Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust – by Doreen RappaportCandlewick Press, 2012 Today is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, on the Jewish calendar. It seems almost redundant to point out that high-quality educational materials for young readers about this tragedy are essential. Now, as fewer survivors are here to tell … Continue reading Yom HaShoah
Tag: history
Learning French with McDuff
McDuff Goes to School – written by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan JeffersHyperion Books for Children, 2001 If you have never read any of the picture books about McDuff, the little terrier who is adopted by a loving couple living in a charming village in the 1930s, you have missed a modern classic. They are … Continue reading Learning French with McDuff
A Different House, A Different Perspective
The Gift of the Great Buffalo – written by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Aly McKnightBloomsbury Children's Books Rose lives on the prairies, in a Métis-Obijwe indigenous community. Preparing for the buffalo hunt that will sustain her people, she is eager to actively take part. This elegant picture book takes place in the 1880s, and, like … Continue reading A Different House, A Different Perspective
80th Anniversary of Liberation of Auschwitz
Today, the New York Times published an important opinion piece by Ruth Franklin about Anne Frank. The singular tragedy referred to in her title is both her death, and the erasure of her Jewish identity in popular culture. Francine Prose’s book, Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife (2009) and Dara Horn’s chapter on … Continue reading 80th Anniversary of Liberation of Auschwitz
Family Stories and Food
Electra and the Charlotte Russe – written by Corinne Demas Bliss, illustrated by Michael GarlandBoyds Mills Press, 1997 When I was growing up in New York, the charlotte russe was a popular pastry, though the peak of its popularity was already gone by the post-World War II era. At the time, I wasn’t aware that … Continue reading Family Stories and Food