Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Scholastic Paperbacks (1999), Paperback, 272 pages
Description
During World War II in Slovakia, a young Jewish girl in hiding becomes a devout Catholic and is sustained by her belief that she will return home to her family as soon as the war ends.
Subjects
Awards
Sydney Taylor Book Award (Mass Import -- Pending Differentiation)
CCBC Choices (1998)
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
8-year-old Katarina's life in 1942 Slovakia is almost perfect. Although her parents died when she was very young, she's being raised by an aunt she adores, and who indulges her love for games and stories. She has a best friend to share her secrets with. Katarina doesn't understand when Aunt Lena
As conditions become more dangerous, the family is forced to go into hiding. Eventually Katarina is separated from her family. Her story becomes one of survival as she moves from place to place, and of a journey home at the end of the war. Katarina's resilience keeps her story from becoming too bleak.
This fictional story is based on the author's experience as a Jewish child in Slovakia during World War II. The recommended reading level is grade 6 and higher. Because of a brief description of sexual activity and another incident describing inappropriate touching of a child by an adult, I would not recommend the book for younger readers who read above their grade level. This well-written novel would be good supplemental reading for social studies, and might also be a good book group selection. It should stimulate some interesting discussions.
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tells her they must move. Katarina and her aunt are non-observant Jews, and Aunt Lena has shielded Katarina from most of the rumors about what has been happening to Jews in surrounding countries. Since Katarina's aunt hasn't provided any Jewish religious instruction for Katarina, their Catholic maid fills the void, and Katarina considers herself to be Catholic.As conditions become more dangerous, the family is forced to go into hiding. Eventually Katarina is separated from her family. Her story becomes one of survival as she moves from place to place, and of a journey home at the end of the war. Katarina's resilience keeps her story from becoming too bleak.
This fictional story is based on the author's experience as a Jewish child in Slovakia during World War II. The recommended reading level is grade 6 and higher. Because of a brief description of sexual activity and another incident describing inappropriate touching of a child by an adult, I would not recommend the book for younger readers who read above their grade level. This well-written novel would be good supplemental reading for social studies, and might also be a good book group selection. It should stimulate some interesting discussions.
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LibraryThing member thornton37814
Katarina, a young girl of Jewish descent in Slovakia, finds herself separated from her family during the Holocaust and World War II. Katarina does not practice the Jewish faith and loves Catholicism which had been taught to her by the family's maid. Most people are afraid to take in a Jewish girl.
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This story will invite many questions about the Holocaust and its atrocities for middle school aged readers. Show Less
ISBN
0439099048 / 9780439099042
Other editions
Katarina by Kathryn Winter (Paperback)