novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
JARS OF HOPE: HOW ONE WOMAN HELPED 2,500 CHILDREN DURING THE HOLOCAUST
Written by Jennifer Roy and Illustrated by Meg Owenson
2015; Capstone Young Readers (33 Pages)
Genre: picture book, middle school, history, war, holocaust
RATING: 4 STARS
In Jars of Hope We meet a real life hero, Irene Sendler. During World War II she risked her life and freedom to help anyone the Nazis were persecuting. One way to help the Jewish children survive was to smuggle them out of the Ghettos. To ensure that the Nazis never figured out where they went but also to help reunite the children to their parents later she put her lists in jars and buried them. This is a great book to read to young children about the Holocaust as it give you the sense of despair and heroism without being too much for kids to handle. The pictures in this book are amazing and add to the wonderful true story about a true hero and those that helped her.
***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***
My Novelesque Blog
Written by Jennifer Roy and Illustrated by Meg Owenson
2015; Capstone Young Readers (33 Pages)
Genre: picture book, middle school, history, war, holocaust
RATING: 4 STARS
In Jars of Hope We meet a real life hero, Irene Sendler. During World War II she risked her life and freedom to help anyone the Nazis were persecuting. One way to help the Jewish children survive was to smuggle them out of the Ghettos. To ensure that the Nazis never figured out where they went but also to help reunite the children to their parents later she put her lists in jars and buried them. This is a great book to read to young children about the Holocaust as it give you the sense of despair and heroism without being too much for kids to handle. The pictures in this book are amazing and add to the wonderful true story about a true hero and those that helped her.
***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***
My Novelesque Blog
mehsi's review
5.0
Received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
I have always been interested in WWII and what happened during that time, often it is truly heartbreaking, but also often it is filled with a sense of hope. Even when everything around them collapses, even when stuff seem to end in death, people tend to keep hope, hope for various things. Like hope to survive, to know that your children are safe, to hope that everything will end.. You will also see that in this book.
Irena, I am not sure if I ever heard of her, I probably did considering I read quite a few WWII books, was a great person. Instead of running away, instead of shying away from all that happened in the ghetto, she stuck close, helping out kids and family. Smuggling and taking 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 (because it is still the war, and one extra mouth can make a big difference in how much food there is for everyone).
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.
I also loved that she kept in contact with the kids that she rescued, or at least a few. Amazing!
The story brought some tears to my eyes. Maybe I shouldn't have read this book so soon after I read another heartbreaking book, but I just couldn't wait to read this one.
The way the timeline jumps around was truly the only thing that I didn't like that much. I know this is a short book and they have to get the important stuff in it, but it just felt odd that we hopped around the years like that. At times it was confusing as things suddenly felt accelerated, I had to remind myself that a year did go past and so a lot of events will have happened that led to this one special event.
The illustrations are gorgeous and beautiful, mostly done in gloomy and dark colours to capture the war, the hopelessness that was happening in that time. 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.
All in all, this book is highly recommended. There is also a handy glossary near the end, so if there are words that kids don't know, they can just go to the end and check them out. I also loved that the author told us how things continued after the war (the story ends when Irena hides the lists). It gave a sense of closure and I am happy they did that. I would have rated the book lower if they had stopped at the hiding and didn't disclose any more information on how Irena was doing and what happened to the lists.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I have always been interested in WWII and what happened during that time, often it is truly heartbreaking, but also often it is filled with a sense of hope. Even when everything around them collapses, even when stuff seem to end in death, people tend to keep hope, hope for various things. Like hope to survive, to know that your children are safe, to hope that everything will end.. You will also see that in this book.
Irena, I am not sure if I ever heard of her, I probably did considering I read quite a few WWII books, was a great person. Instead of running away, instead of shying away from all that happened in the ghetto, she stuck close, helping out kids and family. Smuggling and taking 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 (because it is still the war, and one extra mouth can make a big difference in how much food there is for everyone).
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.
I also loved that she kept in contact with the kids that she rescued, or at least a few. Amazing!
The story brought some tears to my eyes. Maybe I shouldn't have read this book so soon after I read another heartbreaking book, but I just couldn't wait to read this one.
The way the timeline jumps around was truly the only thing that I didn't like that much. I know this is a short book and they have to get the important stuff in it, but it just felt odd that we hopped around the years like that. At times it was confusing as things suddenly felt accelerated, I had to remind myself that a year did go past and so a lot of events will have happened that led to this one special event.
The illustrations are gorgeous and beautiful, mostly done in gloomy and dark colours to capture the war, the hopelessness that was happening in that time. 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.
All in all, this book is highly recommended. There is also a handy glossary near the end, so if there are words that kids don't know, they can just go to the end and check them out. I also loved that the author told us how things continued after the war (the story ends when Irena hides the lists). It gave a sense of closure and I am happy they did that. I would have rated the book lower if they had stopped at the hiding and didn't disclose any more information on how Irena was doing and what happened to the lists.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
alistofsydneys's review
"Let me first say that I had many helpers," Irena said. "The world should never forget them. It is not true that this was a heroic act, only a simple and natural need of the heart.
mlottermoser's review
4.0
A little known story about an amazing woman who saved 2,500 Jewish children. Beautiful illustrations, simple sentences, and a great moral for young and old. While the pictures make it accessible for all, I'd peg this for middle school kids.
alissabar's review
5.0
Yet another amazing story from the Holocaust. Irena Sendler managed to save 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw getto. How is it that I've never heard of her until now?
ajacks's review
4.0
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backonthealex's review
4.0
In her book, Jars of Hope, Jennifer Roy takes the reader back to the childhood of Irena Sendler to understand why she would be willing to risk her own life years later to help the Jewish children in the Warsaw Ghetto after the Nazis so many people into such a small, unsanitary living space.
As a child, in her hometown of Otwock, Poland, Irena saw how the Jewish people were avoided, but her father taught her that nothing else matters about people except whether they are good or bad.
Irena grew up to become a social worker/nurse and as she watched events unfold in Warsaw after the Nazis took over, she was compelled to do something - but what could one person do, she asked herself.
The answer was to try and bring food and medicine to the people in the ghetto, but more importantly, Irena began to sneak the children out and to find safe homes for them until the Holocaust ended and they could be reunited with their families. Irena began to organize friends and other trustworthy people in the Polish underground who could help her carry out her frequent trips to get babies and children. Babies were taken out in carpenter's boxes, trash or coffins after being given a few drops of medicine to make them sleep. Older children were smuggled out different ways, sometimes through sewer tunnels and other times right under the noses of the Nazi guards.
Teaching the children what they needed to know in order to pass as Catholics, Irena would write down each child's original name, new name and where each was sent. Then she would put the names into jars and bury the jars under a tree. Irena and her helpers would continue to make sure each rescued child was cared for, and the families or convents were given food and money in return for the risk they were taking.
In 1943, Irena was arrested, taken to prison and tortured, but never revealed the names of rescued children, where they were hidden or who had helped her. A few months later, her freedom was bought with a large bribe and Irena continued her work with Zegota, the secret organization formed to help Jews in Poland.
It can't be easy to write a book about the Holocaust for young readers, especially for some who are just beginning to learn about it. But Jennifer Roy has taken a real hero and used her to remind us that even in the darkest of times there are people who understand what the right thing to do is, who care and are willing to help others. Yet, Roy doesn't sugar-coat her story - when Irena tells parents the only guarantee she can give them about their children is that if they remain in the Warsaw Ghetto, they will die, or when people are forced to get into cattle cars, trains that are taking them to concentration camps and their death, young readers will easily grasp the magnitude and gravity of the Holocaust.
While Roy's words tell about those dark times, Meg Owenson's realistic dark, foreboding mixed media illustrations support and extend the text, expressing the wide variety of emotions that must have been felt by everyone at that time. Be sure to read the Afterword and Author's Note at the back of the book. In addition, there is a glossary, an Index and Source Notes for further exploration.
Jars of Hope is an inspiring picture book for older readers about one very brave woman and reminds us all that one person can make a big difference in the world.
This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was a ARC received from the publisher, Capstone Press at BEA2015
This reviewed was originally posted on Alex's Bookshelves
As a child, in her hometown of Otwock, Poland, Irena saw how the Jewish people were avoided, but her father taught her that nothing else matters about people except whether they are good or bad.
Irena grew up to become a social worker/nurse and as she watched events unfold in Warsaw after the Nazis took over, she was compelled to do something - but what could one person do, she asked herself.
The answer was to try and bring food and medicine to the people in the ghetto, but more importantly, Irena began to sneak the children out and to find safe homes for them until the Holocaust ended and they could be reunited with their families. Irena began to organize friends and other trustworthy people in the Polish underground who could help her carry out her frequent trips to get babies and children. Babies were taken out in carpenter's boxes, trash or coffins after being given a few drops of medicine to make them sleep. Older children were smuggled out different ways, sometimes through sewer tunnels and other times right under the noses of the Nazi guards.
Teaching the children what they needed to know in order to pass as Catholics, Irena would write down each child's original name, new name and where each was sent. Then she would put the names into jars and bury the jars under a tree. Irena and her helpers would continue to make sure each rescued child was cared for, and the families or convents were given food and money in return for the risk they were taking.
In 1943, Irena was arrested, taken to prison and tortured, but never revealed the names of rescued children, where they were hidden or who had helped her. A few months later, her freedom was bought with a large bribe and Irena continued her work with Zegota, the secret organization formed to help Jews in Poland.
It can't be easy to write a book about the Holocaust for young readers, especially for some who are just beginning to learn about it. But Jennifer Roy has taken a real hero and used her to remind us that even in the darkest of times there are people who understand what the right thing to do is, who care and are willing to help others. Yet, Roy doesn't sugar-coat her story - when Irena tells parents the only guarantee she can give them about their children is that if they remain in the Warsaw Ghetto, they will die, or when people are forced to get into cattle cars, trains that are taking them to concentration camps and their death, young readers will easily grasp the magnitude and gravity of the Holocaust.
While Roy's words tell about those dark times, Meg Owenson's realistic dark, foreboding mixed media illustrations support and extend the text, expressing the wide variety of emotions that must have been felt by everyone at that time. Be sure to read the Afterword and Author's Note at the back of the book. In addition, there is a glossary, an Index and Source Notes for further exploration.
Jars of Hope is an inspiring picture book for older readers about one very brave woman and reminds us all that one person can make a big difference in the world.
This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was a ARC received from the publisher, Capstone Press at BEA2015
This reviewed was originally posted on Alex's Bookshelves
scostner's review
4.0
I seem to be reading a lot of World War II and Holocaust books lately. This one caught my attention because I heard about it in a webinar on nonfiction for children and young adults. Finding nonfiction about these topics that are age-appropriate for elementary school students can sometimes be difficult, so I was especially pleased to see a picture book account of Irena Sendler's efforts to save Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation of Poland.
As a social worker, Irena was able to come and go from the Ghetto and make contact with families there. Together with other brave people in Warsaw, she helped to smuggle hundreds of infants and children to safety with foster families, orphanages, and convents. Although she was caught and held for questioning for 3 months by the Gestapo, Irena never betrayed her friends or the locations of the children. Her "jars of hope" were jars buried in the backyard that contained the detailed lists she had made of each child's true name, their new alias, where they had been placed, and the names of their parents. With this information, children whose families had survived the war were able to be reunited with their loved ones.
Children sometimes think that heroes can only be male, or very physically strong, or good fighters. They don't understand that heroes come in all shapes and sizes and genders, or that violence isn't the only way to "fight" against evil. Stories of real-life heroes and heroines such as Irena Sendler need to be included in library collections and classroom lessons so that students can experience them and find inspiration.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
As a social worker, Irena was able to come and go from the Ghetto and make contact with families there. Together with other brave people in Warsaw, she helped to smuggle hundreds of infants and children to safety with foster families, orphanages, and convents. Although she was caught and held for questioning for 3 months by the Gestapo, Irena never betrayed her friends or the locations of the children. Her "jars of hope" were jars buried in the backyard that contained the detailed lists she had made of each child's true name, their new alias, where they had been placed, and the names of their parents. With this information, children whose families had survived the war were able to be reunited with their loved ones.
Children sometimes think that heroes can only be male, or very physically strong, or good fighters. They don't understand that heroes come in all shapes and sizes and genders, or that violence isn't the only way to "fight" against evil. Stories of real-life heroes and heroines such as Irena Sendler need to be included in library collections and classroom lessons so that students can experience them and find inspiration.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.