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Overview
Ever since the Nazis marched into Monique's small French village, terrorizing it, nothing surprises her, until the night Monique encounters 'the little ghost' sitting at the end of her bed. She turns out to be a girl named Sevrine, who has been hiding from the Nazis in Monique's basement. Playing after dark, the two become friends, until, in a terrifying moment, they are discovered, sending both of their families into a nighttime flight.
During the Nazi occupation of France, Monique's mother hides a Jewish family in her basement and tries to help them escape to freedom.
Synopsis
Ever since the Nazis marched into Monique's small French village, terrorizing it, nothing surprises her, until the night Monique encounters “the little ghost” sitting at the end of her bed. She turns out to be a girl named Sevrine, who has been hiding from the Nazis in Monique's basement. Playing after dark, the two become friends, until, in a terrifying moment, they are discovered, sending both of their families into a nighttime flight.
Children's Literature
Once again, readers are introduced to members of Patricia Polacco's extended family. The setting is France during the Nazi occupation of WWII. Her great aunt Marcel Solliliage and her daughter Monique became a part of the French Resistance. They risked their lives to hide Jews in an effort to help them escape the fate the so many suffered. The story is filled with tension, symbolism and the brutality of the occupation, and the mistreatment of the Jews is not whitewashed. Young Monique grew up fast when she learned that her mother was sheltering a Jewish family and she resolved to keep the secret. Unfortunately, she and the daughter of the family were seen by a neighbor and they had to flee. Only the daughter survived as the Author's Note reveals. While a picture book, this story is for older readers--it requires an understanding or a bit more of an explanation of WWII and the persecution of the Jews. 2000, Philomel, Ages 8 up, $16.99. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
Editorials
Children's Literature -
Drawing from the experience of family members, Polacco takes us back to a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II. What young Monique first thinks is a ghost in her room turns out to be a young Jewish girl, Severine, being hidden with her parents in Monique's basement. The girls steal moments of pleasure together. But fear of discovery forces the family to move on. The butterfly becomes a symbol of freedom. Polacco's lengthy but very readable text brings alive the joy of the girls' time together and the terror of discovery by the Nazis. The village and some of its occupants are introduced in the several pages before the text begins, so that we already feel the anxiety produced by the Nazis as well as the humanity of Monique's mother. Character is created in the sequence of portraits as events evoke emotions of horror, sorrow, friendly pleasures and familial security. The scenes are detailed where important, but otherwise exploit the potentials of color to help tell the story most effectively. A note from the author fills in the historical background. 2000, Philomel Books/Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, Ages 6 to 10, $16.99. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz—Children's LiteratureChildren's Literature
Once again, readers are introduced to members of Patricia Polacco's extended family. The setting is France during the Nazi occupation of WWII. Her great aunt Marcel Solliliage and her daughter Monique became a part of the French Resistance. They risked their lives to hide Jews in an effort to help them escape the fate the so many suffered. The story is filled with tension, symbolism and the brutality of the occupation, and the mistreatment of the Jews is not whitewashed. Young Monique grew up fast when she learned that her mother was sheltering a Jewish family and she resolved to keep the secret. Unfortunately, she and the daughter of the family were seen by a neighbor and they had to flee. Only the daughter survived as the Author's Note reveals. While a picture book, this story is for older readers--it requires an understanding or a bit more of an explanation of WWII and the persecution of the Jews. 2000, Philomel, Ages 8 up, $16.99. Reviewer: Marilyn CourtotSchool Library Journal
Gr 1-5-Polacco relates the tale of her Aunt Monique to show, in picture-book terms, the suffering of the Jews during Nazi occupation and the courage of those who took part in the French Resistance. The setting is a small village; unbeknownst to the child, Monique's mother is hiding Jews in their basement. It is at night, when Sevrine emerges from the depths to peer out the window, that Monique awakens and the secret friendship begins. Polacco's use of color has never been more effective. The blackness, which starts on the endpapers, surrounds the girls' conversations, Sevrine's basement existence, the ditch hiding the two families as they flee to the next refuge, and the train car on Monique's return trip (she has become separated from her mother). In contrast are the light-filled scenes of Monique and her mother at breakfast, their sweet reunion at home, and, on the last page, mother and child surrounded by butterflies. Earlier, Monique had watched a soldier crush a papillon; later, she had taken a fluttering "kiss of an angel" inside for her friend. The bold pattern and heightened color of the insect provides a counterpoint to the equally dynamic black-on-red swastikas. Convincing in its portrayal of both the disturbing and humanitarian forces of the time, the title is not as dark or graphic as Robert Innocenti's Rose Blanche (Harcourt, 1996). An author's note relates the rest of the story: Sevrine survived and the friendship still flourishes. A perfect blend of art and story.-Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|Childrens Book Watch
Monique finds her life changed by the Nazis during the war; but her real change comes when she discovers a Jewish girl is hiding from them in her own basement. The two become friends, but their friendship endangers their families. Good reading skills required for this fiction story of wartime friendships and experiences.—Childrens Book Watch