The Search

Esther remembers her own experience of the Holocaust as a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam, and recounts to her grandson Daniel and his friend Jeroen how she escaped from the Nazis and survived by going into hiding in the countryside. Her parents were not so lucky. Esther knows they were sent to a concentration camp and died there, and with Daniel’s help she embarks on a search to discover what happened to them during the last months of their lives. After tracking down an old friend who now lives in Israel, Esther finally learns the shocking story of how her parents met their fates at Auschwitz.

VOYA

These two books each concern a grandmother who lived in The Netherlands during World War II telling their families about their experiences. The Search is the story of Esther, a Jewish woman who reconnects with a childhood friend, Helena, in the United States. Esther's and Helena's grandsons ask them about their lives and the story of how Esther's family was torn apart by the Holocaust emerges. In A Family Secret, Helen's grandson Jeroen, raids his grandmother's attic to find items to sell at a yard sale. He finds her old scrapbook, covering the years of the Nazi occupation. Helena tells Jeroen about her life at that time, including Esther's disappearance, how her father worked for the German occupying forces and how her brother joined the Resistance. The picture-book shaped tomes have art that is detailed yet clear, with bold colors and no shading, but because the characters have only a few stock facial expressions, the total effect comes across a bit "cartoony." The historical information is given didactically. Instead of using the art to drive the story, a character's head will float above the panel, narrating. The reader is being told the action instead of simply being shown it. The books' accuracy is impeccable, but their appeal is unclear. The information on the Holocaust is accurate and scary, but the art and color seem young for such heavy material. Perhaps classroom teachers can use them to entice reluctant readers into learning about the Holocaust. Reviewer: Geri Diorio

ERIC HEUVEL is a highly regarded Dutch graphic novel artist. He lives in Zaandam. RUUD VAN DER ROL worked at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam for many years, and LIES SCHIPPERS is an editor and author there. They have both written and edited books and educational materials dealing with Anne Frank and her family, her work and her lifetime, as well as the Holocaust, human rights, prejudice, and discrimination. Mr. van der Rol lives in Castricum, and Ms. Schippers lives in Haarlem.