European Books

Yellow Star

Jennifer Roy

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> Fiction -> Holocaust

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

This book is amazing!!!!!!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am always trying to educate myself on The Holocaust since I teach a unit over it during the school year. This year I attended an educator conference for teaching The Holocaust and one of the speakers highly recommend this book, so I went home and ordered it. When I received it, I sat on the couch and started to read it. Two hours later I got up feeling like I had just lived through a horrible nightmare. This book is amazing. You are there feeling and seeing everything. If you have any interest in stories about The Holocaust, this is one to add to your library.

Lyrical; one of the best Holocaust stories I've read. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The author retells her Aunt Syvia's story of surviving in the Lodz Ghetto during WWII. The book is based on Syvia's true story, although the author has fictionalized some events. Told in a series of vignettes that are vivid and poetic, the story begins during the fall of 1939 and ends with the liberation of Lodz in 1945.

Each of the book's five sections starts with a short factual introduction that puts Syvia's story into a historical context. Then, told in first person, each of Syvia's short but vivid memories helps the reader understand the true horror of the Holocaust. Syvia's story is wonderful and terrifying and wise.

Told from a child's perspective, the story uses simple and powerful language. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for children and adults.

Editorial Review:

Yellow Star is a Marshall Cavendish publication.

Boy: Tales of Childhood

Roald Dahl

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 141 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Funny book 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This hilarious book from Roald Dahl that tells about the funny things that he had done throughout his life. People who enjoy other books Dahl wrote will laugh on this one. For instance, Roald and his friends put a dead rat into a jar of Gobstoppers. IF you read the book, you should read more of Roald Dahl's adventures. I will recommend this book to people who like nonfiction and funny stories because it has both great and funny story.

Fun, easy read... 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

My 15 year old brother-in-law enjoyed reading this book with me. I enjoyed it myself!!

I've lost track of how often I've read this book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I adore reading and devour about 3-4 books a month, and I can safely say this is my favorite book of all time. I first read Boy when I was around 8. Now, nearly twenty years later, I still have that same copy. The cover is hanging on by a thread and the binding is in sad shape, but it sums up how I feel about the book: I have read it to death. No one tells a story or turns a phrase quite like Dahl. His descriptions of homemade Norwegian ice cream alone make the book worth reading! While not recommended for very young children due to some disturbing images (corporal punishment at school, a scary trip to the dentist), anyone who loves vivid, memorable, hilarious memoirs should read this book...over and over again!

Editorial Review:

In Boy, Roald Dahl recounts his days as a child growing up in England. From his years as a prankster at boarding school to his envious position as a chocolate tester for Cadbury's, Roald Dahl's boyhood was as full of excitement and the unexpected as are his world-famous, best-selling books. Packed with anecdotes— some funny, some painful, all interesting— this is a book that's sure to please.

Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 (The Royal Diaries)

Carolyn Meyer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 100 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Anastasia is a carefree young duchess, daughter of Nicholas Alexandrovitch Romanov, tsar of all the Russias in 1914. While her father attends to the turbulent affairs of a vast and complex country, Anastasia's major concerns are how to get out of her detested schoolwork to play in the snow, go ice skating, or have picnics. She wears diamonds and rubies, and every morning her mother tells her which matching outfit she and her three sisters shall wear that day. Slowly a hint of future trouble enters her happy, pampered life. Anastasia's younger brother, the future tsar, is a hemophiliac--a "bleeder" who cannot stop bleeding if he is cut or bruised. Anastasia begins to learn that all is not well in the outside world, either. Not everyone in Russia worships her father as she does, and the Germans are about to declare war on Russia. Anastasia's world gradually deteriorates, as reported in her youthful, often playful journal.

As Russia entered World War I, hunger and poverty grew among the peasants, and the Romanov ruling family began to lose favor, culminating in their murders--including Anastasia's--by Bolshevik revolutionaries. This fictionalized diary of the mischievous youngest daughter's last four years gives a fascinating glimpse into a life of unlimited wealth--and the subsequent downward spiral. Historical notes, family trees, and photographs round out Carolyn Meyer's compelling contribution to the popular Royal Diaries series. (Ages 9 to 14) --Emilie Coulter

Boy Who Dared

Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A powerful story of courage and morality 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

"The executioner works on Tuesdays."

The first page sets the mood for this haunting work of historical fiction, which is based on the life of Helmuth Guddat Hubner, a member of the Hitler Youth and the title character of THE BOY WHO DARED. Susan Campbell Bartoletti has taken one episode from her Newbery Honor Book, HITLER YOUTH, and fleshed it out into a thought-provoking novel.

The story begins on day 264 of Helmuth's imprisonment by the Nazis. In a cold prison cell he reflects on his past while waiting to find out if he has a future --- or if he will be put to death for being "an enemy of the state."

In his cell, Helmuth remembers his mother, Mutti, and older half-brothers, Hans and Gerhard. He also looks back with fondness on his special closeness with his grandparents, Oma and Opa, who care for Helmuth and his brothers while Mutti, a single mother, works nights.

Life is not easy for his family or for the German people after losing the Great War (World War I). At school Helmuth learns how the Treaty of Versailles --- the peace agreement that ended the Great War in 1918 --- has forced Germans to make costly reparations, which have led to unemployment, poverty and inflation. Even more, the treaty has caused shame and humiliation to the once proud and cultured German people, who gave the world Brahms, Beethoven and Bach.

Growing up, Helmuth remembers hearing strong opinions of neighbors and family members after Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist Party and newly elected chancellor of the Third Reich, promises to make Germany strong again. Soon after Hitler comes to power, young Helmuth is entranced with the parades of "brown-shirted men wearing red-and-black armbands and tall, black, shiny boots." He vows to fight for the Fatherland, and Hugo Hubner, a Nazi soldier who becomes Helmuth's stepfather, is proud of his decision to join the Hitler Youth.

Helmuth is a bright and outspoken lad who yearns for the truth. He finds comfort in the Church of the Latter Day Saints and his Mormon faith. As Hitler and the Nazis gain a stranglehold throughout Germany, Helmuth witnesses patriotism turn to fanaticism. Neighbors turn against neighbors, books critical of Hitler are burned, and radios linking Germans to the outside world are seized as the Nazi leader's quest for power spreads across Europe.

After seeing a classmate scorned and beaten up for being Jewish, and later watching a Jewish neighbor who served nobly in the Great War get hauled off by Nazi stormtroopers, Helmuth becomes disillusioned and vows to take action. But can one teenage boy stand up against the Nazis? If so, how and at what risk?

THE BOY WHO DARED is a story about having the courage to act upon one's beliefs, no matter one's age or the risks and consequences involved. Bartoletti's use of flashbacks builds the suspense, and her inclusion of numerous photos, along with a Third Reich timeline, complement the experience of reading this memorable novel.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt

Editorial Review:

Bartoletti has taken one episode from her Newbery Honor Book, HITLER YOUTH, and fleshed it out into thought-provoking novel. When 16-year-old Helmuth Hubner listens to the BBC news on an illegal short-wave radio, he quickly discovers Germany is lying to the people. But when he tries to expose the truth with leaflets, he's tried for treason. Sentenced to death and waiting in a jail cell, Helmuth's story emerges in a series of flashbacks that show his growth from a naive child caught up in the patriotism of the times, to a sensitive and mature young man who thinks for himself.

Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles, Austria-France, 1769 (The Royal Diaries)

Kathryn Lasky

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 104 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"I look up now into the oval mirror and see barely a trace of the mud-splattered girl tearing through the woodland on her horse, or the barefoot girl wading at Schonbrunn... I have become what Mama set out for me to be. Majestic. A Dauphine and eventually a Queen."

So writes the headstrong 13-year-old Maria Antonia--future Queen of France--in her diary on October 23, 1769. In this engrossing addition to the Royal Diaries series (Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile), Kathryn Lasky invents a diary of the young Marie Antoinette in 1769--the year she is to be married off to Dauphin Louis Auguste, eldest grandson of the French king Louis XV. Arranged marriages were common in that day and age--as the Empress Theresa (of the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nations) sought to consolidate power among nations by marrying off her children. Thus, the future of Austria and France falls upon Maria Antonia's young shoulders.

To prepare her for this awesome responsibility, she must be trained to write, read, speak French, dress, act... even breathe. Things get even more grim as she is shipped off to the court of Versailles and introduced to her puffy, awkward future husband and confronted with the court's ridiculous customs. Marie--an opinionated and insightful young woman--mocks the court of "impeccable etiquette and manners" that makes up nasty rhymes about those they hate, but panics when her hair is mussed. Lasky has done an excellent job of creating a very human character in the young Marie Antoinette--one whom young readers will want to learn more about. Fortunately, her story is given plenty of context with an epilogue describing the history of the young Queen after 1769, a historical note offering an 18th-century context, a Habsburg-Bourbon family tree, and various portraits of the royal family. (Ages 9 to 13) --Karin Snelson

Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia, 1743 (The Royal Diaries) (Royal Diaries, The)

Kristiana Gregory

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The best Royal Dairy Book ever! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

All I can say to describe this book is wow!!! It was sooo intresting and kept me reading until when I was at the end. This book was so good, heck my mom even read it in one night unable to take her eyes of it! I even recomended my friends to read it and they loved it.

Now anyways, royal Catherine... well her real name is Sophie since shes from Prussia lives happily until her cruel mother wants to have power and to be known so Sophie's cousin and friend is this one prince from Russia, who is related to the powerful ruler Elisabeth 2, wants Sophie to marry him. Sophie unwillingally excepts and they head to Russia but is scared of Queen Elisabeth 2 sice she even send her own daughter to Syberia and cut her tounge!! But she will do what her mother wants and heads of to Russia to be wed.

It is a exciting thriller that makes me want to read on and most people agree with me. READ THIS!!!

Editorial Review:

Fourteen-year-old Prussian princess Sophia finds herself entangled in her mother's efforts to arrange a marriage between Sophia and Charles-Peter, a young German duke and nephew of the Russian empress Elizabeth. As Sophia's mother moves to make the match, she and Sophia must travel from their humble home in Zerbst, Prussia, to Russia--the kingdom of Elizabeth. There, Sophia is renamed Catherine and married to Charles-Peter, but she watches helplessly as her family is torn from her, her own mother is involved in a spying ring against the empress, and all that is familiar to her disappears.

Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine

Kristiana Gregory

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

THIS BOOK, in MY OPINION, was one of the best out of the "Royal Diaries" Series. Eleanor is not a princess, but a Duchess of Aquitaine (Southern France) in the 1100's. This book was well written and contained much information on Eleanor's teen years. Although the reading level is supossed to be ages 9-12, i am 13, almost 14, and enjoyed this book. I think it's good for all ages.

The Diary of a amazing girl 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Eleanor is a young girl but is old enough to get married. Her father Duke William X a very wealthy man, decides to go to war. So her sister and her are left with no father or mother only servants and there grandma. He does come back but a tragedy occurs and she is forced to marry the price soon to be king of France. She has never met him before and she really like Clotaire the strong. Her life is filled with new, terrifying, heart leaping adventures. She also has a younger brother and sister. Her brother dies but, her sister is still alive. Her mother is also gone. So it's not really a big family. Just her younger sister her dad and herself. I really like this book because of different things I get to read about. I think its so cool hearing about what it was like for a girl in medieval times about my age well she was really more of a princess. Her father had even more money then the king. It's really interesting reading about her life. How and where she hides her diary. How she is taken care of. What they ate back then. Where they went to the bathroom with no toilets. Its such a fascinating book with so much drama. And life filled with excitement!

Editorial Review:

Fourteen-year-old Eleanor of Aquitaine lives in a castle in Poitier, France, with her father Count William of Aquitaine (son of William the Conqueror), and her 12-year-old sister Petronilla. Their mother died several years earlier, so their grandmother and ladies-in-waiting raise the girls. Eleanor is extremely intelligent and literate, having been carefully educated by royal tutors. Spinning bores her, as does weaving, sewing, and other housewifery skills expected of her. She would rather be a knight and ride off to war. In fact, in 1136, when her father is invited to help invade Normandy,

Rashi's Daughter, Secret Scholar

Maggie Anton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A great book for Children...unless 4 out of 5 stars.
14 of 16 people found this review helpful.

Having read the first two volumes of Rashi's Daughter's I ordered this immediately upon Amazon making it available, March 28, 2008.I didn't know it was for readers "ten and up." I assumed (always a bad idea) that it would be about the third daughter, Rachel. Silly me. It is a re-telling of the story of Jocheved for younger readers...unless they have read the first two volumes. I will give the book to a young girl, a friend's daughter. I am sure she will find it fascinating.
My disappointment is more than likely my own fault.

Editorial Review:

The tale of a young girl who challenges conventions to engage in Jewish learning

Set in 11th-century Troyes, France, Rashi's Daughter, Secret Scholar tells the story of Joheved, eldest daughter of Salomon ben Isaac (known as Rashi), one of the great medieval Jewish Bible commentators. At a time when women traditionally were barred from studying Jewish texts, Rashi secretly teaches first Joheved, then her sister Miriam. By day, Joheved helps in running the household and the family winemaking business, and by night she studies Talmud with her father.

As she nears marriageable age, Joheved finds her mind and spirit awakened by religious study, but she must keep her passion for learning and prayer hidden. When she becomes betrothed to Meir ben Samuel, she is forced to choose between marital happiness and being true to her love of the Talmud. Will she fulfill the expected role of a Jewish woman or pursue a path of Jewish learning?

Camille and the Sunflowers

Laurence Anholt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

WELL WRITTEN, WELL ILLUSTRATED AND VERY USEFUL. 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is the type of book that I do wish there were more of. I certainly am not going to go into plot, story-line, etc. here, as other reviewers have done so already and have accomplished it quite well. This story is based on a true encounter with the artist Vincent Van Gogh. This book is a wonderful tool to introduce children to the wonderful artist. It also has some wonderful lesson within it's pages dealing with acceptance and tolerance of those who are just a bit different than ourselves. The author has done a wonderful job with the text and the illustrations fit perfectly and are very well executed. The story is told through the eyes of a small boy. I have read this to quite a number of classes of children and they have all enjoyed it, which, when you think about it, is a pretty good indorsement for any children's book. This is certainly one you will want to add to your child's library.

Editorial Review:

"Where Camille lived, the sunflowers grew so high they looked like real suns. . . ." So begins this fascinating tale of Camille, a little boy who meets a man with a yellow beard. This man is Vincent van Gogh, and they become best friends. The story, based on a true-life incident, is beautifully illustrated in full-color, including reproductions of some of van Gogh's paintings.

The Redheaded Princess: A Novel

Ann Rinaldi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Courtesy of Teens Read Too 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

In Rinaldi's spectacular new book for young adults, she's moved beyond American history to British, and the tale of a young redheaded girl who yearned to be queen.

Despised by her father and sister, shoved aside by the nation's leaders, and motherless, young Elizabeth I grows up at her country estate where she learns from a young age the dangers of crossing paths with monarchs. She realizes that even though her sister and her brother stand between her and the Crown, she will one day be queen.

THE REDHEADED PRINCESS is her sharp, fast-paced, and beautifully wrought story of how that came to be.

Wonderfully detailed and breathtakingly accurate, this is perhaps the most engaging book that tells of Elizabeth's plights and triumphs.

Reviewed by: The Compulsive Reader

Editorial Review:

Growing up, Elizabeth fears she can never be Queen. Although she is the King's daughter, no woman can ever hope to rule over men in England, especially when her mother has been executed for treason.

For all her royal blood, Elizabeth's life is fraught with danger and uncertainty. Sometimes she is welcome in the royal court; other times she is cast out into the countryside. With her position constantly changing, the Princess must navigate a sea of shifting loyalties and dangerous affections. At stake is her life—for beheading is not uncommon among the factions that war for the Crown.

With the vivid human touch that has made her one of the foremost writers of historical fiction, Ann Rinaldi brings to life the heart and soul of the young Elizabeth I. It's a portrait of a great leader as she may have been as she found her way to the glorious destiny that lay before her.