A Bag of Marbles

Starred review from September 2, 2013
This marvelously conceived and executed graphic memoir, adapted from Joffo’s 1973 book of the same name, tells the story of four Jewish brothers who spend WWII hiding from Nazi soldiers in Vichy France. When the Germans arrive, the boys’ father sends them off in pairs to separate destinations, instructing them never to reveal their Jewish identities to anyone. The two younger boys, Jo (the author) and Maurice, travel from city to city, always one step ahead of arrest. Sometimes they’re saved by decent French citizens (“Oh, the children are with me,” says a priest, casually). More often, desperation makes the boys quick-witted, as when they persuade an interrogator that what appears to be circumcision is the result of surgery for adhesions. The brothers’ courage, Joffo makes clear in the story’s early pages, has its source in their father’s valor. He dies in the camps, but his wife and sons survive. Bailly’s artwork carries much of the story’s emotional impact—every character is drawn with care, and every scene is crammed with atmospheric detail. Not to be missed. Ages 12–up.

September 1, 2013

Gr 6-9-Ten years old at the start of the story, Joffo recalls his Jewish family planning their escape from Occupied France during World War II. Tension runs through the story as he and his brother set off on the long journey to the Free Zone, where they plan to meet up with their older brothers. Along the way the boys must hide their Jewish identity, evade train security, and find a passeur, or guide, to take them past guard posts and fences to safe territory. Readers are never allowed to forget the danger the boys are in as they encounter friends and foes and attempt to discern whom they can trust. Bailly's painterly artwork is well suited to the compelling, well-told narrative. Unfortunately, it is crowded on dense, dialogue-heavy and tightly packed pages, preventing readers to view more closely the detailed, layered artwork. This title will appeal to readers interested in memoirs about World War II and has enough action to hold their attention. It's a welcome addition to graphic-novel collections, but layout problems preclude it from being a must-have.-Liz Zylstra, County of Prince Edward Public Library, Picton, Ontario

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2013
Grades 6-10 This graphic-novel adaptation of Joffo's 1973 memoir of the same name succeeds in melding sensitive and accurate imagery with the original narrative flow of a young secular Jewish boy's experiences in occupied France. The story follows Jo, who could be brought to tears at the threat of losing his favorite marble, and his older brother Maurice as they are quickly ripped from childhood, thanks to the Nazi occupation of Paris, and head south alone, sent by their parents to relative safety in Free France with their two older brothers. Bailly's richly detailed watercolor art shows a wide variety of scenesfrom crowded train stations full of lurking German troops to the palm-lined seaside; from a Vichy camp to a Nazi interview roomas well as the dynamic expressions and postures of the characters. Among the increasing number of memoirs from aging Holocaust survivors, Joffo's story as it is adapted here is both accessible and thought-provoking for young readers who may be familiar only with Anne Frank's firsthand account of the loss of childhood to politics and war.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
In this graphic novel (adapted from Joffo's 1973 adult memoir), Jo and his brother Maurice stay one step ahead of the Nazis as they travel through southern France, hoping to reunite with their brothers near the Italian border. The book's relatively busy layout is balanced by Bailly's gorgeously detailed illustrations. A map of wartime France, a glossary, and an author's note are included.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2014
The opening scene in this graphic novel (adapted from Joffo's 1973 adult memoir of the same name) features the author at ten years old, crying over a lost marble. But for Jews in Nazi-occupied Paris, innocence is fleeting: two years later, the now-world-weary boy has much more to cry about as he observes, "The Nazis haven't taken my life away yet, but they've stolen my childhood." During those two years young Jo and his brother Maurice manage to stay one step ahead of the Germans, scurrying from one place to the next as they travel through southern France, hoping to reunite with their two grown brothers near the Italian border. Despite the tragedy and danger inherent in the wartime setting, it's not all gloom and doom. Jo and Maurice are likable, impressively resourceful boys--no matter the city or town, the brothers forge fast friendships, flashing impish grins as they plan their next scheme. The book's relatively busy layout is balanced by Bailly's gorgeously detailed illustrations--one can almost smell the sea air as the brothers bum around the coastal town of Menton. A map of France during the war, a glossary, and an author's note are included in this welcome addition to the rich Holocaust literary canon. sam bloom

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)