Lois Lowry

the Holocaust

helping others

World War II

rescues and rescuing

As the German troops begin their campaign to “relocate” all the Jews of Denmark, Annemarie Johansen’s family takes in Annemarie’s best friend, Ellen Rosen, and conceals her as part of the family.

Through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.

Number the Stars

John Boyne

curiosity

prisoners of war

Berlin 1942 When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance. But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences. From the Hardcover edition.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

books and reading

connecting with others

The extraordinary #1 “New York Times” bestseller that will be in movie theaters on November 15, 2013, Markus Zusak’s unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist-books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of “I Am the Messenger, “ has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

The Book Thief

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 

spies

singing

From the Newbery Honor and Schneider Award-winning author of The War that Saved My Life comes For Freedom, the thrilling true story of one of France’s youngest spies during World War II and perfect for fans of Code Name Verity and The Diary of Anne Frank.  Suzanne David’s everyday life is suddenly shattered in 1940 when a bomb drops on the main square of her hometown, the city of Cherbourg, France, killing a pregnant neighbor right in front of her. Until then the war had seemed far away, not something that would touch her or her teenage friends. Now Suzanne’s family is kicked out onto the street as German soldiers take over their house as a barracks. Suzanne clings to the one thing she really loves–singing. Her voice is so amazing that she is training to become an opera singer. As Suzanne travels around for rehearsals, cosume fittings, or lessons, she learns more about what the Nazis are doing and about the people who are disappearing. Her travels are noticed by someone else, an organizer of the French Resistance. Soon Suzanne is a secret courier, a spy fighting for France and risking her own life for freedom. [STAR] This taut, engrossing World War II novel instantly immerses readers, …[but] the real focus, however, is the skin-crawling suspense story about one of France’s youngest spies. Each chapter brings new intrigue and often shocking revelations…resonat[ing] with authenticity, excitement, and heart.-Booklist, Starred[STAR] This suspenseful novel, …based on a true story, moves swiftly into action…Filled, but not laden, with the events of the war, and peppered with French language and the culture of music, this novel will appeal to readers who enjoy history and espionage.-SLJ, Starred [STAR] Based on Bradley’s interviews with the real Suzanne, this is an exciting account of a girl’s coming of age in a scary time. The historical context is neatly woven into the story.-Kirkus Reviews, Starred The action will have readers on the edge through the tense conclusion, and the epilogue is not to be missed.-The Bulletin A highly compelling look at the covert battle for freedom.-Publishers Weekly An IRA Teachers’ ChoiceAn ALA Amelia Bloomer SelectionA VOYA Top Shelf Fiction SelectionA New York Public Library Book PickA Bank Street College Best Book of the Year

For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy

ethnic relations

trials and hardships

For almost fifty years, Anne Frank’s diary has moved millions with its testament to the human spirit’s indestructibility, but readers have never seen the full text of this beloved book–until now. This new translation, performed by Winona Ryder, restores nearly one third of Anne’s entries excised by her father in previous editions, revealing her burgeoning sexuality, her stormy relationship with her mother, and more.

The Diary of a Young Girl

Jane Yolen

time travel

survival stories

30th Anniversary edition with a new introduction from the author  Hannah is tired of holiday gatherings-all her family ever talks about is the past. In fact, it seems to her that’s what they do every Jewish holiday. But this year’s Passover Seder will be different-Hannah will be mysteriously transported into the past . . . and only she knows the unspeakable horrors that await. Winner of the National Jewish Book Award A triumphantly moving book. –Kirkus Reviews, starred review

The Devil's Arithmetic

Leon Leyson

empathy

Traces the story of Holocaust survivor Leon Leyson, who was the youngest child in his family and possibly the youngest of the hundreds of Jews rescued by Oskar Schindler.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

Liz Kessler

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Emily Windsnap series, Liz Kessler, comes a “brutally honest and totally believable” (Booklist, starred review) story of three young friends whose fates are intertwined during the devastation of the Holocaust–based on a true story. Three friends. One memory.  Vienna. 1936.  Three young friends–Leo, Elsa, and Max–spend a perfect day together, unaware that around them Europe is descending into a growing darkness and that they will soon be cruelly ripped apart from one another. With their lives taking them across Europe–to Germany, England, Prague, and Poland–will they ever find their way back to one another? Will they want to? Inspired by a true story, When the World Was Ours is an extraordinary novel that is as powerful as it is heartbreaking and that shows how the bonds of love, family, and friendship allow glimmers of hope to flourish, even in the most hopeless of times.

When the World Was Ours

Amalia Hoffman

Chiara Fedele

Once a skinny and weak child, Gino Bartali rose to become a Tour de France champion and one of cycling’s greatest stars. But all that seemed unimportant when his country came under the grip of a brutal dictator and entered World War II on the side of Nazi Germany. Bartali might have appeared a mere bystander to the harassment and hatred directed toward Italy’s Jewish people, but secretly he accepted a role in a dangerous plan to help them. Putting his own life at risk, Bartali used his speed and endurance on a bike to deliver documents Jewish people needed to escape harm. His inspiring story reveals how one person could make a difference against violence and prejudice during the time of the Holocaust.

The Brave Cyclist

Emma Carlson Berne

Matt Forsyth

history

In the late summer and early fall of 1938, ten-year-old Ruth Block, along with her father, mother, and best friend, Miriam, must navigate the increasing pressure placed on the Jewish population in Frankfurt, Germany. Ruth grows more worried by the day. Her father’s stationery store is shut down; she and Miriam are belittled on the street; their school is closed. Then one night in November, the family’s apartment is broken into. Ruth’s father is dragged into the square and arrested, along with hundreds of other Jewish men. Ruth, her family, her friends, and her community struggle to survive the fiery night and the terrifying, uncertain future ahead of them. Featuring nonfiction support material, a glossary, and reader response questions, this Girls Survive story takes readers to Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, one of history’s most important moments.

Ruth and the Night of Broken Glass

Isabel Thomas

Paola Escobar

Anne Frank was an ordinary girl living in extraordinary times. Forced to go into hiding to escape the Nazis’ persecution of Jews in World War II, Anne kept a diary that would become one of the most famous books in the world. 

Meet one of history’s most inspiring figures in this beautifully-illustrated guide to her amazing life. 

From artists to aviators and scientists to revolutionaries, Little Guides to Great Lives is a brand new series of small-format guides introducing children to the most inspirational figures from history in a fun, accessible way.

Anne Frank (Little Guides to Great Lives)

Myron Uhlberg

Carolyn Arcabascio

Grandpa was never bar mitzvahed; it was wartime, and life was difficult. It’s been a regret his whole life. Many years later, it’s his grandson’s time to go through the Jewish ritual of coming of age. The father suggests that they be bar mitzvahed together. They study together, recite together, and celebrate together.

The Bar Mitzvah Boys

Jeff Gottesfeld

Peter McCarty

Told from the perspective of the tree outside Anne Frank’s window—and illustrated by a Caldecott Honor artist—this book introduces her story in a gentle and incredibly powerful way to a young audience.

The tree in the courtyard was a horse chestnut. Her leaves were green stars; her flowers foaming cones of white and pink. Seagulls flocked to her shade. She spread roots and reached skyward in peace.

The tree watched a little girl, who played and laughed and wrote in a diary. When strangers invaded the city and warplanes roared overhead, the tree watched the girl peek out of the curtained window of the annex. It watched as she and her family were taken away—and when her father returned after the war, alone.

The tree died the summer Anne Frank would have turned eighty-one, but its seeds and saplings have been planted around the world as a symbol of peace. Its story, and Anne’s story, are beautifully told and illustrated in this powerful picture book.

The Tree in the Courtyard: Looking Through Anne Frank's Window

Pam Muñoz Ryan

music

prophecies

2016 Newbery Honor Book  
New York Times Bestseller

An impassioned, uplifting, and virtuosic tour de force from a treasured storyteller!  

Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica.

Decades later, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each, in turn, become interwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together. And ultimately, pulled by the invisible thread of destiny, their suspenseful solo stories converge in an orchestral crescendo.

Richly imagined and masterfully crafted, Echo pushes the boundaries of genre, form, and storytelling innovation to create a wholly original novel that will resound in your heart long after the last note has been struck.

Echo

Alan Gratz

Survive. At any cost.10 concentration camps. 10 different places where you are starved, tortured, and worked mercilessly. It’s something no one could imagine surviving. But it is what Yanek Gruener has to face. As a Jewish boy in 1930s Poland, Yanek is at the mercy of the Nazis who have taken over. Everything he has, and everyone he loves, have been snatched brutally from him. And then Yanek himself is taken prisoner – his arm tattooed with the words PRISONER B-3087. He is forced from one nightmarish concentration camp to another, as World War II rages all around him. He encounters evil he could have never imagined, but also sees surprising glimpses of hope amid the horror. He just barely escapes death, only to confront it again seconds later. Can Yanek make it through the terror without losing his hope, his will – and, most of all, his sense of who he really is inside? Based on an astonishing true story.

Prisoner B-3087

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, author of Making Bombs for Hitler, explores the bonds of friendship and family against the perilous backdrop of war.In the grip of World War II, Maria has realized that her Nazi-occupied Ukrainian town is no longer safe. Though she and her family might survive, her friend Nathan, who is Jewish, is in grave danger. So Maria and Nathan flee – into the heart of Hitler’s Reich in Austria. There, they hope to hide in plain sight by blending in with other foreign workers. But their plans are disrupted when they are separated, sent to work in different towns. With no way to communicate with Nathan, how can Maria keep him safe? And will they be able to escape Hitler’s web of destruction?

Trapped in Hitler's Web

Inspired by her blockbuster phenomenon Wonder, R. J. Palacio makes her graphic novel debut with an unforgettable, Sydney Taylor Book Award-winning story of the power of kindness and unrelenting courage in a time of war.  “I was captivated by White Bird. It tells the hardest truths with honesty and calm (so that young readers can hear them). R.J. Palacio brings to life the nature of heroism and the real risks we face today.” –Meg Medina, Newbery award-winning author of Mercy Suarez Changes Gears In R. J. Palacio’s bestselling collection of stories Auggie &amp;amp;amp; Me, which expands on characters in Wonder, readers were introduced to Julian’s grandmother, Grandmère. Here, Palacio makes her graphic novel debut with Grandmère’s heartrending story: how she, a young Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II; how the boy she and her classmates once shunned became her savior and best friend. Sara’s harrowing experience movingly demonstrates the power of kindness to change hearts, build bridges, and even save lives. As Grandmère tells Julian, “It always takes courage to be kind, but in those days, such kindness could cost you everything.” With poignant symbolism and gorgeous artwork that brings Sara’s story out of the past and cements it firmly in this moment in history, White Bird is sure to captivate anyone who was moved by the book Wonder or the blockbuster movie adaptation and its message. Praise for Wonder #1 New York Times bestsellerUSA Today bestsellerTime Magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time “In a wonder of a debut, Palacio has written a crackling page-turner filled with characters you can’t help but root for.” –Entertainment Weekly “Rich and memorable.” –The New York Times “A beautiful, funny and sometimes sob-making story of quiet transformation.” –The Wall Street Journal

White Bird

Karen Hesse

Wendy Watson

Newbery medalist Karen Hesse tells a harrowing, true story about life in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII.When Karen Hesse came upon a short article about cats out-foxing the Gestapo at the train station in Warsaw during WWII, she couldn’t get the story out of her mind. The result is this stirring account of a Jewish girl’s involvement in the Resistance. At once terrifying and soulful, this fictional account, borne of meticulous research, is a testament to history and to our passionate will to survive, as only Newbery Medalist Karen Hesse can write it.

Cats in Krasinski Square

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler meets Chasing Vermeer in this clever middle grade debut When Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing alcohol on her late grandfather’s painting, she discovers what seems to be an old Renaissance masterpiece underneath. That’s great news for Theo, who’s struggling to hang onto her family’s two-hundred-year-old townhouse and support her unstable mother on her grandfather’s legacy of $463. There’s just one problem: Theo’s grandfather was a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen. With the help of some unusual new friends, Theo’s search for answers takes her all around Manhattan, and introduces her to a side of the city–and her grandfather–that she never knew. To solve the mystery, she’ll have to abandon her hard-won self-reliance and build a community, one serendipitous friendship at a time. “Uniquely readable, entirely charming, and a pleasure from start to finish. Debuts this good are meant to be discovered.” –SLJ Fuse 8 Blog “Riveting from start to finish.” –BookPage

Under the Egg

An instant New York Times bestseller! “Internment sets itself apart…terrifying, thrilling and urgent.”–Entertainment Weekly Rebellions are built on hope.Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the camp’s Director and his guards.Heart-racing and emotional, Internment challenges readers to fight complicit silence that exists in our society today.

Internment

Judith Kerr

Based on the gripping real-life story of the author, this poignant, suspenseful middle-grade novel has been a favorite for over forty years. Perfect for Holocaust Remembrance Month. Anna is not sure who Hitler is, but she sees his face on posters all over Berlin. Then one morning, Anna and her brother awake to find her father gone! Her mother explains that their father has had to leave and soon they will secretly join him. Anna just doesn’t understand. Why do their parents keep insisting that Germany is no longer safe for Jews like them? Because of Hitler, Anna must leave everything behind.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

Newbery Honor Book - ALA Notable Book - An SLJ Best Book - A Jane Addams Award Honor Book - Winner of the Jewish Book Council Children’s Book AwardA classic WWII survivor story based on award-winning author Johanna Reiss’s own childhood during the Holocaust. Now with a beautiful new cover and revised author’s note.When the German army occupied Holland in 1940, Annie was only eight years old. Because she was Jewish, the occupation put her in grave danger. Most people thought the war wouldn’t last long, but Annie knew that if she wanted to stay alive, she would have to go into hiding.Fortunately, a Gentile family, the Oostervelds, offered refuge to Annie and her older sister, Sini. For two years they hid in the cramped upstairs room of the Oostervelds’s remote farmhouse. There, Annie and Sini would struggle to hold on to hope–separated from their family and confined to one tiny room–as a frightful and seemingly endless war raged on outside their window.This classic autobiographical novel is a strong choice for classroom sharing and independent reading.

Upstairs Room

Deborah Hopkinson

Sibert Honor author Deborah Hopkinson illuminates the true stories of Jewish children who fled Nazi Germany, risking everything to escape to safety on the Kindertransport. An NCTE Orbis Pictus recommended book.Ruth David was growing up in a small village in Germany when Adolf Hitler rose to power in the 1930s. Under the Nazi Party, Jewish families like Ruth’s experienced rising anti-Semitic restrictions and attacks. Just going to school became dangerous. By November 1938, anti-Semitism erupted into Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, and unleashed a wave of violence and forced arrests. Days later, desperate volunteers sprang into action to organize the Kindertransport, a rescue effort to bring Jewish children to England. Young people like Ruth David had to say good-bye to their families, unsure if they’d ever be reunited. Miles from home, the Kindertransport refugees entered unrecognizable lives, where food, clothes – and, for many of them, language and religion – were startlingly new. Meanwhile, the onset of war and the Holocaust visited unimaginable horrors on loved ones left behind. Somehow, these rescued children had to learn to look forward, to hope. Through the moving and often heart-wrenching personal accounts of Kindertransport survivors, critically acclaimed and award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson paints the timely and devastating story of how the rise of Hitler and the Nazis tore apart the lives of so many families and what they were forced to give up in order to save these children.

We Had to Be Brave: Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport

Pnina Bat Zvi

Margie Wolfe

Isabelle Cardinal

The night that Rachel and Toby’s parents are taken away by the Nazis, they give their daughters three gold coins. “Use these wisely to help save your lives,” they tell them. They also ask the girls to promise that they will always stay together. This compelling true story follows the girls as they confront the daily horrors of Auschwitz, protecting one another, sharing memories, fears and even laughter. Always together. But when Rachel becomes ill and is taken away by Nazi guards, likely forever, Toby risks her life to use the wellhidden gold coins to rescue her little sister.

The Promise

Brad Meltzer

Christopher Eliopoulos

The 22nd book in the New York Times bestselling series of biographies about heroes tells the story of Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl who documented her life while hiding from the Nazis during World War II. This engaging biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great–the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of an icon in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers. At the back are an excellent timeline and photos. This volume features Anne Frank, whose courage and hope during a time of terror are still an inspiration for people around the world today. While Anne and her family hid in an attic during the Holocaust, she kept a journal about all her hopes and fears and observations. That journal and the story of her life are still read and told today to remember the life of a young girl and warn against the consequences of bigotry.

I am Anne Frank

Inspired by the true story of the youngest boy who served in World War II, Steve Watkins weaves a story of courage in the face of danger and hope in the face of defeat.It’s been a month since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. America is officially at war with Germany and Japan, and everyone wants to do their part. In twelve-year-old Colton’s case, that means stepping up at home once his older brother, Danny, ships out with the navy. But before Danny leaves for boot camp, the brothers are fishing on the Atlantic Ocean when Danny’s boat is capsized by a Nazi U-boat, nearly killing him.When more U-boats start attacking the next day, Colton realizes just how close the enemy is to American shores. With Danny’s life in the balance, Colton does the only thing he can think of to help his family and his country: He steals his brother’s enlisting papers and joins up instead.Colton’s bold decision leads to a deadly journey. Even if he can keep his age a secret and survive boot camp, he’ll have to face Hitler’s ruthless submarines. But the longer he’s on the seas, the less sure Colton is that he and his shipmates can stop such a relentless enemy . . .

Sink or Swim: A Novel of World War II

Anne Frank

Ari Folman

David Polonsky

A timeless story rediscovered by each new generation, The Diary of a Young Girl stands without peer. For both young readers and adults it continues to capture the remarkable spirit of Anne Frank, who for a time survived the worst horror the modern world has seen–and who remained triumphantly and heartbreakingly human throughout her ordeal.  Adapted by Ari Folman, illustrated by David Polonsky, and authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel, this is the first graphic edition of The Diary and includes extensive quotation directly from the definitive edition. It remains faithful to the original, while the stunning illustrations interpret and add layers of visual meaning and immediacy to this classic work of Holocaust literature.

Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation

“A shining story of a young girl who struggles to come of age and find her place in a world fraught with danger.” –Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hitler Youth Winner of the Youth Prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival (voted by readers)  Winner of the Artémisia Prize for Historical Fiction  Winner of the Andersen Premio Prize A magnificent narrative inspired by a true survival story that asks universal questions about a young girl’s coming of age story, her identity, her passions, and her first loves.At the Sèvres Children’s Home outside Paris, Rachel Cohen has discovered her passion–photography. Although she hasn’t heard from her parents in months, she loves the people at her school, adores capturing what she sees in pictures, and tries not to worry too much about Hitler’s war. But as France buckles under the Nazi regime, danger closes in, and Rachel must change her name and go into hiding.As Catherine Colin, Rachel Cohen is faced with leaving the Sèvres Home–and the friends she made there–behind. But with her beautiful camera, Catherine possesses an object with the power to remember. For the rest of the war, Catherine bears witness to her own journey, and to the countless heroes whose courage and generosity saved the lives of many, including her own.Based on the author’s mother’s own experiences as a hidden child in France during World War II, Catherine’s War is one of the most accessible historical graphic novels featuring a powerful girl since Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi–perfect for fans of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, Anne Frank, or Helen Keller.Includes a map and photographs of the real Catherine and her wartime experiences, as well as an interview with author Julia Billet.”Many of the settings are beautifully detailed, and the characters undeniably expressive. Catherine’s ability to find beauty in the world makes for a forward-looking read.” –Booklist (starred review)“This story will make readers want to join the Resistance. Characters are drawn so vividly that, long afterward, readers will remember their names.” –KirkusAn Indie Next List Pick!A Junior Library Guild selection

Catherine's War

Hilary McKay

“A triumph.” –Philip Pullman, bestselling author of the His Dark Materials saga Four young lives across Europe are forever changed in the dawn of World War II in this “stirring and unforgettable” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) novel from award-winning author Hilary McKay. In England, Ruby has no friends because of the speckled blotches on her face that kids say look like dirt. And Kate is sickly all the time, her older siblings each taking turns looking after her. Ruby and Kate’s first meeting is nearly disastrous, but the two lonely girls soon strike up a friendship. Their connection becomes all the more important when England joins the war against Germany and the blitz begins overhead. In Germany, Erik and Hans are best friends filled with plans for their future: Erik taking over their beloved local zoo, and Hans serving pastries right outside the gates. They never expected to be forced to join the national service, training as pilots and tasked with hurting people. And in London a mistreated dog roams the streets looking for handouts, and for a friend. All of these lives will cross in the most surprising ways in this heart-rending tale of war and compassion, and hope that can be found in even the most unexpected friendships, brought to life by award-winning author Hilary McKay.

The Swallows' Flight

New York Times bestseller Jennifer A. Nielsen tells the extraordinary story of a Jewish girl’s courageous efforts to resist the Nazis.Chaya Lindner is a teenager living in Nazi-occupied Poland. Simply being Jewish places her in danger of being killed or sent to the camps. After her little sister is taken away, her younger brother disappears, and her parents all but give up hope, Chaya is determined to make a difference. Using forged papers and her fair features, Chaya becomes a courier and travels between the Jewish ghettos of Poland, smuggling food, papers, and even people. Soon Chaya joins a resistance cell that runs raids on the Nazis’ supplies. But after a mission goes terribly wrong, Chaya’s network shatters. She is alone and unsure of where to go, until Esther, a member of her cell, finds her and delivers a message that chills Chaya to her core, and sends her on a journey toward an even larger uprising in the works – in the Warsaw Ghetto.Though the Jewish resistance never had much of a chance against the Nazis, they were determined to save as many lives as possible, and to live – or die – with honor.

Resistance

James Buckley

Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it takes to be considered one of the worst figures in history, with this brand-new nonfiction series that focuses on the most nefarious historical figures. On a list of the worst people ever, Adolf Hitler is certainly at or near the top. Born the son of a low-ranking government official, no one would have predicted that the young Adolf would grow up and become the leader of millions of Germans as well as one of the most despised figures of the twentieth century. Hitler himself wanted to be an artist, but he couldn’t get into art school. The rejection was just one more thing in a long chain of events that made him angry. Angry at the world. Angry at specific groups of people. As his anger grew, so did his hatred until eventually there was very little else left. When Hitler entered politics, he found himself surrounded by people who agreed with him. Who would listen to his rants and would happily follow his every decree and cheer his every word. But why did people let him do that? Why did they follow him? What made his policies so attractive? And what made Adolf Hitler so popular? Find out with this biography that takes a deeper look at Hitler…because history isn’t just about the heroes.

Adolf Hitler

Peter Lerangis

Peter Lerangis, the New York Times bestselling author of the Seven Wonders and Max Tilt series, returns with the last installment of his electrifying trilogy about a boy who discovers that he can alter the course of history. Thirteen-year-old Corey Fletcher is the world’s first Throwback. He has the power to not only to travel back in time, but to change the past. It’s a power that comes with no small amount of responsibility–but when Corey tried fix some of history’s worst evils, he discovers that the consequences for his good deeds have changed him in ways that he never expected and ways he may not be able to fix. Trapped in a body that’s not his own, his powers all but gone, Corey realizes his latest mission may be the hardest of all–to save himself. With the help of his best friend, Leila, and an uneasy alliance with a shadowy group that’s been watching his every move, Corey’s going to have to risk it all to find a way to fix himself without destroying the world as we know it. Get ready for time-warping adventure with a historical twist in the last book of the Throwback trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Peter Lerangis, whose books have sold over five and a half million copies worldwide.

Out of Time

Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

In this book from the critically acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Anne Frank, the writer whose diary captured the hearts of the public.   Anne Frank was born in Germany to a loving family. But when World War II broke out, Anne and her family had to hide in a secret annex in Amsterdam. Here, Anne wrote her famous diary, describing her belief in people’s goodness and her hopes for peace. After the war, her diary captured the hearts of the public and she became one of the most important diarists of the 20th century. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of Anne’s life. Little People, BIG DREAMS is a best-selling series of books and educational games that explore the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.  This empowering series offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardcover versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. Boxed gift sets allow you to collect a selection of the books by theme. Paper dolls, learning cards, matching games, and other fun learning tools provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children. Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!

A gripping tale of one girl’s struggle against the Nazis. “Remember who you are, Milada.” Milada’s grandmother says these words on the night the Nazi soldiers come to their home in Czechoslovakia. But what do they mean? She is Milada, who lives with her mama and papa, her brother and sister, and her beloved Babichka. Milada with the sun-kissed hair, eleven years old, fastest runner in her school. How could she ever forget?Then the Nazis send Milada to a Lebensborn center in Poland, and Milada quickly discovers that holding on to her true identity will be the greatest struggle of her young life.

Someone Named Eva

Elie Wiesel

philosophy

A New Translation From The French By Marion Wiesel Night is Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. This new translation by Marion Wiesel, Elie’s wife and frequent translator, presents this seminal memoir in the language and spirit truest to the author’s original intent. And in a substantive new preface, Elie reflects on the enduring importance of Night and his lifelong, passionate dedication to ensuring that the world never forgets man’s capacity for inhumanity to man. Night offers much more than a litany of the daily terrors, everyday perversions, and rampant sadism at Auschwitz and Buchenwald; it also eloquently addresses many of the philosophical as well as personal questions implicit in any serious consideration of what the Holocaust was, what it meant, and what its legacy is and will be.

Night

Ruta Sepetys

drawing

The inspiration for the major motion picture Ashes in the Snow! Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both. –The Washington Post From New York Times and international bestseller and Carnegie Medal winner Ruta Sepetys, author of Salt to the Sea, comes a story of loss and of fear – and ultimately, of survival. A New York Times notable bookAn international bestsellerA Carnegie Medal nomineeA William C. Morris Award finalistA Golden Kite Award winner Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life – until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she imbeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father’s prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive? A moving and haunting novel perfect for readers of The Book Thief. Praise for Between Shades of Gray  Superlative. A hefty emotional punch. –The New York Times Book Review Heart-wrenching . . . an eye-opening reimagination of a very real tragedy written with grace and heart. –The Los Angeles TimesAt once a suspenseful, drama-packed survival story, a romance, and an intricately researched work of historial fiction. –The Wall Street Journal  Beautifully written and deeply felt . . . An important book that deserves the widest possible readership. –Booklist, starred review  “A superlative first novel. A hefty emotional punch.”–The New York Times Book Review   “A brilliant story of love and survival.”–Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling author of Speak and Wintergirls    “Beautifully written and deeply felt…an important book that deserves the widest possible readership.”–Booklist, Starred Review

Between Shades of Gray

Based on the real-life scheme to take down one of history’s greatest monsters, this heart-pounding trilogy puts two courageous kids at the center of the plot to kill Adolf Hitler.Berlin, November 1943. With bombing raids commencing, the city is blanketed by explosions.Siblings Gerta and Max Hoffmann live a surprisingly carefree childhood amid the raids. Berlin is a city going about its business, even as it’s attacked almost nightly.But one night, the air raid sirens wail, and the Hoffmanns’ neighborhood is hit. A mortally wounded man comes to their door, begging to be let in. He asks for Karl Hoffmann, their father. Gerta and Max watch as Karl tries in vain to save the man’s life.Before he dies, the stranger gives their father a bloodstained packet of documents, along with a message: For the sake of humanity, the Führer must die. Finish it, Karl!Based on real events, this is the story of two children swept up in a fight for the soul of Germany – and the world.

Conspiracy

Margi Preus

Newbery Honor recipient Margi Preus tells the incredible true story of a group of French teenagers who helped save refugees in WWII Based on the true story of the French villagers in WWII who saved thousands of Jews, this novel tells how a group of young teenagers stood up for what is right. Among them is a young Jewish boy who learns to forge documents to save his mother and later goes on to save hundreds of lives with his forgery skills. There is also a girl who overcomes her fear to carry messages for the Resistance. And a boy who smuggles people into Switzerland. But there is always the threat that they will be caught: A policeman is sent to keep an eye on them, German soldiers reside in a local hotel, and eventually the Gestapo arrives, armed with guns and a list of names. As the knot tightens, the young people must race against time to bring their friends to safety.

Village of Scoundrels

Anne Renaud

Richard Rudnicki

Ten-year-old Sorale discovers a tiny heart-shaped book among her mother’s belongings. Its pages are shaped like four-petaled flowers, upon which are written words in languages Sorale does not understand. Who wrote these words? Where did the heart come from? Why has her mother never mentioned this tiny book before? Fania’s Heart reveals the story of the crafting of the heart, against all odds, within the confines of Auschwitz, and of the women of immeasurable resilience, courage and loyalty who risked their lives for Sorale’s mother, their friend.

Fania's Heart

Al Berenger

Born into a Jewish family in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929, Anne Frank was only thirteen years old when her family went into hiding to escape persecution during the Holocaust. Anne kept a diary detailing their years spent living in a concealed room behind a bookcase prior to their arrest-a diary so widely published following her death that it is one of the period’s most influential books.These colorful, pocket-size biographies are full of personality, introducing readers to fascinating figures from history with simple storytelling and cheerful illustrations. Pocket Bios titles include men and women from history, exploration, the sciences, the arts, the ancient world, and more.

Elissa Brent Weissman

Imani is adopted, and she’s ready to search for her birth parents. But when she discovers the diary her Jewish great-grandmother wrote chronicling her escape from Holocaust-era Europe, Imani begins to see family in a new way. Imani knows exactly what she wants as her big bat mitzvah gift: to find her birth parents. She loves her family and her Jewish community in Baltimore, but she has always wondered where she came from, especially since she’s black and almost everyone she knows is white. Then her mom’s grandmother–Imani’s great-grandma Anna–passes away, and Imani discovers an old journal among her books. It’s Anna’s diary from 1941, the year she was twelve and fled Nazi-occupied Luxembourg alone, sent by her parents to seek refuge in Brooklyn, New York. Anna’s diary records her journey to America and her new life with an adoptive family of her own. And as Imani reads the diary, she begins to see her family, and her place in it, in a whole new way.

The Length of a String

Anne O'Brien Carelli

While helping her granny Collette evacuate to a makeshift shelter in Brooklyn during Superstorm Sandy, Lily uncovers secrets of her grandmother’s past as a member of the French Resistance during WWII. Queens, 2012. Hurricane Sandy is flooding New York City, and Lily is at a nursing home with her grandmother, Collette. Lily visits Collette often, as she is beginning to lose her memories. When the National Guard shows up to evacuate the building and take them to safety at the Park Slope armory in Brooklyn, Lily’s granny suddenly produces a red box she’s hidden in a closet for years. Once they get to safety, Lily opens the box, where she finds an old, beautiful Montblanc pen. Granny tells Lily that the pen is very important and that she has to take care of it, as well as some letters written in French. But Lily loses the pen in the course of helping other nursing home residents, and as she searches the city trying to find it, she learns more about her grandmother’s past in France and begins to uncover the significance of the pen with the help of her best friend, a quirky pen expert, and a larger-than-life, off-Broadway understudy. Told in alternating sections (2012 and 1944), this engaging book explores a deep friendship during difficult times and the importance of family.

Skylark and Wallcreeper

Nancy Churnin

Yevgenia Nayberg

Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. were born the same year a world apart. Both faced ugly prejudices and violence, which both answered with words of love and faith in humanity. This is the story of their parallel journeys to find hope in darkness and to follow their dreams.

Martin & Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank

Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet

Hope Anita Smith

Moishe was thirteen when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939 and he was sent to Auschwitz. His home was ravaged, his family torn apart by illness and abduction. Years of brutality drew on as Moishe moved from one labor camp to the next. Finally, towards the end of the war and at the peak of Moishe’s deepest despair, a simple act of kindness by a group of courageous Czech women redeemed his faith that goodness could survive the trials of war: That was the day it rained warm bread. Deftly articulated and beautifully illustrated, this is a strong addition to the ever-important genre of Holocaust testimonies.

It Rained Warm Bread

Kathy Kacer

Juliana Kolesova

Princess Alice of Greece is known for her kindness. Born deaf, she knows what it is like to be discriminated against. In 1943 the Second World War is raging, and the Nazis have taken control of Greece. All Jews in the country are in danger, including young Tilde Cohen and her mother, Rachel. On the run, they are in search of a safe place to hide from the Nazis. When they arrive unannounced on Princess Alice’s doorstep, begging her to shelter them, the princess’s kindness is put to the test.

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