As a middle school librarian, there are several ways I can tell if students really like a book. One way is when one student comes in with a book and says "My friend says I have to read this book, so I'm here to return this book for him/her, and check it out on my library number." So I check the book in, and then immediately check it out to the second student.
Such was the case recently with Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy. I purchased the book for our school library based on reviews in a professional journal, but hadn't yet had the opportunity to read it. Yellow Star is the fictionalized account of the author's aunt's childhood in Poland. Only four years old at the beginning of World War II, Syvvia and her family were forced by the Nazis into a Jewish ghetto in Lodz, Poland. Six years later, at war's end, Syvvia was one of only twelve children among the 800 survivors. This is an incredible tale of survival, a testament to the strength and determination of one family, and in particular, one little girl. The book concludes with an update on Syvvia and her family, and a timeline of World War II events. Yellow Star is definitely one of my top reads of the year. A must read!!
Other Holocaust books I recommend are Hana's Suitcase: A True Story by Karen Levine (non-fiction); Four Perfect Pebbles by Lila Perl and Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (autobiographies); and Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli and Torn Thread by Anne Isaacs (fiction), all available at the Central Middle School Library.
