Stars of the Night
The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
"A not-to-be-missed, inspirational book about courage, heart, and the necessity of caring for others."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
This powerful story is told from the collective perspective of the children who were rescued from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II, as Hitler's campaign of hatred toward Jews and political dissidents took hold. The narrative starts in 1938 and follows the children as they journey to foster families in England for the duration of the war, return to Prague afterward in an unsuccessful search for their parents, and eventually connect with Nicholas Winton, a British former stockbroker who was instrumental in bringing them to safety. Winton and the Czech Kindertransport ultimately rescued 669 children from Nazi persecution.
Award-winning author Caren Stelson teams up with acclaimed illustrator Selina Alko to sensitively tell this tale of survival and defiance in the face of tyranny.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stelson (A Bowl Full of Peace) employs a communal we to narrate this story of 669 primarily Jewish children of the Czech Kindertransport rescued by British humanitarian Nicholas Winton (1909–2015). The 1938 Prague–set opening evokes sensory memories of comfortable childhoods: a picnic, sweet honey cake, ice-skating, hot cocoa. But as refugees arrive and Nazi forces approach, parents start making "arrangements" with an unnamed man. Soon, the children are told that they're "taking a holiday to England," with heartrending goodbyes preceding the children's travels to English foster homes. Five decades later, a scrapbook is unearthed, revealing Winton as the man whose planning saved not only them, but also "our children, our grandchildren, and all their children to come." Impressionistic acrylic, collage, and pencil art by Alko (I Is for Immigrants) is embellished throughout with sparkling stars and round yellow orbs—reminders of "the stars of the night and the sun of the day" that, the children's parents' say, are "the messenger of our thoughts and love," as well as, perhaps, of Winton's indomitable spirit. An afterword provides extensive historical detail. Ages 7–11. Author's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. Illustrator's agent: Marietta Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary. ■
