or resorting to stereotypes that undermine the ability of the genre to increase readers’ empathy. The text’s distinctiveness lies in its style: Rather than presenting one protagonist’s point of view—as in Lois Lowry’s exemplary Number the Stars—the third-person-omniscient perspective allows readers to identify with several characters throughout the tale. Readers feel the terror and sorrow of Beatrix and her mother as Mamma is forced by soldiers to leave the tram that is run by brothers Hans and Lars; they empathize with the brothers during the humorous passages in which the redoubtable neighbor Mrs. Vos teaches them how to care for a little girl; they feel the alternating waves of uneasiness and relief experienced regularly by people under occupation. Most of the detailed action occurs from 1942-1945, but the tale wraps up in 1973, when Beatrix is mother to a 10-year-old daughter.

This is a solid addition to one of the most uneven collections of literature for children: Holocaust-related historical fiction.