Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
New York : Farrar Straus Giroux, 2005
Description
While searching his Dutch grandmother's attic for yard sale items, Jeroen finds a scrapbook which leads Gran to tell of her experiences as a girl living in Amsterdam during the Holocaust, when her father was a Nazi sympathizer and Esther, her Jewish best friend, disappeared.
Media reviews
Booklist
Published in conjunction with the Anne Frank House and the Resistance Museum of Friesland, this moving graphic novel translated from the Dutch tells of Holocaust perpetrators, rescuers, collaborators, and bystanders through the experience of one family under Nazi occupation in Amsterdam. It is in
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the tradition of Art Spiegelman’s classic Maus (1986), not only in format and the historical facts of the millions who perished, but also in the unsentimental truth of the complex humanity: victims are far from saints, survivors are haunted by guilt. The art is in ink and watercolor, with very clear, highly detailed panels, eight or nine per page. The gripping story begins with a contemporary young teen, Jeroen, whose grandmother, Helena, tells him for the first time about her teenage years in Holland. Many panels show a tiny profile of Gran now as she remembers the Nazi-Resistance conflict right in her family’s living room. Her policeman father went along with the Dutch Nazi Party to get a promotion, while her mother remained in furious opposition. One pro-Nazi brother can’t wait to join the army, and the other brother secretly participates in the Resistance. Helena’s friend Esther, a Jewish refugee from Germany, tells her about Krystallnacht and other atrocities. When the Dutch Nazis come for Esther’s family, Helena’s father refuses to rescue her friend. After the war, he is executed as a collaborator. But secrets are revealed right up to the present, and in all their complexity, they will stay with readers forever. With its companion, The Search (2009), this is a must for the Holocaust curriculum. Grades 7-12 Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member prkcs
While searching his Dutch grandmother's attic for yard sale items, Jeroen finds a scrapbook which leads Gran to tell of her experiences as a girl living in Amsterdam during the Holocaust, when her father was a Nazi sympathizer and Esther, her Jewish best friend, disappeared.
LibraryThing member julieaduncan
A Family Secret begins when a contemporary Dutch boy discovers his grandmother's scrapbook in her attic. She begins to tell him about her life as a teenager during the days of World War II. Her best friend Esther was Jewish and escaped from Germany. The Nazis then took Amsterdam and eventually
This book weighs heavily on my heart. I have always sympathized with the Jews, but I never realized how much everyone else suffered too. Men were forced to join the army and the women and children suffered from starvation as the rations just were not enough. This book covers the heartache that so many people felt all over the world as a result of the Nazi regime. What isn't said, but what you can tell from the pictures, is that even after the joyful liberation of each place it was a long, long time of reconstruction and recovery.
It might be difficult because most of this generation has passed on, but I think it would be wonderful for a class to invite as a speaker someone who was old enough to remember some of life during WWII. After reading this book, I think the children would have a lot of questions for the speaker. I would also like to see them create maps showing the different areas occupied by the Allied Nations versus the Axis Nations during various points of the war. This would help them understand how far reaching this war really was.
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removed Esther's family. The grandmother's family is scarred and torn apart as well during these sad times. Her father, a policeman, felt he had to join the Nazis or lose his job thus causing many fights between her parents each night. One brother adored the party and soon joined and died as a soldier. The other brother delivered newspapers for the Resistance. They read letters from their Aunt living in the Dutch East Indies and discover her family was placed in prisoner camps by the Japanese. The book holds your attention all the way to the surprise ending.This book weighs heavily on my heart. I have always sympathized with the Jews, but I never realized how much everyone else suffered too. Men were forced to join the army and the women and children suffered from starvation as the rations just were not enough. This book covers the heartache that so many people felt all over the world as a result of the Nazi regime. What isn't said, but what you can tell from the pictures, is that even after the joyful liberation of each place it was a long, long time of reconstruction and recovery.
It might be difficult because most of this generation has passed on, but I think it would be wonderful for a class to invite as a speaker someone who was old enough to remember some of life during WWII. After reading this book, I think the children would have a lot of questions for the speaker. I would also like to see them create maps showing the different areas occupied by the Allied Nations versus the Axis Nations during various points of the war. This would help them understand how far reaching this war really was.
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LibraryThing member CarmellaLee
Personal Response: This historically accurate graphic novel tells of the family choices that had to be made during the World War II. A great story with trials but a happy ending.
Curricular or Programming connection: Holocaust , World War II historical events and family struggles.
Curricular or Programming connection: Holocaust , World War II historical events and family struggles.
LibraryThing member KaseyDawson
A Family Secret
By Eric Heuvel
Summary: While searching his grandmother’s attic for things to sell in a yard sale, Jeroen finds a scrapbook that his grandmother made during World War II. It brings back painful memories for her, she tells Jeroen for the first time about her experiences as a girl
Personal Reaction: I loved that this graphic novel was educational.
Classroom Extension Ideas: I thought that this graphic novel is a great way to keep children interested in a story of WWII. Teaches could also ask students to talk with their own grandparents and see what interesting stories they had to share.
By Eric Heuvel
Summary: While searching his grandmother’s attic for things to sell in a yard sale, Jeroen finds a scrapbook that his grandmother made during World War II. It brings back painful memories for her, she tells Jeroen for the first time about her experiences as a girl
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living in Amsterdam during the German occupation of the Netherlands and about the loss of her Jewish best friend Esther. Jeroen’s grandmother wants to go to a Memorial Day service, but she has sprained her ankle and can not walk. Jeroen attends the service in her place and he makes a surprising discovery. His grandmother’s childhood friend Esther is still living!Personal Reaction: I loved that this graphic novel was educational.
Classroom Extension Ideas: I thought that this graphic novel is a great way to keep children interested in a story of WWII. Teaches could also ask students to talk with their own grandparents and see what interesting stories they had to share.
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LibraryThing member brandib90
“A Family Secret” is a wonderful book about secrets and turmoil that broke apart a family. Also at the end the reader realizes it’s also about a friendship that can stand the test of time and war. The author uses flashback to portray a part of a family’s history from a long time ago. Also
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the author did a great job at depicting the struggles that tore a family apart. This is seen through out the book where the narrator’s father is always fighting with the mother and children. Also the reader learns at the end of the book the narrator’s dad kept a secret from the entire family that led to the reuniting of two long lost friends that was a long time overdue. Show Less
LibraryThing member MathMaverick
Excellent book! A comic book that deals with difficult decisions that had to made in WWII regarding Nazi occupation. I've had a number of my boy scouts read it and they all enjoyed it and got something out of it.
LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
Learning about WW2 in school, I don't recall picking up much about the German invasion of the Netherlands. Having read Miep Gies' autobiography, the Anne Frank graphic novel and now this in the past year, I am certainly being educated! History just comes alive better when it's illustrated.
LibraryThing member Erika.D
full color graphic novel about a family's experience through World War II. The boy's grandmother tells her family's secret during the war and how she was best friends with a Jewish girl during that time. The family lives in Amsterdam so we learn about WWII from the Dutch perspective and how Germany
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invaded the Netherlands. This was a great story and the reader learns about WWII from an international perspective. The ending is very inspiring since the family went through a lot of tragedy and struggled with the rest of their countrymen during that time. This is a great book for older children 9 and up and a great way to learn about WWII from a different perspective. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
Dutch
Physical description
62 p.; 29 cm
ISBN
9780374322717
Local notes
Donated by : Anne Isaac, July 2018.
"It's spring in Holland. Tine to get ready for Queen's Day!...Jeroen goes over to his grandmother's house to look around in her attic. He wants to find some old things he can sell at the big flea market that day. When Jeroen comes across the scrapbook his grandmother kept during World War II, she tells him about a long-held family secret. Then Jeroen attends a Dutch Memorial Day ceremony on May 4 and there he makes an amazing discovery..." - BACK COVER BOOK.
Originally published in Dutch as De Ontdekking
"It's spring in Holland. Tine to get ready for Queen's Day!...Jeroen goes over to his grandmother's house to look around in her attic. He wants to find some old things he can sell at the big flea market that day. When Jeroen comes across the scrapbook his grandmother kept during World War II, she tells him about a long-held family secret. Then Jeroen attends a Dutch Memorial Day ceremony on May 4 and there he makes an amazing discovery..." - BACK COVER BOOK.
Originally published in Dutch as De Ontdekking