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Yellow Star (novel)

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Yellow Star is a book by Jennifer Roy, which portrays the life of one girl during World War Two after the Nazis force Polish Jews into the Lodz Ghetto in 1939. The story is fictionalized, but based on the life of Roy's aunt Syvia, who is four and a half year old when the book opens.[1] When the 800 remaining Jews were liberated on January 19, 1945 Syvia was one day shy of her 10th birthday. Only twelve children, Syvia among them, survived.[2]

Construction

Yellow Star is the outgrowth of author Jennifer Roy's tape recording of her aunt's recollections of life in the Lodz ghetto. Syvia Perlmutter was 4 when she was forced into the ghtetto, which was liberated the day before her 10th birthday. Afterwards, she emigrated to America, Americanized her name, married, and settled in Maryland as Sylvia Perlmutter Rozines. More than 50 years after the events described in the book, she began telling her story to family members, including Roy.[3]

Yellow Star is written in free verse, after Roy struggled with how to authentically express Perlmutter Rozines' experiences to children in a way that did not seem stiff or detached. Roy cites Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal Winner Out of the Dust as an inspiration for the book's voice. Roy edited Perlmutter Rozines' various recollections together into chronological order, and penned narrative introductions to each chapter describing the war's events outside the ghetto.[3]

Plot

In 1939, the Nazis invade Lodz and force Poland's second-largest community of Jews, 270,000 strong, into a ghetto. Before the Nazi invasion, Syvia and her family live at Lodz. When her father hears of the impending German invasion, they travel in a buggy to Warsaw. The family is unable to find work or a job, so they return to Lodz. When the Germans do invade Lodz, they build a ghetto and Syvia's family is forced to relocate. Syvia explains what life is like, her friends, people around the ghetto, jobs, and schedule.

During the extermination of the Jews the families smuggle the children to a safe place. When Syvia's father hears the Nazis are nearby they go to the cemetery. Her father digs a hole and hides Syvia on the bottom while he lies on the top. When morning comes, they are safe. There are also tragic events in the story: one of Syvia's friends dissapears, and another friend is killed and burned in the extermination camp.

Reception

Yellow Star won the 2009 W. A. White Children's Book Award, selected by vote of sixth- through eighth-graders in Kansas.[4] It was selected as an American Library Association Notable Children's Book for Older Readers in April 2007.[5] It was selected as a "fiction and poetry honor book" in the 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards.[6] It also received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist.[3]

The Publisher's Weekly review commended the book for "the lyricism of the narrative, and Syvia's credible childlike voice, maturing with each chapter, as she gains further understanding of the events around her".[7] Another reviewer praised the format, saying the "free-verse format suits the young narrator and subject matter well" and concluding that "Readers searching for an accessible Holocaust novel will be absorbed by this haunting story based on true events".[8] Library Media Connection's review commends Roy for her age-appropriate language: "When Syvia witnesses the shooting of people in the street, author Jennifer Roy captures the fear of the moment without graphic descriptions".[9]

Yellow Star was made into an audiobook read by Christina Moore in 2007. A Booklist review noted that "Moore's 'vroom sput-sput pop' to mirror Nazi motorcycles, booming bomb sounds, and transition to a scratchy voice to reflect the youngster's oncoming sickness more than make up for a few technical glitches, including evidence of page turning and distracting breathing sounds."[10]

External Links

References

  1. ^ Newton, Holly (2007-09-20). "War Books Teach Kids Tragic, Powerful Lessons". Columbia Tribune. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  2. ^ Larson, Peggy (2006-08-15). "The Reading Hour: Nazi Brainwashing Started With Germany's Youths". Tucson Citizen. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  3. ^ a b c Liquori, Donna (2006-07-23). "'Yellow Star' a gift from Holocaust survivor". Times Union. Retrieved 2009-04-26. (Registration required)
  4. ^ "W.A. White Book Award winners named". Emporia Gazette. 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  5. ^ "2007: Best, Notable, & Recommended". Teacher Librarian. Vol. 34, no. 4. p. 8. ISSN 1481-1782. (Registration required)
  6. ^ "2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards". The Horn Book Magazine. Vol. 83, no. 1. 2007. p. 18. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help) (Registration required)
  7. ^ "Yellow Star". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 253, no. 12. 2006-03-20. p. 56. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved 2009-04-26. (Registration required)
  8. ^ Gaffney, Loretta (2006-05-01). "Yellow Star". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Vol. 59, no. 9. p. 420. ISSN 0008-9036. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help) (Registration required)
  9. ^ Korson, Spencer (2006-08-01). "Yellow Star". Library Media Connection. Vol. 25, no. 1. p. 73. ISSN 1542-4715. Retrieved 2009-04-26. (Registration required)
  10. ^ Spencer Holley, Pam (2007-06-01). "Yellow Star". Booklist. Vol. 103, no. 19/20. p. 112. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help) (Registration required)
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