Child of the Warsaw Ghetto

Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Introduction to the Holocaust for Middle Grades
Review: In my opinion, all upper elementary students should be made aware of the Holocaust. It's not easy--in a single library session--to try to discuss the Holocaust and promote some of the titles we have in our school library. "Child of the Warsaw Ghetto" is probably the best, single title I can read in one sitting that covers so much territory.

The picture book format is a bit deceiving, since I would not opt to read this solemn story to primary grades. The muted gray colored pencil drawings fit the grim topic of this biographical account of a poor Jewish boy in Warsaw, Poland, during the time of the Nazi occupation.

In rapid succession we learn about the Depression, the rise of Hitler and anti-Jewish sentiment, desperate poverty, a home for orphans, Germany's invasion of Poland, fighting, forced labor, German theft of furniture and valuables, removal of Jews, the ordered wearing of the blue Star of David, the moving of 400,000 Jews into a walled ghetto, the stark living conditions, the closure of the ghetto, the order for "All Jews out!" and few who were able to escape, the brief--but bold--Jewish resistance, the burning of the ghetto, and the "resettlement" either to death camps or concentration camps. All this is seen through the eyes of Froim Baum, starting when he is still a youngster.

The author's note at the end of the book spells out the additional cruelty of the Nazis to initiate many of their actions on Jewish holidays. He also tells what became of Froim Baum after the war.

When I've finished reading this sobering account to older elementary students, I encourage them to read additional titles, such as: "Diary of a Young Girl," by Anne Frank; "Number the Stars," "The Devil's Arithmetic," "Alicia: My Story," "The Endless Steppe," "The Borrowed House," "The Hiding Place," and "Daniel's Story" (to name a few).

This is a topic we should never forget. And since the period of history is not really covered in our curriculum, it needs to be introduced to students through well-written books on the subject, whether fiction or non-fiction. "Child of the Warsaw Ghetto" is a good place to start.