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Overview
The Second World War was a time of terrible injustices. It was also a time of incredible bravery. My Canary Yellow Star is the remarkable story of one of the last century’s greatest heroes, Raoul Wallenberg, who was responsible for saving as many as 100,000 lives.
Young Marta’s life in Budapest has been shattered by the war. First, her school closes. Jews are prohibited from attending classes. Then her father, along with other able-bodied men, is arrested and sent to work digging ditches on the eastern front. The family’s apartment is confiscated, and Marta, her brother, and her mother must share cramped space with her aunt and cousin. Food, warm clothing, and any kind of personal freedom have all but vanished.
Jewish life becomes more and more confined as the old people, women, and children are forced into the ghetto. From there, the next step is the waiting cattle cars and the concentration camps. But Marta’s family is lucky. They are numbered among those who could be saved by the efforts of Raoul Wallenberg.
Among the few points of hope was this extraordinary Swedish diplomat. Raoul Wallenberg issued papers to thousands of Jews, declaring them to be Swedish citizens. Wallenberg was questioned by the Russians after the war and disappeared, possibly to die in Siberia. An international movement has been in place for decades to press Russia for news of his fate. Although details of his death remain a mystery, he has come to represent courage and justice in the face of great evil.
Synopsis
The Second World War was a time of terrible injustices. It was also a time of incredible bravery. My Canary Yellow Star is the remarkable story of one of the last century’s greatest heroes, Raoul Wallenberg, who was responsible for saving as many as 100,000 lives.
Young Marta’s life in Budapest has been shattered by the war. First, her school closes. Jews are prohibited from attending classes. Then her father, along with other able-bodied men, is arrested and sent to work digging ditches on the eastern front. The family’s apartment is confiscated, and Marta, her brother, and her mother must share cramped space with her aunt and cousin. Food, warm clothing, and any kind of personal freedom have all but vanished.
Jewish life becomes more and more confined as the old people, women, and children are forced into the ghetto. From there, the next step is the waiting cattle cars and the concentration camps. But Marta’s family is lucky. They are numbered among those who could be saved by the efforts of Raoul Wallenberg.
Among the few points of hope was this extraordinary Swedish diplomat. Raoul Wallenberg issued papers to thousands of Jews, declaring them to be Swedish citizens. Wallenberg was questioned by the Russians after the war and disappeared, possibly to die in Siberia. An international movement has been in place for decades to press Russia for news of his fate. Although details of his death remain a mystery, he has come to represent courage and justice in the face of great evil.
KLIATT
Fifteen-year-old Marta lives in Budapest in 1944. Along with other Jews, she watches powerlessly as she and her family suffer the harsh consequences of the German occupation. Jewish schools are closed; Marta's father is deported; and the rest of the family must scramble to find "yellow star" housing. Crowding and humiliation are soon joined by fierce hunger and escalating violence. The threat of death is imminent—until Marta hears about a man named Raoul Wallenberg. Wallenberg, a real historical figure, was a Swedish diplomat who issued Swedish protective passports to Hungarian Jews during the war and convinced both the Nazis and the German-sympathetic Hungarian government to honor them. In a way that seems almost magical to anyone familiar with Nazi tendencies, Jews possessing his "Schutz-Passes" were allowed to walk away from groups being deported or tortured. Because of him, some of Marta's family members survive. The presence of Wallenberg is the strength of this book. A historical note at the end tells of his mysterious post-war disappearance and the possibility that he died in a Soviet prison. Although a novel, My Canary Yellow Star would be best used as part of a history curriculum or by readers who may be spurred on to further research. Category: Paperback Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2001, Tundra Books, dist. by McClelland & Stewart, 232p. illus., $6.95. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Rebecca Rabinowitz; V.H. Scholar, Child. Lit., Simmons College, Boston SOURCE: KLIATT, March 2002 (Vol. 36, No. 2)
Editorials
Children's Literature
Fifteen-year-old Marta was working on math equations when the principal abruptly entered her classroom to announce that the German army had invaded their city of Budapest, Hungary, and her Jewish school was closed. The day was March 19, 1944. It began a year in which Marta would lose her home, her father, her grandmother, her aunt and her first love. Yet Marta was not deported to a concentration camp in Poland. She suffered the humiliation, starvation and cruelty of the Budapest Ghetto. This is a grim story lightened by the heroic deeds of the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who rescued 100,000 Hungarian Jews. On more than one occasion, Marta and members of her family are saved from deportation by Wallenberg's rescue operation. The depiction of this amazing hero through the eyes of characters who owe their lives to his selfless courage gives this book a unique perspective. Readers will also be absorbed by the independent Marta and her relationship with Peter, a Gentile boy who is willing to risk his own safety to visit her in the ghetto. This is a compelling read for young adults.—Jackie Hechtkopf