December 22, 2014
An unnamed Jewish girl living in Paris fervently believes in angels—she need only look at the Gothic buildings around her to know they exist. Those angels seem “farther and farther away” after the Nazis force her family to flee, but she never loses hope that a protective power watches over her. Writing in a style resembling blank verse, Yolen conveys a hushed sense of urgency and momentum: “Aron and I learned to be quiet, to become shadows, how to turn invisible, sleeping all day long, waking only at night.” In her U.S. debut, British artist Green’s velvety textures and rounded shapes exude coziness and familiarity in Paris, taking on a somber beauty when the family enters a literal and figurative wilderness, hiding with partisans in a lush green forest, before escaping to Spain over snowy mountains. If the ending resolves a bit neatly—back in Paris, the girl’s father promptly resumes his old job at an observatory—the preceding pages convincingly portray a family tightly bound to one another, no matter how dire the circumstances. Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown.
January 1, 2015
A young Jewish girl and her family must flee when the Nazis march into Paris.Before the Nazis came, life was good. But when the "bad men came / in their brown shirts, guns in hands," everything changed. All Jews must wear yellow stars, Papa can no longer work, the family is forced from their home, and they are cursed in the streets. They leave the city to live in the woods, enduring hunger, cold and fear of capture. They embark on a long, arduous journey over the mountains to Spain and then across to England and loving relatives. The little girl is aware of the dangers and her parents' courage, and she remains steadfastly sure that a guardian angel is watching over them. When they return to Paris at the end of the war, there is a beautiful, monumental angel, surely the very one who had kept them safe, holding up the roof of their new apartment building. The girl narrates in an oddly dispassionate free-verse voice, so sure is she of the happy outcome for her family. Though an author's note provides additional information about the war and the Holocaust and the staggering number of deaths, it will be difficult for young readers to make the connection between the narrator's experience and the grim reality of the millions who perished. Green's mixed-media illustrations are appropriately dark and menacing. A different take on a difficult subject. (Picture book. 8-10)
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February 15, 2015
Grades 1-3 A girl remembers Nazi troops arriving in Paris and disrupting the happy life she has known. Her family flees, hiding in a forest with other Jews and foraging for food. When 10 of the men arm themselves and venture out and only 3 return, she knows that the others have flown off to be with the angels. Four years after her family crosses the mountains into Spain and takes a boat to England, the war ends. They return to Paris, where an angel statue seems to welcome the girl home. Though not always convincingly childlike, the graceful writing is poetic and often returns to the theme of angels. Using a subdued palette and soft textured effects, the mixed-media artwork creates an unusual sense of depth within the pictures. In an author's note, Yolen comments on historical subjects related to the story, such as Nazis, European freedom fighters, the Holocaust, and the angel statue in Paris. Children will feel the young narrator's hardships, but her family support and her faith lend warmth to this historical picture book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)