Nuggets of history are carefully burnished and buffed to a shine in three new children’s books.
Two gently present Nazi-era truths that are not well known to American youngsters. The other also ventures into largely unfamiliar terrain, retelling centuries-old Mideast and Eastern European folklore, as well as stories from written religious sources, about Jerusalem.
All the writers deserve credit for crafting works that should captivate young readers.
The beautifully illustrated “Luba, The Angel of Bergen-Belsen” is especially moving. The courageous feat of Luba Tryszynska-Frederick, as told to Michelle R. McCann, uplifts and inspires.
In the face of overwhelming odds, Luba — a Jewish internee who lost her husband and young son to the Nazis — takes it upon herself to save 54 children she finds “huddled together like lost ducklings” one night in a snow-covered field near her barracks. The Dutch children had been dumped from a truck after one of the drivers refused to shoot them. It was December 1944.
Through cunning and determination, Luba, who was allowed to move about as a nurse in the camp, managed to convince her bunkmates and a few key prisoners — a baker, a butcher, a cook — to conspire. This went on for months, until the camp was liberated in April 1945. Miraculously, in a death camp where more than half the 60,000 prisoners died of starvation or illness, 52 of the 54 children survived.
“Luba” is graced with soft-toned, oil-and-collage illustrations by Ann Marshall.
In an epilogue with pictures, McCann, who writes and teaches children’s literature at Portland State University, tells how the survivors reunited with their heroine in Amsterdam on the 50th anniversary of their liberation.
“Dreaming in Black & White,” by German author Reinhardt Jung, is a novel based on atrocities of 1930s Germany. Hannes Keller, a bright but disabled boy who must walk with a crutch and cannot speak clearly, is learning about the Holocaust in school. Dreaming night and day that he lives in that black period of history in his homeland, he is sometimes so immersed in the past that he only snaps to the present after having an epileptic seizure.
The story dwells on Hannes’ dream-friendship with the Jewish girl Hilde Rosenbaum, who is soon enough banished from school along with the other Jews — including their math teacher.
Besides the Nazis’ atrocious treatment of Jews, Jung also illuminates the persecution of disabled individuals such as Hannes. Rounded up and sent to “homes,” they faced an uncertain fate. In fact, several hundred thousand were put to death.
Jung also raises a thought-provoking point, through Hannes: “When I think about it, I’m not so sure I could be born today. There’s genetic testing now…
“Back then I’d probably have been killed.
“These days I ought not to exist at all.”
Both “Luba” and “Dreaming” are geared for ages 9 to 12. “Jerusalem of Gold: Jewish Stories of the Enchanted City” is written for younger children, ages 4 to 8. Howard Schwartz offers 11 enchanting tales about the holy city, plucking them from various sources: the Talmud, Baal Shem Tov and oral tradition from such countries as Italy, Spain, Iraq and Israel. Lovely illustrations by Neil Waldman add an ethereal quality that enhances the text.
The book begs to be read aloud, parent to child. Some of the stories are charming — especially “The Language of the Birds,” a 19th-century Eastern European parable about young Solomon, and “Challahs in the Ark,” from 16th-century Israel, a humor-laced fable about tzedakah.
Schwartz adds context to these tales by providing an introduction to the Old City of Jerusalem and explaining its significance to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Condensing history to fit a few pages, he discusses some of the important religious sites and biblical figures on which legends are based.
Wisely, in “Jerusalem of Gold” Schwartz reaches back to these beautiful, timeless stories to convey the wisdom of mankind, avoiding mention of the ugly fighting that tarnishes the city today.
“Dreaming in Black & White” by Reinhardt Jung (112 pages, Phyllis Fogelman Books, $15.99).
“Jerusalem of Gold: Jewish Stories of the Enchanted City” retold by Howard Schwartz (58 pages, Jewish Lights Publishing, $18.95).
“Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen” as told to Michelle R. McCann by Luba Tryszynska-Frederick (40 pages, Tricycle Press, $16.95).