Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

I remember a lot of my classmates were assigned this book at some point in elementary school. Our class never read it, but I'm glad I picked it up now! This is a great fictional introduction to World War II for younger readers. While it avoids any sort of graphic images, it does still portray the fear and violence civilians faced during the conflict. I also learned a bit of history I didn't know about-the mass resistance of Danes by sneaking most Jews out of their country to Sweden. This book is really good, for any age!

137 pages

Read Harder Challenge Task #20

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman

Warsaw had one of the best-know zoos in Europe during the 1930's. In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and  the ensuing bombing from the allies destroyed much of the city. Over the next few years, under German occupation, Warsaw Jews were confined to the Ghetto, the zoo animals were killed or taken by the Nazis for their own German zoos, and the zookeeper became a major player in the resistance.

During those years, the zookeeper, Jan Zabinaki,  and his wife used the grounds of the former zoo to hide weapons and ammunition, produce false papers for Jews, and even conceal Jews on the grounds, some in the animal cages. Using the diaries of Antonina Zabinski and other contemporary sources, Ackerman relates the story of over 300 Jews who were saved by this brave couple.

384 pages

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

In  France in 1939, Vianne Mauriac is living in the quiet village of Carriveau with her husband and young daughter when he is sent to the Front.  It is unthinkable that Germany will invade France, but they do.  The French government immediately capitulates, allowing Germany to establish two countries; Free France, and occupied France. Carriveau is in the occupied section, and a German officer billets in her home. She is forced  to accept if she expects to survive.

As the war progresses, the German take everything from the French; they take the good food, leaving the citizenry to slowly starve. They take their dignity, their hope, and in many cases, their lives. They take any valuables they might own, and people are forced to burn their furniture to survive the cold winters. In the end, of course, France is on the winning side of the war, but life will never be the same for those who live through it.


440 pages

I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits

In 1939, a five-year-old named Josef hides under a table and watches as his family is murdered in Transylvania by the Romanian Iron Guard. The family's maid takes him back to the farm where she grew up and pretends he is her son. Five years later, Josef rescues a five-year-old girl named Mila whose parents are murdered while running toward a rabbi they think will save them.

Josef helps Mila find Zalman Stern, a Satmar Jew. Satmars are a very conservative Jewish sect. After the war, Zalman arranges for Josef to be sent to Williamsburg, Brooklyn to become a Satmar scholar. When Mila is 18, Zalman arranges for her to marry Josef and go to America with him.

Josef and Mila have a very loving relationship, within the confines of their faith, which dictates everything they do, sexually and otherwise, in their marriage. Mila has been taught that her purpose in life is to be a dutiful wife, and be fruitful and multiply. But the years go by, and she doesn't conceive. She is tested, but for Josef to be tested he will have to commit a sin. Mila finally takes matters into her own hands, and the result leads to ultimate tragedy.


336 pages

Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi

Trudi Montag is a  Zwerg (dwarf) short, undesirable, different,  living in a small town in Germany in this story that spans both World Wars. Her father fought in World War I, and her mother is a mentally disturbed woman who rejects her daughter when she is born.

When Trudi is two, her mother embraces her one day, and falls in love with her. The two become inseparable, until her mother kills herself while once again in the insane asylum. Her father, who has always been Trudi's primary caregiver,  is a librarian of his own pay library, running the library out of their home and charging patrons to borrow books. Trudi eventually takes over, becoming the town librarian, where she is able to learn secrets while spying on the townfolk.

Trudi is deeply resentful of her physical difference, but learns to use her uniqueness in a variety of ways to her advantage, mostly to discover the secrets of various villagers, but also to enact vengeance toward others.

 She discovers various gifts she has, from her own bravery in the face of mass evil to being able to see into people's hearts. During World War II, she shelters Jews in her basement. Through her eyes, readers see the growing impact of Nazism on the ordinary townsfolk of Burgdorf as they are thrust on to a larger moral stage and forced to make choices that will forever mark their lives.




531 pages