Jars of Hope

One of the things I love about researching children's books is I'm always learning new things. I came across Jars of Hope: How One Woman Helped Save 2,500 Children During the Holocaust while trying to find more age appropriate WW II literature for children. The Holocaust is troubling to read about at any age, but for younger children it can be even more difficult to explain. The author tackled a very challenging topic providing age appropriate explanations without losing historical accuracy.

I'd never heard of Irena Sendler prior to reading Jars of Hope. She was part of the Polish underground in WW II after getting involved with rescuing children from the Warsaw ghetto. Her hope was to reunite the children she placed in safety with their families after the war, so she kept records which were eventually buried in jars to avoid detection. Sadly, for most reunification was not a possibility. However, the documentation she kept did provide the children with the knowledge of their birth names and the names of their parents.

The book does a good job of documenting Ms. Sendler's war time activities and the punishments received for those activities. It also discusses the recognition and rewards given to her after the war for the great risks she took in saving the children she could reach. As with any books on sensitive issues I always suggest parents or teachers preview prior to sharing with children. It is always best to be prepared.

Across the Blue Pacific

I came across Across the Blue Pacific: A World War II Storywhile researching age appropriate picture books on World War II for kids. This story appealed to me because it sounded so much like the stories my mother told me of growing up during World War II. This historical fiction account is told from a young girl's perspective, which is why it reminds me so much of my Mom's stories of growing up.

Louise Borden has taken the story of her Uncle Matthew's service and death on the USS Albacore as the basis for Molly's historical fiction account of her neighbor Ted's service and ultimate death. His leave visits and the children writing letters to Ted make for an interesting tale.

I thought there were some fun details included in the story. For instance Ted's Mom gets a Border Collie when her son leaves for war. How women coped alone made for some unique war tales among the women in my family. The dog seemed like a realistic choice based on some of the stories I was told.

While this was a children's story, I did think some details were lacking. Molly and my Mom were similar in age and one of my Mom's strongest memories of the time was coping with rationing. I suspect her neighbor and Molly's families would also have been impacted by this as well. There was no mention of how the war changed the home front, although this book was focused on how people at home were dealing with the challenges of having loved ones away from home.

This book would be a good introduction to teaching children about the home front during this time period. Children often connect well to other children. Reading about how other children lived through historical events can help children relate and connect to a topic. I'd love to see more books written in this style.

The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II

I've always been fascinated by the story of the British troops successful retreat from Dunkirk that only happened with the help of civilian boats and ships that risked it all to bring home the troops trapped at Dunkirk. It is a complicated tale to tell to children and once again Louise Borden tackles it quite effectively with a fictionalized account of a girl and her father's participation in The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II told from the daughter's perspective.

The storytelling has a poetic quality to it. The images are strong and powerful. One feels the tension, the drama, and the risk as the fisherman take to the seas to help rescue the soldiers trapped. While a fictionalized tale, the author based her story on solid research. The book begins with a foreword from a Royal Navy Lieutenant, Christopher Dreyer who commanded a Torpedo Boat during the evacuation. He speaks of Louise Borden making the pilgrimage with the Association of Little ships to Dunkirk in 1995 to get a better understanding of what the journey would have been like. Clearly nothing could recreate the war experience, but being there adds a layer not found in historical documents from the time.

World War II can be a challenging time period for younger readers, but I believe, Ms. Borden has provided context and a story that engages readers. The author's notes in the back provide some additional historical information for readers not familiar with the time period. It also is a strong story about a girl from the time period.

The Journey that Saved Curious George

While reviewing my history book list I realized it was time to expand my listings and explore more topics. I've always had an interest in World War II but it can be a complicated topic to address with children. The information can be hard to absorb. While searching for some age appropriate books on the subject I came across Louise Borden's The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Reyand thought it presented an interesting connection. Many children are already familiar with the character of Curious George. This book introduces them to the invasion of Paris during World War II and gently hints at the dangers that presented to those who were Jewish at the time, thus the need for the Rey's to flee.

In historical picture books I'm always looking for a balance of age appropriate material with accuracy. This book added another element in that on top of it being a historical event, it is also a biographical account of the Rey's life. This adds even more of a challenge for someone writing a picture book. It is quite a bit of information to disseminate in a picture book format. I think the author did a great job in providing that balance.

The book begins with the author discussing her own interest in tracking down the stories she'd heard over the years of the Rey's having to flee Paris on a bicycles to avoid the German invasion of France. However, she was frustrated because she couldn't find any details of the event. She set out to research and document as much of that experience as she could against a well set stage of historical events. The book places the reader at the scene following the Rey's on their journey presenting the urgency and danger without the horror that younger children might not be able to process. It is a good introduction that lays the foundation for information they will encounter later. It doesn't ignore the realities, but it accepts that younger readers are only going to be able to process so much of what happened. When they are older there are other books that can take them deeper into the story of what was happening in France and across Europe. This introduces them to the reality that many were trying to flee and only few were able to leave. The Rey's were some of the fortunate few who escaped.

I was a fan of Curious George as a child, but never had heard the escape journey of the Rey's. It adds an interesting depth to the Curious George stories. The book also discusses the evolution of George who began life as Fifi before becoming Americanized to George after the Rey's escaped with the manuscript during their flight from Paris.