Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Greenwillow (1998), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 208 pages
Description
The author, known as an illustrator of children's books, describes her experiences as a Polish Jew during World War II and for years in Sweden afterwards.
Subjects
Awards
National Book Award (Finalist — Young People's Literature — 1998)
Massachusetts Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2001)
Sydney Taylor Book Award (Winner — 1998)
BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (1998)
Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature (Medalist — 1999)
Orbis Pictus Award (Honor — 1999)
South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Nominee — 1999)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1999)
CCBC Choices (1998)
Notable Children's Book (1999)
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member labfs39
Anita Lobel is known for illustrating children's books, often in collaboration with her husband, Arnold Lobel of [Frog and Toad] fame. What I didn't know was that she was a very young Holocaust survivor. This memoir is written for a younger audience, or perhaps it just feels that way because she
Hanusia, as she was called by her family, was five years old when the Germans occupied her hometown of Krakow. She and her parents and younger brother lived in a small apartment, along with her nanny. Her father disappeared one night, and it wasn't until after the war that she learned he had been sent to the Soviet camps. Her mother was able to secure fake documents and spent the war living and working as a Catholic Pole. Fearing for the safety of the children, it was agreed that the nanny would take the children first to the village where family lived, and then to the nanny's tiny village. They disguise her younger brother as a girl, because he could be identified as Jewish the moment he used a public bathroom.
After five years of hiding, the children are caught and taken first to a prison and then to Płaszów concentration camp. Because their nanny was Catholic, they were taken away without an adult. They were ten- and eight-years-old. After stints in several different camps, they are liberated and taken to Sweden. There they spend two years in a sanitarium with tuberculosis, until they are finally reunited with family. Five years later they emigrate to the US and the story ends.
Lobel's story is heartbreaking, yet not emotionally fraught or graphic, in part because she was so young that her memories are at times innocent, and in part because she became emotionally numb to everything except wanting to stay with her brother. She never names her family members, except by diminutives like Mamusia (for Mama), and her brother is never named at all. For their privacy? Or perhaps to maintain the childlike perspective? She includes many photographs from before and after the war. I highly recommend this short memoir for its unique perspective from a very young child survivor.
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writes from the perspective of her childhood self. No reflections from her adult self on what she went through or about the war. Instead it is a wonderful glimpse into what it must have been like for a very young child to witness and experience the horrors of war and the Shoah. Hanusia, as she was called by her family, was five years old when the Germans occupied her hometown of Krakow. She and her parents and younger brother lived in a small apartment, along with her nanny. Her father disappeared one night, and it wasn't until after the war that she learned he had been sent to the Soviet camps. Her mother was able to secure fake documents and spent the war living and working as a Catholic Pole. Fearing for the safety of the children, it was agreed that the nanny would take the children first to the village where family lived, and then to the nanny's tiny village. They disguise her younger brother as a girl, because he could be identified as Jewish the moment he used a public bathroom.
After five years of hiding, the children are caught and taken first to a prison and then to Płaszów concentration camp. Because their nanny was Catholic, they were taken away without an adult. They were ten- and eight-years-old. After stints in several different camps, they are liberated and taken to Sweden. There they spend two years in a sanitarium with tuberculosis, until they are finally reunited with family. Five years later they emigrate to the US and the story ends.
Lobel's story is heartbreaking, yet not emotionally fraught or graphic, in part because she was so young that her memories are at times innocent, and in part because she became emotionally numb to everything except wanting to stay with her brother. She never names her family members, except by diminutives like Mamusia (for Mama), and her brother is never named at all. For their privacy? Or perhaps to maintain the childlike perspective? She includes many photographs from before and after the war. I highly recommend this short memoir for its unique perspective from a very young child survivor.
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LibraryThing member sara_k
Anita Lobel is a well known author and illustrator. No Pretty Pictures is her story of being a Jewish child in Poland during World War 2.
Anita's father went into hiding first, leaving his family to keep them safe. Her mother used false papers to pass as non-Jewish and later sent Anita and her
I read this book and then discussed it with a 12 year old who had also read it. Our minds were caught by totally different things.
As a parent I saw the adult Lobel's actions as attempts to keep their family alive even if they were separated. I could see the logic in separation giving some of them a chance even if one was caught. I found Anita's emotional separation from her parents to be most distressing. They survived as human beings but not as a family with solid parent/child relationships. Anita felt abandoned by her parents, especially her mother who came and saw them periodically. Anita came to look to her Nanny for the protection and stability that one usually finds in parents. This dependence was hampered by Nanny's dislike of Jews (in general) and outbursts of frustration and fear linked to trying to save two children. As the war went on, Anita stopped trusting Nanny and gave up expecting to be saved but could not let herself release the thought of trusting Nanny because it was her last thread of hope. Anita took on parts of Nanny's Roman Catholic faith; her Jewish faith was such a small and powerless part of her life and her main remembrance was her first and only pre-war participation in a Seder. Nanny and then the Lutheran nurses at the sanitorium gave Anita other places to look for god and angels to hope for protection from.
A heart rending look at the subtle devastation done by war and concentration camps.
Anita's father went into hiding first, leaving his family to keep them safe. Her mother used false papers to pass as non-Jewish and later sent Anita and her
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younger brother into hiding with their Nanny. Nanny pretended than Anita and her disguised brother were Nanny's two young daughters and they moved from place to place seeking anonymity. Anita and her brother were captured by Nazis and sent to Plaszow and then to Auschwitz. At the end of the war Anita and her brother were rescued and sent to Sweden where they recovered from Tuberculosis in a sanitorium and then were reunited with both their parents.I read this book and then discussed it with a 12 year old who had also read it. Our minds were caught by totally different things.
As a parent I saw the adult Lobel's actions as attempts to keep their family alive even if they were separated. I could see the logic in separation giving some of them a chance even if one was caught. I found Anita's emotional separation from her parents to be most distressing. They survived as human beings but not as a family with solid parent/child relationships. Anita felt abandoned by her parents, especially her mother who came and saw them periodically. Anita came to look to her Nanny for the protection and stability that one usually finds in parents. This dependence was hampered by Nanny's dislike of Jews (in general) and outbursts of frustration and fear linked to trying to save two children. As the war went on, Anita stopped trusting Nanny and gave up expecting to be saved but could not let herself release the thought of trusting Nanny because it was her last thread of hope. Anita took on parts of Nanny's Roman Catholic faith; her Jewish faith was such a small and powerless part of her life and her main remembrance was her first and only pre-war participation in a Seder. Nanny and then the Lutheran nurses at the sanitorium gave Anita other places to look for god and angels to hope for protection from.
A heart rending look at the subtle devastation done by war and concentration camps.
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LibraryThing member STBA
The author describes her experiences as a Polish Jew during World War II and for year in Sweden afterwards.
LibraryThing member SandyStiles
Excellent view into the early life of Anita Lobel and her brother. Her nanny was able to hide them for a while until the Nazis caught up with them. She ended up in Auschwitz, survived and then eventually was sent to Sweden as a refugee. Good story.
LibraryThing member Chiubaca
No Pretty Pictures is written by Anita Lobel. It was nominated for the National Book Award in young adult literature. It is a memoir of Anita Lobel, a Jewish girl who was living in Krakow, Poland during the Nazi Occupation of Poland and survived the Holocaust. The story begins when Anita was 5
No Pretty Pictures is an excellent book. Since it is told through the eyes of Anita, it enables readers to view and understand what life was like for a young Jewish girl during the Holocaust and World War II. The story is about bravery, struggle, and the will to survive. Based on my review, I give No Pretty Pictures 5 out of 5 stars.
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years old. Anita had a mother, father and a brother. Anita and her brother were sent by their mother to their nanny, a devouted Catholic. Unfortunately Anita and her brother were eventually caught by the Nazis and were sent to a series of Concentration Camps. Luckily, Anita, her brother, and her parents all survived and were reunited in Stockholm, Sweden. The story ends when Anita was 16 years old and living in the United States.No Pretty Pictures is an excellent book. Since it is told through the eyes of Anita, it enables readers to view and understand what life was like for a young Jewish girl during the Holocaust and World War II. The story is about bravery, struggle, and the will to survive. Based on my review, I give No Pretty Pictures 5 out of 5 stars.
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LibraryThing member JanaRose1
Anita was five years old when World War II began and changed her life forever. Along with her brother and Niania (nanny) they went into hiding. After several years the two children were caught and sent from one concentration camp to another. Despite the horrible conditions and lack of food, the
Beautifully written this is a moving memoir. It is a story of courage, determination and the struggle to survive. Family photos are included throughout the book, and an epilogue, which explains what happens next. Overall, I would highly recommend this book.
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children managed to survive until liberation. Discovered to have tuberculosis, the children then spent two years in a sanatorium in Sweden slowly recovering. Miraculously they discovered their parents had survived and they were ultimately reunited.Beautifully written this is a moving memoir. It is a story of courage, determination and the struggle to survive. Family photos are included throughout the book, and an epilogue, which explains what happens next. Overall, I would highly recommend this book.
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LibraryThing member TimGordon
This book could be a class text for middle school students. It is a little tricky with the foreign languages used (even though it often translates) and it overall would be most appropriate for an older student. As a class text, they could discuss the history taking place and they would enjoy the
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story being told of life on the run. Show Less
ISBN
0688159354 / 9780688159351