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[CCBC-Net] Holocaust Literature for Children and Teens
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From: Edward T. Sullivan <sully>
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 11:46:12 -0400 (EDT)
I'm glad to see this topic come up. I published a guide Holocaust literature for children and teens in 1999 with Scarecrow Press which is in desperate need of revision--something I hope to begin very soon. I have been closely tracking publishing on this topic and it is astounding to me the number of Holocaust titles that have been published between 1999 and now. I had 500 titles listed in my 1999 guide. At this point, I could at least double it!
What puzzles me is why, with all that there is available, so many teachers still seem stuck on teaching Number the Stars (elementary), The Diary of Anne Frank (middle), and Night (high school). All are fine books but only Night is effective in conveying the horrors of the Holocaust. Unless teachers use a lot of supplememental material when using Number the Stars or Anne Frank, I don't think kids are going to have much insight into what the Holocaust was all about.
Here are some books that come immediately to mind:
For young children, I highly recommend Eve Bunting's allegory Terrible Things and David Adler's The Number on My Grandfather's Arm.
Some other excellent titles by Adler are Child of the Warsaw Ghetto, A Hero and the Holocaust, Hiding from the Nazis, and Hilde and Eli.
Susan Goldman Rubin has done several very fine Holocaust titles lately--Fireflies in the Dark (about the Terezin Camp), The Flag with Fifty-Six Stars (about the liberation of Mauthausen), and The Cat with the Yellow Star (another Terezin story). Another very interesting book by Rubin is Art Against the Odds which is not exclusively about the Holocaust but discusses how oppressed and persecuted peoples respond to their circumstances through art.
Carol Matas has written several excellent middel grade novels--In My Enemy's House, Greater Than Angels, Daniel's Story, and Lisa's War among them.
One of the best overall histories of the Holocaust is Barbara Rogasky's Smoke and Ashes (Holiday House). Milton Meltzer's Never Forget (Harper) is another excellent historical overview.
I'll be back with more suggestions.
Ed Sullivan, M.S.L.S. 103 Oneida Lane Oak Ridge, TN, 37830
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"
-John Lennon-
Received on Wed 19 Apr 2006 10:46:12 AM CDT
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 11:46:12 -0400 (EDT)
I'm glad to see this topic come up. I published a guide Holocaust literature for children and teens in 1999 with Scarecrow Press which is in desperate need of revision--something I hope to begin very soon. I have been closely tracking publishing on this topic and it is astounding to me the number of Holocaust titles that have been published between 1999 and now. I had 500 titles listed in my 1999 guide. At this point, I could at least double it!
What puzzles me is why, with all that there is available, so many teachers still seem stuck on teaching Number the Stars (elementary), The Diary of Anne Frank (middle), and Night (high school). All are fine books but only Night is effective in conveying the horrors of the Holocaust. Unless teachers use a lot of supplememental material when using Number the Stars or Anne Frank, I don't think kids are going to have much insight into what the Holocaust was all about.
Here are some books that come immediately to mind:
For young children, I highly recommend Eve Bunting's allegory Terrible Things and David Adler's The Number on My Grandfather's Arm.
Some other excellent titles by Adler are Child of the Warsaw Ghetto, A Hero and the Holocaust, Hiding from the Nazis, and Hilde and Eli.
Susan Goldman Rubin has done several very fine Holocaust titles lately--Fireflies in the Dark (about the Terezin Camp), The Flag with Fifty-Six Stars (about the liberation of Mauthausen), and The Cat with the Yellow Star (another Terezin story). Another very interesting book by Rubin is Art Against the Odds which is not exclusively about the Holocaust but discusses how oppressed and persecuted peoples respond to their circumstances through art.
Carol Matas has written several excellent middel grade novels--In My Enemy's House, Greater Than Angels, Daniel's Story, and Lisa's War among them.
One of the best overall histories of the Holocaust is Barbara Rogasky's Smoke and Ashes (Holiday House). Milton Meltzer's Never Forget (Harper) is another excellent historical overview.
I'll be back with more suggestions.
Ed Sullivan, M.S.L.S. 103 Oneida Lane Oak Ridge, TN, 37830
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"
-John Lennon-
Received on Wed 19 Apr 2006 10:46:12 AM CDT
