Rating: 
Summary: No Pretty Pictures
Review: "No Pretty Pictures" by Anita Lobal, in my opinion is very well written because the author describes every thrilling moment. Another reason I like this book is because the characters are about my age and I could relate to them on the same level. There is a brother, sister, Narnina or nanny, and mama, that are most of the main or supporting characters. But what is neat about it is the brother has to dress like a girl so the Germans don't find out that he is Jewish because Jewish boys got sercomsized back then. The only set back is that it is hard to relize how cruel people could be. But it still felt truely real. And I would recomen this book to 7th grade and up so we can get a better understandment of the Holocaust, and to feel what happen.
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Summary: Looking for a Savior
Review: "One night I dreamed that I was taking a hot bath in a great big tub. Feeling warm and relaxed, I woke up with streams of diarrhea running out of me and all over our bunk". This is an example of the graphic nature written by Anita Lobel, No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War. These details talk about the horror living during the Nazi invasion of Poland that make this book one that I would recommend to everyone from ages fifteen and up to read. There is a section of pictures of Lobel in this book where you find some of the people and characters in the book that are important to the author. The picture on the front cover is Lobel and her brother after they disembarked from the ferry that carried them to the Baltic Sea to Sweden. Although, some parts, I found confusing. I think it began when she arrived in Sweden. Lobel goes from the tragedy of being in a camp to talking about how she's fascinated about her art. Yes, this book is all about Lobel and how she survived. But why is writing about her fascination with art so important? Is this book supposed to talk about the horrors in camp or how she survived? Other than that confusion, I think the rest is written with such great pain, it just makes you realize what horrors the author and her family went through. I think she sends a great message in her novel. She proves to us readers that it is hard to struggle in life and mature at the same time during the Nazi invasion. You may think reading about Anne Frank is enough, but you would be wrong. Anne Frank and Anita Lobel have some similarities. First, neither of them use formal language. Their books are very easy to read and understand. Both of them also have to deal with deaths of loved ones, try to keep their memories in the past, and move on with their lives. There are also some differences. When Anne Frank got into her teens, she had to deal with her parents. On the other hand, Anita Lobel, has to mature faster, and is separated from her parents, leaving her with her brother. Anne Frank writes about her daily life and Lobel uses suspense throughout her novel. I am not saying Anne Frank is boring, even though her writing is personal and descriptive when you read her diary, but Anita Lobel writes like a biographer. She summarizes the parts of her life that are less significant to her. She's not very descriptive only on some areas in this book. Although both authors may have similarities and some differences, I think both inspire you to keep on going to enjoy life the fullest. It is really hard to write about something so traumatic in your life. Imagine yourself, all alone with nobody else. Who would you look up to? It's hard to keep on going on in life when you're all alone in this world. But this book, has a happy ending at least. Not all Jewish survivors lived to tell their story. Luckily, Lobel had the chance to write about surviving in a world of hate.
Rating: 
Summary: Strangely Worded, but a Well Done
Review: After reading "I Have Lived A Thousand Years" (Bitton-Jackson), "The Cage" (Sender), and other "Shoah" books, I haven't found that this was best told. I found the writing technique difficult to "get into" as much as others, and though her story is riviting and compelling, it is not what I may have expected? Perhaps that is not the right word. Speaking of which, through out her book she uses profane language [...] I am shocked to see this [...] Why did she use these words? It makes her sound like she is using a slang dictionary for some verbs which makes it uncomfortable and strange to read. A fine story indeed, but strangely worded.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow! As good as a memoir can possibly be.
Review: Anita Lobel's true testimony of her survival during the war years in Poland and Sweden is full of suspense. It is beautifully written but never sentimental. This is the newest, best entry in the canon of literature about children and the Holocaust.
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Summary: Very Very Good Coverage of a Child's Wretched Experience
Review: As I am interested in the life of Jews of Krakow before the war, I found this children's book in the library's catalog. The information is very good, she writes very well and I hope she will be spared future torment. I remain particularly impressed by the positive attitude she seems to have as an adult in the U.S.A.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating, unforgettable read .
Review: Facsinating, in a word, describes Anita Lobel's book " No Pretty Pictures". Even though I am 33 years old I found her book to be incredibly interesting (even though it's claimed to be a "young adult book). I have always been interested in the Holocaust survivor stories, and "No Pretty Pictures" takes you on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs of one survivor and her younger brother. Anita Lobel's way of describing her memories make you feel like they happened yesterday. The way she relates the story through her long ago child's eye to the teenaged, more mature eye leaves the reader in awe of her ability to tap into shelved but not forgotten memories. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Even old adults (like me), would surely find this book inspiring and unforgettable. I will never forget it, it made me appreciate everything in my life a lot more.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating, unforgettable read .
Review: Facsinating, in a word, describes Anita Lobel's book " No Pretty Pictures". Even though I am 33 years old I found her book to be incredibly interesting (even though it's claimed to be a "young adult book). I have always been interested in the Holocaust survivor stories, and "No Pretty Pictures" takes you on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs of one survivor and her younger brother. Anita Lobel's way of describing her memories make you feel like they happened yesterday. The way she relates the story through her long ago child's eye to the teenaged, more mature eye leaves the reader in awe of her ability to tap into shelved but not forgotten memories. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Even old adults (like me), would surely find this book inspiring and unforgettable. I will never forget it, it made me appreciate everything in my life a lot more.
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Summary: A Child's Perspective of War
Review: How does a five year comprehend the horror of war? This outstanding autobiographical piece by Anita Lobel explores this question by allowing us to experience her early life as a Jewish child during World War II. Unlike Anne Frank, Anita was merely five years old when she had to begin to cope with the effects of war. She awakens one morning to have the world as she knows it changed. Her father has left the country and does not appear in the evening at his regular time. Nazi soldiers come to the house and confiscate personal belongings from the family. Anita's mother obtains false papers which enable her to continue working, but eventually the threat of relocation becomes more serious. Anita and her younger brother must leave with their Nanny to find a safer place. Thus begins an incredible and frightening journey that would be a challenge for a full grown adult to surivive. Anita and her brother must cope with their spiritual identity as they face extreme physical and emotional danger. I would highly recommend this to adults and teens. From the first page you are swept into this child's life and it's hard to let go.
Rating:
Summary: A moving book for the older reader and adults.
Review: I found No Pretty Pictures a very moving book. The story of Anita Lobel's and her brother's survival and the clear feeling she gives for the time and the depth of the other characters is wonderful. The child's point of view, with its limited experience of the world, is done so faithfully, that I would hesitate to give this book to a child who is not already familiar with the holocaust. Terms like "dirty Hassids" are used without comment, her suspecion of other jews is not explained and she never seems to come to terms with her own identity as a jew and one who looks like one. Young readers, even the 9 to 13 year old it is reccommended for, could have used some adult viewpoint within the text to temper these.
Rating:
Summary: An engrossing and compelling memoir.
Review: I love this poignant memoir. Everyone I give it to reads it start to finish usually in either one sitting or over a period of a couple of days.We have read portions to my daughter (age 8) who is familiar with and interested in the Holocaust. I think that my daughter found it empowering to know that against great odds Anita did survive. Knowing Anita and her works over a period of many years, I never really knew her true story until I read her wonderful book. I highly recommend it.
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