THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 1, 1995 TAG: 9508010042
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BARBARA BURNS
LENGTH: Long : 162 lines
Americans have paused often this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of events occurring toward the end of World War II. To help them share in this period of historical reflection, some outstanding books for children and young adults have been published that not only recall the events, but educate young people about world history.
V Is For Victory: America Remembers World War II (Alfred A. Knopf, $24), by Kathleen Krull, is an album of photographs, posters, letters, cartoons, maps and other memorabilia that commemorate the Allied victory. Beginning with events leading up to World War II and ending with some of the lasting effects of the war, this informative book brims over with details about Pearl Harbor, the home front, weapons, military personalities, the Holocaust, Japanese internment and much more. Youngsters will find the scrapbook format to be most appealing.
In 1943, 18 million women participated in the U.S. war effort by working in the manufacture of airplanes, guns, tanks and warships. In honor of these non-traditional heroes, Penny Colman has written Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II (Crown, $16), a documentary for ages 10-14 that highlights the significant contributions that women made. More than 60 black-and-white photographs, posters and advertisements add to this in-depth account of the changing role of women of that era. Norman Rockwell's painting of Rosie the Riveter, which appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on May 29, 1943, graces the cover of Colman's book, the only one ever written for children about American women and the war effort.
The child most identified with the Holocaust is Anne Frank, whose diary is undoubtedly the most famous diary ever written. Anne's life before her family went into hiding is revealed in Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary (Viking, $17). Authors Ruud van der Rol and Rian Verhoeven have compiled never-before-published photographs taken by Anne's father Otto Frank, as well as information about what happened to the diary and her family after the war. This photographic remembrance for all ages is a well-constructed tribute to an extraordinary life.
For a younger audience, ages 8-10, Child of the Warsaw Ghetto (Holiday House, $15.95), tells the story of the ghetto from the viewpoint of Froim Baum, born in Warsaw in 1936. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939 Froim was forced to move to the ghetto. A few years later he was sent to a death camp, but he managed to survive and was liberated in Dachau by U.S. soldiers. With this beautifully illustrated picture book, author David Adler expresses the hope that people will remember the millions who perished. Karen Ritz's drawings add daunting realism.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. In his gentle novella for children ages 9 to 13, ``Hiroshima'' (Scholastic, $9.95), Laurence Yep tells the story of the U.S. bomber, the Enola Gay, as it leaves the Pacific island of Tinian and heads for its target. That same morning, 12-year-old Sachi and her older sister, Riko, hurry off to school when suddenly they experience a blinding light and a giant boom. Yep handles an extremely controversial event with sensitivity.
In ``I Am An American: A True Story of Japanese Internment'' (Crown, $15), Jerry Stanley examines the plight of Japanese Americans as they were forced into isolation and imprisonment shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Stanley focuses on a young man named Shiro Nomura, a high school senior, whose life, disrupted by internment, would never be the same again. Based on personal interviews and recollections, ``I Am An American'' was recognized by the American Library Association as a 1994 ``Notable Book'' for its contribution to children ages 9 to 12.
One of the few new picture books available for this period is ``The Farm Summer 1942'' (Dial, $15.99). In the summer of '42 a young boy travels from California to a New Hampshire farm to stay with his grandparents while his father serves as a gunnery officer on a destroyer in the Pacific and his mother works on a secret government project in Manhattan. Distinguished poet and essayist Donald Hall writes a comforting portrayal of New England life a half-century ago; Barry Moser's intimate watercolors are the perfect accompaniment.
The war in Europe is the setting of two outstanding young-adult novels. Eve Bunting draws on personal experiences in her book, ``Spying on Miss Muller'' (Clarion, $13.95), set at a boarding school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Some students suspect that their German teacher, Miss Muller, is a Nazi agent and that she is sending signals to German planes about nighttime raids over Belfast. Bunting not only writes a good spy story for ages 11 to 14, but she is able to capture both the excitement and the fear that surely gripped many children during World War II.
``The Boys From St. Petri'' (Dutton, $14.99), by acclaimed Danish author Bjarne Reuter, is a highly suspenseful novel based on a true story. The German invasion of Denmark began in April 1940 with hardly a shot fired. The occupation was peaceful at first, until a group of boys in Aalborg began harassing German soldiers by stealing license plates and defacing posters. Their pranks led to increasingly dangerous protests and feats of sabotage. Written in 1991 and later translated into English, ``The Boys From St. Petri'' was recently made into a motion picture. Young adults ages 11 to 15 will find this novel engaging, a must-read for the summer.
``She Flew No Flags'' (Houghton Mifflin, $14.95) focuses on the Pacific theater and is based on the personal experiences of author Joan B. Manley. The novel, aimed at ages 9 to 12, revolves around 10-year-old Janet Baylor, who is leaving India in 1944 with her family aboard a troopship bound for California. While the ship travels secretly through dangerous waters, Janet's life on board becomes filled with danger, mystery and intrigue.
Numerous books deal with the Holocaust, but one of the best to introduce the subject is ``Tell Them We Remember: The Story of the Holocaust'' (Little, Brown, $19.95), by Susan D. Bachrach, for ages 12 and up. It was honored as a 1994 Notable Book for children. Bachrach, a member of the education department of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, illustrates events with a wealth of rarely seen black-and-white and color photographs from the museum exhibits. Interspersed throughout the text are photos of young Jews whose lives were drastically affected by the Nazi persecution.
In ``Hiding to Survive: Stories of Jewish Children Rescued From the Holocaust'' (Clarion, $15.95), Maxine B. Rosenberg compiles 14 firsthand accounts from Jews who, as children, were hidden in monasteries, convents, remote farms, closets, attics and cellars during the Holocaust. Their stories bespeak courage and a will to survive. A photograph of each of the survivors as a child is included as well as a recent one taken more than 50 years later. Young people ages 9 to 12 will find each story a compelling reminder of what must not be forgotten.
In ``The Shadow Children'' (Morrow, $14), a thought-provoking novel for ages 9 to 12, Etienne, a French boy, visits his beloved grandfather one summer after World War II near the French town of Mont Brulant. There, Etienne discovers children living in the woods. Initially his grandfather says he is imagining things, but later, as Etienne unravels the mystery, his grandfather reluctantly reveals a dark secret. The villagers sheltered hundreds of Jewish children during the war, but when the Nazis came, the townspeople feared for their own safety and stood by as the children were taken away. The ghosts of the children remain and so does the guilt that Etienne's grandfather and others cannot seem to resolve.
Karen Ackerman gives a sensitive introduction to the Holocaust in a chapter book for children ages 7 to 9 titled ``The Night Crossing'' (Alfred A. Knopf, $14). When the Nazis invade Austria in 1938, Clara's family is no longer safe. They must leave their homeland to find a haven in Switzerland, taking only what they can carry. Clara chooses two straw dolls that once belonged to her grandmother, never imagining that the old dolls will play a part in bringing her family to safety.
Two books on the Warsaw ghetto are particularly noteworthy. In ``Life in the Warsaw Ghetto'' (Lucent, $14.95), part of the ``The Way People Live'' series, Gail B. Stewart describes the starvation, overcrowding and disease that this Jewish community endured. She highlights eyewitness accounts, which add tremendous impact, and concludes with notes, a bibliography and a list of suggested reading.
David Adler and Karen Ritz have also collaborated on an excellent biography, ``A Picture Book of Anne Frank,'' (Holiday House, $14.95; paper, $5.95), as well as on ``Hilde and Eli'' (Holiday House, $15.95), a picture-book story about two children who are victims of the Holocaust. MEMO: Barbara Burns is a librarian in the Lower School at Norfolk.
ILLUSTRATION: Color illustrations
[Color book covers]
by CNB