The Tree of Life
How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Hope triumphs over fear in this poignant and impactful true story of the Holocaust—a delicate introduction to World War Two history for older picture book readers.
During World War Two, in the concentration camp Terezin, a group of Jewish children and their devoted teacher planted and nurtured a smuggled-in sapling. Over time fewer and fewer children were left to care for the little tree, but those who remained kept lovingly sharing their water with it. When the war finally ended and the prisoners were freed, the sapling had grown into a strong five-foot-tall maple.
Nearly eighty years later the tree’s 600 descendants around the world are thriving . . . including one that was planted at New York City’s Museum of Jewish Heritage in 2021. Students will continue to care for it for generations to come, and the world will remember the brave teacher and children who never gave up nurturing a brighter future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Irma Lauscher (1904–1985) carried out two enduring acts of resistance in the Terezin ghetto during WWII. She secretly taught the children imprisoned with her to read, write, and celebrate the Jewish holidays, and with help, obtained a maple sapling in observance of Tu BiShvat. She and her students planted it in a hidden corner, sharing precious drops of water with the growing tree, which became known throughout Terezin as Etz Chaim, the Tree of Life. "Fewer and fewer children were left to care for the tree"—one image shows a frightened youth holding a leaf during a deportation to "a place that was even worse." But the tree and Lauscher survive and serve as witnesses: the tree thrives for more than six decades, and Lauscher, who "saw to it that seeds from the tree were planted all over the world," memorializes all of those who were denied a future. Boxer (A Seat at the Table) and illustrator Rozentsveig strike a reportorial tone in measured prose and softly textured digital art of largely pale-skinned historical figures, conveying both the necessity and limits of hope in the darkest of times. An author's note concludes. Ages 5–9. ■
