Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued


Book Description

A Finalist for the 2022 Jane Addams Children's Book Award An NPR Best Book of 2021 A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2021 A Washington Post Best Book of 2021 A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2021 A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of 2021 In December 1938, a young Englishman canceled a ski vacation and went instead to Prague to help the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Nazis who were crowded into the city. Setting up a makeshift headquarters in his hotel room, Nicholas Winton took names and photographs from parents desperate to get their children out of danger. He raised money, found foster families in England, arranged travel and visas, and, when necessary, bribed officials and forged documents. In the frantic spring and summer of 1939, as the Nazi shadow fell over Europe, he organized the transportation of almost 700 children to safety. Then, when the war began and no more children could be rescued, he put away his records and told no one. It was only fifty years later that a chance discovery and a famous television appearance brought Winton’s actions to light. Peter Sís weaves Winton’s experiences and the story of one of the children he saved, Vera Gissing. Nicky & Vera is a tale of decency, action, and courage told in luminous, poetic images by an internationally renowned artist.




Nicky & Vera


Book Description

A Finalist for the 2022 Jane Addams Children's Book Award An NPR Best Book of 2021 A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2021 A Washington Post Best Book of 2021 A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2021 A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of 2021 In December 1938, a young Englishman canceled a ski vacation and went instead to Prague to help the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Nazis who were crowded into the city. Setting up a makeshift headquarters in his hotel room, Nicholas Winton took names and photographs from parents desperate to get their children out of danger. He raised money, found foster families in England, arranged travel and visas, and, when necessary, bribed officials and forged documents. In the frantic spring and summer of 1939, as the Nazi shadow fell over Europe, he organized the transportation of almost 700 children to safety. Then, when the war began and no more children could be rescued, he put away his records and told no one. It was only fifty years later that a chance discovery and a famous television appearance brought Winton’s actions to light. Peter Sís weaves Winton’s experiences and the story of one of the children he saved, Vera Gissing. Nicky & Vera is a tale of decency, action, and courage told in luminous, poetic images by an internationally renowned artist.




Nicholas Winton and the Rescued Generation


Book Description

"For half a century these children, now dispersed and in their sixties and seventies, were unaware of the person to whom they owed their lives. To Winton, it was 'just a job'. Even his wife knew nothing of what is undoubtably his greatest achievement, until 1988, when clearing out the attic she came across documentation relating to the episode. From that moment, Winton's life was never the same again.".




Escape


Book Description

CLING. Don’t let go. Hold tight. Never give up. FLY. Rev up. Lift off. Soar. PEDAL. Set off. Cycle. Pedal for your life. Throughout history, ordinary people have been forced to leave their families and homes because of war, famine, slavery, intolerance, economic and political upheaval, or climate change. These remarkable true stories of escape show how courageous people all around the world have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their flight to freedom. "An arresting collection of deep, accessible stories of people on the move"—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED "A remarkable and beautifully illustrated book which helps children understand what it’s like to be in someone else shoes. The extraordinary achievement is that it is still such a delight to read"—Emily Maitlis, BBC newsreader "A compelling and inspiring book that contains an array of personal accounts of heroic value, many of which aren’t included in elementary school textbooks. This will undoubtedly be an invaluable resource for educators and students alike"—Manhattan Book Review, 5 STARS "Highly recommended for ages 9 to 80!”—Reading Pebbles "Both inspirational and moving. The outcome of each story is full of hope with a focus on positive achievements and outcomes without making light of the difficulties faced"—North Somerset Teachers' Book Awards




Into the Arms of Strangers


Book Description

The story of what it was like to grow up Jewish in Nazi Germany, to escape danger and fear, and also to leave family and friends, on the British Kindertransport scheme. Among the voices we hear are those of two of the organisers, an English foster mother, and 13 surviving children.




Escape


Book Description

Seven-year-old Paul's world is shattered when the Germans bombed his Polish town at the outset of WWII. He braced for what was ahead: *2 years under Russian occupation *Being forced into a Jewish ghetto for over a year *Escaping through the barbed wire hours before the ghetto was liquidated and watching as 13,000 inmates were sent to Auschwitz *Months hiding in a potato shed in a field during winter *2 years alone, wandering in German-occupied Poland, working on farms while hiding from the Nazis. Only thirteen when the war was over, it took Paul a lifetime to piece together the story of his family's suffering during those six brutal years, the Holocaust. This tale of a Jewish child's brave struggle with war and racism is one of horror and of hope.




The Minsk Ghetto 1941-1943


Book Description

Drawing from engrossing survivors' accounts, many never before published, The Minsk Ghetto 1941-1943 recounts a heroic yet little-known chapter in Holocaust history. In vivid and moving detail, Barbara Epstein chronicles the history of a Communist-led resistance movement inside the Minsk ghetto, which, through its links to its Belarussian counterpart outside the ghetto and with help from others, enabled thousands of ghetto Jews to flee to the surrounding forests where they joined partisan units fighting the Germans. Telling a story that stands in stark contrast to what transpired across much of Eastern Europe, where Jews found few reliable allies in the face of the Nazi threat, this book captures the texture of life inside and outside the Minsk ghetto, evoking the harsh conditions, the life-threatening situations, and the friendships that helped many escape almost certain death. Epstein also explores how and why this resistance movement, unlike better known movements at places like Warsaw, Vilna, and Kovno, was able to rely on collaboration with those outside ghetto walls. She finds that an internationalist ethos fostered by two decades of Soviet rule, in addition to other factors, made this extraordinary story possible.




The Little Refugee


Book Description

Anh Do's inspirational story about his family's incredible escape from war-torn Vietnam and his childhood in Australia, told especially for children.




The Edelweiss Pirates


Book Description

A group of boys in Nazi Germany shows resistance by enjoying and playing jazz music. Back matter explains the real Edelweiss Pirates, a brave corps of some 5,000 teenagers who defied Nazi Germany and the Hitler Youth.




Mary Anning's Curiosity


Book Description

The amazing story of how the world’s greatest fossilist found her first huge find at the age of twelve. Mary was born in 1799 in Lyme Regis, England. Her father, a carpenter and part-time fossil hunter, taught his children to look for fossils. When her father injured himself and was unable to work, Mary quit school and took up fossil hunting full-time to help support her family, a task that became even more important when her father died, leaving the Annings in debt. At the age of twelve, Mary, with her older brother Joe, found what they believed to be the skeleton of a gigantic crocodile, the Great Croc of the legends. Between dodging her rival fossil hunter the Curiman, and the sheer work of carefully digging out the fossil, Mary took almost a year to excavate what would later be termed the Ichthyosaurus. Mary Anning was uneducated, poor and a woman, but her life’s work of fossil hunting led her to make many discoveries that influenced our understanding of prehistoric creatures and the age of the Earth. In this triumphant novel about scientific discovery, Monica Kulling brings Mary Anning and her world to life for young readers. Key Text Features author's note historical context resources facts further reading