B O O K L I S T

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© 2018 Lynn Jackson, Holocaust Education Trust IrelandClifton House, Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 02 XT91, Ireland

T: + 353 1 6690593 E: info@hetireland.org www.hetireland.org

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means without permission in writing.This material has been produced with support from the Teacher Education Section of the Department of Education and Skills, Ireland

This material has been produced with support from the Teacher Education Section of the Department of Education and Skills, Ireland

Co-funded by the Europe for Citizens programme of the European Union

Clifton House, Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

Tel: +353 1 6690593 Email: info@hetireland.org Website: www.hetireland.org

Kunsill Lokali QrendiQrendi Local Council

Eko Centru Qrendi Qrendi Eco Center

COMUNA VICTORIA

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There are very many books written about the horrors of the SecondWorld War and the Jewish children who lived and died during it. Someare stories like Anne Frank’s. Some tell of survivors and refugees, someare about the brave people who tried to help. Most are based on truestories. The Nazis persecuted the Jews and they also persecuted others:black people, homosexuals, Roma and people with disabilities. Writers,journalists, socialists, trade unionists and political opponents to the Naziregime were also targeted.

There are several listings of books about the Holocaust suitable forchildren. The following are useful points of contact for lists and guides:

• Public librarieswww.askaboutireland.ie/libraries

• Children’s books Irelandwww.childrensbooksireland.com

• International Board on Books for Young Peoplewww.ibbyireland.ie

Every country participating in The Crocus Project will have its ownrecommended reading list.

The books on this reading list refer specifically to the Holocaust.Teachers are strongly advised to read all books before reading them inthe classroom and to add their own selections to the list.

The Crocus Project – Booklist

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2 The Crocus Project – Booklist

Other editions of the diary are also available.

A Friend Called Anne by Jacqueline Van MaarsenEdited by Carol Ann Lee, Puffin Books, 2004 (Age 11+)This is the true story of two best friends, one ofwhom was Anne Frank. Jacqueline van Maarsengives a fascinating and moving account of herfriendship with Anne and describes how she andher own family lived through the Nazi occupation.

Eva’s Story: Survivor’s Tale by the stepsister ofAnne Frank by Evelyn Julia Kent and EvaSchloss, Castle-Kent, 1999 (Age 12+)A refugee in 1938, betrayed and arrested in 1944,Eva was 15 years old when she was sent toAuschwitz – the same age as Anne Frank – onlynow, over 40 years later, has Eva felt able to tellher story.

Hannah Goslar Remembers Bloomsbury (Age 11)Hannah and her best friend, Anne Frank, lived arelatively normal girlhood – going to school, playingin the park and growing up. Until one day, Annedisappeared and Hannah and her family began torealise that everything was changing around them. Inthis profoundly moving book, we are told of thehardships of living through the Second World War, ofthe struggle for daily survival and finally of thenightmare of deportation to a concentration camp –where Hannah was once more to meet up with Anne.

The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank by WillyLindwer, Macmillan, 2000 (Age 14+)An account of what happened to Anne betweenher arrest in August 1944 until her death sevenmonths later. This book contains the eyewitnesstestimony of six Jewish female survivors whodescribe Anne’s ordeals as she was transported toWesterbork, Auschwitz, and finally, Bergen-Belsen.

Other Books about Anne Frank

In 1944, Gerrit Bolkestein, a member of the Dutch government in exile,announced in a radio broadcast from London that after the war he hoped tocollect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under theGerman occupation, which could be made available to the public. As an example,he specifically mentioned letters and diaries. The broadcast was heard by a youngJewish girl called Anne Frank, who was hiding with her family and friends in asecret annexe in Amsterdam. She had been keeping a diary of her experiencessince they first went into hiding in 1942.

Anne thinks this is a brilliant idea and writes “Just imagine how interesting it would be if I were to publish anovel about the Secret Annexe!” In May 1944, the idea of this novel takes on serious form: “At long last after agreat deal of reflection I have started my Achterhuis (Secret Annexe), in my head it is as good as finished,although it won’t go as quickly as that, if it ever comes off at all”.

The diary of Anne Frank was found in the Secret Annexe after the family wasarrested and was kept carefully by Miep Gies, one of the people who helpedthe family. Miep handed the diary back to Otto Frank, together with Anne’snotebooks and loose sheets of paper, when he returned to Amsterdam.

The diary continues to be read by millions of people all over the world.

The Diary of a Young Girl: Definitive Edition by Anne FrankTranslated by Susan Massotty, Puffin Books, 2002 (Age 11+)

Anne Frank’s Diary

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3The Crocus Project – Booklist

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit byJudith Kerr, Collins, 2005 (Age 10+)Anna’s father is wanted by the Nazis –dead or alive – and one day hedisappears. Then she and her brotherMax are rushed by their mother, inalarming secrecy, away from everythingthey knew – home and schoolmatesand well-loved toys – right out ofGermany.

Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine, EvansBrothers, 2003 (Age 10+)In March 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children’sHolocaust Education Centre in Tokyo. It belongedto an orphan girl called Hana Brady. Everyone wasdesperate to discover the story of Hana – whowas she? What had happened to her? This is hertrue story.

Hitler’s Canary by Sandi Toksvig, Doubleday,2005 (Age 10+)This is the story of one of history’s most dramaticrescues – smuggling Denmark’s Jewishpopulation across the water to Sweden, andsafety. Many of the characters are based on theauthor’s own family, including her father, Bamse,and the book was inspired by the stories he toldto her.

The Good Liar by Gregory Maguire, TheO’Brien Press, 2002 (Age 10+) Set in wartime France, this touching novel tellsthe story of Marcel and his brothers Rene andPierre, who befriend a German soldier during thelife-changing summer of 1940. Then Uncle Antonbrings a woman and her young daughter to stayand suddenly everything changes, as the threat ofthe German army looms closer.

Odette's Secrets by Maryann Macdonald,Bloomsbury USA, 2013 (Age 10+)A fictional story inspired by the life of OdetteMeyer, a young Jewish girl living in Nazi occupiedParis, and the many secrets she learns to keep.Odette knows that her Jewish identity must behidden and that she must never tell anyone abouther mother’s resistance activities. She issmuggled into the French countryside where shelearns quickly how to hide her Jewish identity.When the war ends, can Odette return to her oldlife?

No Stars at the Circus by Mary Finn, WalkerBooks 2014 (Age 10+)Ten-year old Jonas Albers lives in Paris with hisparents and younger sister Nadia, who is deaf.While he is staying with friends (the Carradofamily working in the circus), his family areeventually deported to the East. It is no longersafe for Jonas to stay with his circus friends and heis smuggled into the Professor’s house. While inhiding Jonas keeps a diary about his experiences.

The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossiblebecame Possible by Leon Leyson, AtheneumBooks for Young Readers, 2012 (Age 11+)An account of one child’s survival during theHolocaust as No. 289 on Schindler’s list. Born LeibLejzon, in Krakow, Leon was only 10 years old whenthe Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forcedto relocate to the ghetto. At thirteen he and his otherfamily members found refuge at Oskar Schindler’sEnamel factory. He was so small Schindler called him‘Little Leyson’ and he had to stand on a wooden boxto operate the factory’s machinery.

Faraway Home by Marilyn Taylor, The O’BrienPress, 1999 (reprinted) (Age 11+) Teachingguide available free on www.obrien.ie/schoolsKarl and his sister Rosa, young Jews who escapethe Nazi terror on a Kindertransport, are forced toleave their family behind. After frighteningexperiences and a harrowing journey, they find ahaven at a refugee farm at Millisle, County Down,in Northern Ireland. The devastating Belfast Blitzof 1941 provides the climax to this story, which isbased on true events.

Rose Blanche by Ian McEwan, Illustrated byRoberto Innocenti, Red Fox, 2004 (Age 10+)Rose Blanche, (Weiße Rose or White Rose), was thename of a group of young German citizens who, attheir peril, protested against the war. Rose is also thelittle girl in this picture book, who watches as the streetsof her small German town fill with soldiers. When shediscovers a place where children are imprisoned,staring hungrily from behind an electric barbed wirefence, she starts bringing them food. An incrediblypowerful visual image of the horrors of the Holocaust.

Surviving Hitler by Andrea Warren, Hodder (Age 12+)It is 1942. Fifteen-year-old Jack Mandelbaum hasjust arrived at a Nazi concentration Camp. Torn fromhis family, he now faces disease, starvation and theinsane brutality of the Holocaust. The harrowingtrue story…as told by Jack himself.

Other Holocaust Stories

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One Small Suitcase by Barry Turner, PuffinBooks (Age 12+)The true story of the Kindertransport children whowere rescued from Nazi Germany and brought toEngland to start a new life. It has been speciallyadapted for children by Barry Turner from hishighly acclaimed book, And the Policeman Smiled.

The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow,Harper Collins Press, 2011 (Age 12+)Set in 1930’s Berlin, fourteen-year-old Karl Sternnever thought of himself as a Jew, his family arenot religious and he has never been to asynagogue. Nonetheless, he is relentlessly bullied,beaten and humiliated at school by his classmatesbecause of his ‘religion’. When Max Schmeling,champion boxer and German national hero,makes a deal with Karl’s father to give Karl boxinglessons, he can now learn to protect himself fromhis tormentors. Inspired by the true story ofGerman heavy weight champion MaxSchmeling’s experiences following Kristallnacht.

The Extra by Kathryn Lasky, CandlewickPress, 2013 (Age 12+)Fifteen-year-old Lilo is from a Sinti family living inVienna during World War II. One day her family ispicked up by the police as part of a policy to ‘cleanup the Gypsy plague’. However, (real life) famousGerman film director, Leni Riefenstahl choosesLilo to work as a film extra on a new movie she ismaking in Spain. She treats Lilo and the otherRoma extras appallingly. Lilo takes her life into herown hands and attempts to escape the fate of theRoma and Sinti people during the War.

August ’44 by Carlo Gébler , Egmont Books,2003 (Age 13+) Sheltering from the Nazis in a hidden caveduring the last days of the Second World War,Saul listens with his family as Claude passes onthe stories of the Golem of Prague, a man madeof mud who protected Prague’s Jews in thesixteenth century. But in the last days of the war,there’s no protection for the Jews hiding fromtheir enemies. His parents are killed by retreatingsoldiers and Saul is utterly alone in the world. Butone person from the cave remains.

Once by Morris Gleitzman, Puffin Books,2005 (Age 12+)Once a gifted, honest and unsentimentalauthor wrote a moving account that did notflinch from the truth of what life really was likefor Jewish children and their families in Nazi-

occupied Europe and infused it with hope,humour and great humanity. For youngerreaders dreadful events are revealed gradually,and with great compassion; for those of usalready familiar with the almost unimaginablehorror that was the Holocaust, it is a timelyreminder of what happens when bigotry andprejudice go unchecked.

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman,Penguin, 2003 (Graphic Novel) (Age 14+)The story of Vladek Spiegelman and his wife,living and surviving in Hitler’s Europe. Byaddressing the horror of the Holocaustthrough cartoons, the author captures theeveryday reality of fear and is able to explorethe guilt, relief and extraordinary sensation ofsurvival – and how the children of survivors arein their own way affected by the trials of theirparents. A contemporary classic ofimmeasurable significance.

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz, Scholastic,2013 (Age 14+) Yanek Gruener is a ten-year-old Jewish boyliving in Krakow in 1939. Under Germanoccupation life becomes more and moredifficult for the city’s Jews, schools close toJewish children, food rationing is introducedand slowly walls are erected around the city tocreate a ghetto. One-day Yanek’s family isdeported and he is left to survive on his own.In 1942 he is finally captured and is tattooedwith the number B-3087 at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He experiences horror andhumiliation in his daily fight for survival there.Based on the true story of Auschwitz campsurvivor Jack Gruener.

The Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse,Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2016(Age 14+) Set in Amsterdam 1943, Hanneke is a youngwoman who spends her time finding anddelivering black market goods to her manyclients. This is very dangerous work but feelslike a small act of rebellion against the Nazis.She is also grieving the death of her boyfriendkilled on the Dutch front lines during theGerman invasion. One day a client asksHanneke if she can help locate a missing Jewishteenager who has disappeared without a tracefrom a secret hiding place? Hanneke is soondrawn into the mystery of what happened tothe young Jewish girl who vanished.

The Crocus Project – Booklist

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© 2018 Lynn Jackson, Holocaust Education Trust IrelandClifton House, Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 02 XT91, Ireland

T: + 353 1 6690593 E: info@hetireland.org www.hetireland.org

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means without permission in writing.This material has been produced with support from the Teacher Education Section of the Department of Education and Skills, Ireland

This material has been produced with support from the Teacher Education Section of the Department of Education and Skills, Ireland

Co-funded by the Europe for Citizens programme of the European Union

Clifton House, Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

Tel: +353 1 6690593 Email: info@hetireland.org Website: www.hetireland.org

Kunsill Lokali QrendiQrendi Local Council

Eko Centru Qrendi Qrendi Eco Center

COMUNA VICTORIA

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