reviews - Jewish Book Council

efuge in Cuba. This book uses poetry to
tell the story of one such escapee from Nazi
Germany who lands in Cuba with nothing
but his woollen coat and winter clothes. A
beautiful young girl helps him to acclimate
to the island life style, but she has her own
reasons to want to escape. Daniel shares his
fear of the horrors he left behind and his
reluctance to embrace the island life
through a series of poems in his voice.
Paloma tells her story in poetry also as she
tries to help Daniel and the other refugees
despite the fact that her father is “El
Gordo,” the man who is keeping the other
refugee ships from landing and who is
threatening to send the refugees already in
Cuba back to Germany. David, an old man
who came to Cuba from Russia, and who
is Jewish like Daniel, helps the two children
as they learn to share their feelings
and overcome their fears.
The poems are haunting in their
imagery and honesty. Each character
speaks with a distinctive voice. Although
the story has some action, it is mostly a
novel of character. The reader gets to
know each character and watch as Daniel
and Paloma change and grow. This book
is highly recommended for middle school
and high school students who want a different
Holocaust story. A historical note at
the end of the book puts the actual historical
events in a context that will help
young readers relate to the events in the
story. For ages 12 and up. SD
ing the ark, loading food for the animals, and
how the other people made fun of him.
Entries Six, Seven and Eight detail the rain
and flood and life on the ark. Entry Nine, the
final one, is about life after Noah and the animals
leave the ark. There is a short glossary
and some interesting facts at the end of the
text. There are several clues that this book is
written from a Christian perspective. In the
glossary, “Hebrew” is defined as “the name
given to God’s chosen people who were also
called Israelites.” Neither moniker was used
until much later in time. Noah was not Jewish.
In a picture where Noah and his family
are praying, the people are kneeling and have
their hands together. The book emphasizes
God’s love for Noah as opposed to his disappointment
with what was wrong with the
world. While the colorful illustrations are
cute and full of energy, the humor and puns
(“What does Noah know-ah?”) of the text, as
well as the wordiness, are for an older audi-
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ence than the illustrations. This book is an
optional choice at best, for ages 5–8. KSP
Surviving the Angel
of Death
Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Buccieri
Tanglewood Publishing, 2009. 141 pp. $14.95
ISBN: 978-1-933718-28-6
Eva and Miriam Mozes were just 10 years old
when their family was sent to Auschwitz.
When their parents and older sisters were sent
to the gas chambers, their lives were spared and
because they were twins, they became subjects
of Dr. Josef Mengele’s experiments. In Surviving
the Angel of Death, Eva recounts the harrowing
ordeals she and Miriam faced. She provides
plenty of detail, though there are gaps she cannot
fill in—for example, she was deliberately
infected with a disease Mengele expected to be
fatal so that he could kill Miriam when Eva
died and compare the healthy body to the diseased
one. She survived, though she still does
not know what illness he gave her. Even after
the camp was liberated, Eva and Miriam did
not have an easy time. They eventually went to
Israel, and then to America. Eva describes her
difficult early years in Indiana and the anti-
Semitism she faced. In 1984, Eva and Miriam
founded a support group for people who had
been victims of Mengele’s sadistic experiments,
and in 1995 Eva opened a Holocaust museum
their parents and older sisters were
sent to the gas chambers, their lives
were spared and because they
were twins, they became subjects
of Dr. Josef Mengele’s experiments.
in Terre Haute, Indiana. (She is also known as
the subject of a recent controversial documentary
entitled “Forgiving Dr. Mengele” which
highlights her ideas about justice, revenge and
the possibility of healing through forgiveness.)
Kor and Buccieri include maps to help readers
place the events and photos to help make the
people seem more real. Though painful to read,
Surviving the Angel of Death provides an
informative first-hand account of the harrowing
experiences of one set of twins at
Auschwitz. For ages 14 and up. MLB
CHILDREN’S REVIEWS
The Waiting Wall
Leah Braunstein Levy; Avi Katz, illus.
Hachai Publishing, 2009. 30 pp. $12.95
ISBN: 978-1-929628-49-0
The Waiting Wall presents young children
with the history and the importance of
the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The book is
written from an Orthodox perspective as evidenced
by the word choices of “Kosel
HaMaarovi,” “Beis Ha Mikdosh,” and
“Moshiach.” It describes people swaying in
prayer, placing letters to G-d in the cracks of
the wall, crying and watching the ceaseless
movement and energy that surrounds the
wall. “The Kosel reaches arms across the shining
empty space, holding it quiet and still,”
Levy writes. The gentle words and appealing
Spring 5770/2010 Jewish Book World 65