Erika’s Story by Ruth Vander Zee (unnumbered about 24 pages; 1 book) #6
Zee, Ruth Vander (2003). Erika’s story. Mankato, MN: Creative Editions.
Awards: Could not find any big award names.
Grade Level: 3-6 grades.
Author Credibility: Ruth Vander Zee and her husband had been studying in Jerusalem when they drove through Austria to see Mauthausen, a concentration camp that was located there during WWII. The couple found themselves in Rothenburg, Germany where they were watching people clean up from a recent tornado. While they were sitting on the curb, she met a woman named Erika. By talking to her she learned of her personal experience as a Jew in WWII. From the lady’s true life account, she was able to write Erika’s Story.
Summary/Response: This is a short story picture book about a woman’s account of her life during WWII. It tells a powerful story of her as an infant, the difficult decision her mother made last minute to save her life, and the kindness of a woman who took her into her home. Erika could only imagine what the last few days with her mother was like. She did not know her exact birth date or birth name. She did not know if she had brothers or sisters. All she knew was the story she learned through her adoptive mother of how Erika’s birth mother risked everything so that she may have a chance to live.
I was not able to read this book dried eyed. This pulled so many emotions with how the Jews suffered during WWII. It was not only their lives that were devastated, but also the lives of their children. This story shows that there was no mercy among the young, the old and even infants. All were sentenced to die.
National Standards: Language: Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
Social Studies: The causes and global consequences of World War II.
Illustrations: A mixture of illustrations. Monochromatic tones were used during the Nazi era and then he slowly begins changing to color in pictures of “hope” or modern day. Nothing is mentioned of the type of mediums he used, only that his illustrations were photo-like.
The book is brown linen bound with a cut out of a star on the cover. Inside the star is yellow linen paper. Throughout the book the star symbol is used on the Jews’ clothing and to denote paragraph changes. This is very significant due to the fact that Jews were made to wear a star symbol during WWII to signal them out as being part of the Jewish faith.
Access Features: Author’s note.
Related Texts: The Harmonica by Tony Johnson- inspired by a Holocaust Survivor
Star of Fear, Star of Hope by Jo Hoestlandt- relates to the Star of David the Jews wore
Rose Blanche by Ian McEwan- talks of a young German girl who helps prisoners in a concentration camp
Classroom Use: I would use this in my classroom to teach the effects on the Jewish people during WWII. It is also a great book to use and teach children about tolerance of others from other cultures and religious backgrounds. There could be compare and contrast actions of how the Jews were treated and how we treat people of other religions, race, or gender in the U.S.
Zee, Ruth Vander (2003). Erika’s story. Mankato, MN: Creative Editions.
Awards: Could not find any big award names.
Grade Level: 3-6 grades.
Author Credibility: Ruth Vander Zee and her husband had been studying in Jerusalem when they drove through Austria to see Mauthausen, a concentration camp that was located there during WWII. The couple found themselves in Rothenburg, Germany where they were watching people clean up from a recent tornado. While they were sitting on the curb, she met a woman named Erika. By talking to her she learned of her personal experience as a Jew in WWII. From the lady’s true life account, she was able to write Erika’s Story.
Summary/Response: This is a short story picture book about a woman’s account of her life during WWII. It tells a powerful story of her as an infant, the difficult decision her mother made last minute to save her life, and the kindness of a woman who took her into her home. Erika could only imagine what the last few days with her mother was like. She did not know her exact birth date or birth name. She did not know if she had brothers or sisters. All she knew was the story she learned through her adoptive mother of how Erika’s birth mother risked everything so that she may have a chance to live.
I was not able to read this book dried eyed. This pulled so many emotions with how the Jews suffered during WWII. It was not only their lives that were devastated, but also the lives of their children. This story shows that there was no mercy among the young, the old and even infants. All were sentenced to die.
National Standards: Language: Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
Social Studies: The causes and global consequences of World War II.
Illustrations: A mixture of illustrations. Monochromatic tones were used during the Nazi era and then he slowly begins changing to color in pictures of “hope” or modern day. Nothing is mentioned of the type of mediums he used, only that his illustrations were photo-like.
The book is brown linen bound with a cut out of a star on the cover. Inside the star is yellow linen paper. Throughout the book the star symbol is used on the Jews’ clothing and to denote paragraph changes. This is very significant due to the fact that Jews were made to wear a star symbol during WWII to signal them out as being part of the Jewish faith.
Access Features: Author’s note.
Related Texts: The Harmonica by Tony Johnson- inspired by a Holocaust Survivor
Star of Fear, Star of Hope by Jo Hoestlandt- relates to the Star of David the Jews wore
Rose Blanche by Ian McEwan- talks of a young German girl who helps prisoners in a concentration camp
Classroom Use: I would use this in my classroom to teach the effects on the Jewish people during WWII. It is also a great book to use and teach children about tolerance of others from other cultures and religious backgrounds. There could be compare and contrast actions of how the Jews were treated and how we treat people of other religions, race, or gender in the U.S.
2 comments:
Wow, another one! You should really read Hitler Youth. It gives a different look at some of the children of the Holocaust and WWII.
Allison
I agree with Allison--Hitler Youth would be an excellent book to include in a text set about WWII, Germany, and the Holocaust.
Check the Notable Social Studies Tradebooks list for this title too.
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