From: Karen Vollmar <KVOLLMAR>
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:33:20 -0500

Ruth Gordon has voiced her concern (outrage?) at books which seem to sanitize the Holocaust experience. Though I love most of Lois Lowry's books, I was very disappointed in NUMBER THE STARS for that very reason. Like SNOW TREASURE, it romanticized that era in history and made it seem like an appealing adventure. That it won the Newbery medal over 3 other outstanding honor books, well... In contrast, the 1996 translation of a German novel, THE FINAL JOURNEY, presents the grimness of a cattle train to Auschwitz. I often present it to parents as a counterpoint to NUMBER THE STARS, never recommending it to children because of it's harshness. In it, Alice, a Jewish girl who has been hiding in a basement with her family and protected from the realities of the Holocaust, is discovered and packed into a boxcar with dozens of other people who act both nobly and selfishly. Details, such as sanitation, illness, deaths, and births make for a gritty, strong stomach necessary read. I hope that all children who read the glamorized versions of the Holocaust will come across this book, or others like it when they are more mature readers.

Karen Vollmar Waukesha Public Library Any opinions expressed herein are my personal opinions and not necessarily those of Waukesha Public Library.
Received on Tue 25 Apr 2006 03:33:20 PM CDT