Jars of Hope: How One Woman Helped Save 2,500 Children During the Holocaust (Encounter: Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books)

by Jennifer Roy

Other authorsMeg Owenson (Illustrator)
Hardcover, 2015

Description

"Tells Irena Sendler's story of saving 2,500 children during the Holocaust"--

ISBN

1623704251 / 9781623704254

Status

Available

Call number

940.53

Collection

Publication

Capstone Press (2015), 32 pages

User reviews

LibraryThing member Karen59
My daughter is just at the age where she is learning more deeply about the Holocaust. She asks tons of good questions and like most of us cannot believe that humans can hate and hurt each other with such such heinous intent. Jars of Hope, by Jennifer Roy, is an anecdote to the despair that can
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overwhelm a child (and adult) in the face of this and provide some hope and understanding that in the midst of such evil there are good and decent people like Irena Sendler, who saved so many children during the Holocaust and beyond. The book tells a fascinating and hard story in clear and simple language with illustrations that support the narrative arc of the story in beautiful detail. The author tells the truth of that time, never understating what happened but also leaves young readers with an example of how it is possible too respond to injustice and hate.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review. Thank you.
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LibraryThing member Carlathelibrarian
I have read a lot of books about the atrocities that occurred during WWII, but most of these books are filled with the strength and compassion of the people who fought against the evil that happened. This book is no exception to that. I had never heard of the main character in this book, Irena
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Sendler, so it is great that this book was written about her so that her story is not forgotten.

Irena was a Polish citizen who refused to turn a blind eye to what was happening in Poland. Instead of running away from all that happened in the ghetto, she stuck by to help the children. She convinced parents that she could keep their children safe by smuggling them out of the ghetto, bringing them to safety and making sure that their new foster families would get money and food to take care of that extra mouth. She did all that under cover of trying to keep disease and illness from spreading with medicine and vaccines. The guards were so afraid of getting sick, they did not check her bags for a long time. She kept meticulous lists of the names of the children, their parents and who the foster families were so they could be reunited after the war. She was eventually caught but was able to save the lists in jars buried in the ground (Jars of Hope). Irena was an amazing person, even when she was caught she stayed silent, no matter how gruesome the torture (though since this is a children's book it is mostly toned down, but I am guessing that the nazis won't just have whipped her and do not much else). After the war some of the children were reunited with their parents. The other wonderful thing is that Irena kept in contact with the children she had rescued. This was an amazing story.

The illustrations were black and white drawings, showing the darkness of war. As another reviewer said, It was great to see how Irena was drawn, at most times she seemed to be a beacon that lit up the place, the one to bring happiness and light around her. Showing people that there is still hope, that she will help. I highly recommend this book.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2015-12

Physical description

32 p.; 9.5 inches

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