Gr 3–5—In an uplifting narrative standing in for the voices of young Jewish children, Stelson documents the
breathtaking effort to move the children from Prague to England for safety during WWII, saving their lives. Alko's
glorious illustrations give life to history; children will be poring over every page.

Acrylic paint, colored pencil, and collage - with plenty of text (like recipe cards) and texture (like burlap) - make each page of this book as rich with visual detail as it is with story, which is narrated in second person ("When we were seven or eight or nine or ten, our home was the old city of Prague..."). The child narrators know nothing of their saviors, even after the war ("No one had saved our parents. But who was the man who saved us?"). After nearly half a century, the discovery of a scrapbook revealed his identity: Nicholas Winton helped save 669 Jewish children.

One quote is verbatim from one of the children's mothers: "There will be times when you'll feel lonely and homesick. Let the stars of the night and the sun of the day be the messenger of our thoughts and love."

Extensive back matter includes more information about the Kindertransport movement, a detailed timeline from 1933-2015, more biographical information about specific children he saved, a note on Yad Vashem's children's memorial, an author's note, illustrator's note, source notes, selected bibliography, and recommended further reading.

Of the 669 children saved, only five had both parents survive the Holocaust, and only twenty had one parent survive. ( )

This powerful story is told from the collective perspective of the children who were rescued from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II, as Hitler's campaign of hatred toward Jews and political dissidents took hold. The narrative starts in 1938 and follows the children as they journey to foster families in England for the duration of the war, return to Prague afterward in an unsuccessful search for their parents, and eventually connect with Nicholas Winton, a British former stockbroker who was key in bringing them to safety. Winton and the Czech Kindertransport ultimately rescued 669 children from Nazi persecution.

First sentence: When we were seven or eight or nine or ten, our home was the old city of Prague. In the summer when the sun lit up the sky, our mothers brought us to the city parks. We counted the boats on the river and had picnics of dark bread with cheese and slices of our mothers' sweet honey cake.

Premise/plot: Nonfiction picture book for older readers. (Mid-to-upper elementary grades). Narrative nonfiction--history--set around the Second World War. This picture book is unusual/unique in that it is told in first person plural; it is a collective story; it uses we and our pronouns. The book tells of the kindertransport--a mission to rescue Jewish kids and get them OUT of Nazi-occupied countries. (In this case, Czechoslovakia).

My thoughts: I'd read a book for an adult audience on this subject matter. I'd watched a documentary as well. I was fairly familiar with the subject. This is such an emotional story. But I don't mean that it has added melodrama or theatrics to history. The plain, bare facts are enough to break your heart as you read. I think the collective "we/our" works with this one. I don't want to say it "makes" it personal or more personal. But I think it helps with empathy.

There are not that many picture books about the Holocaust and the Second World War. There are a handful for sure. But not hundreds. (I can think of several starring Anne Frank. It is always refreshing to see a book that doesn't limit the story to being just Anne's story.) There are so many voices, so many stories--each one deserving of being heard. ( )