Four Perfect Pebbles - A Holocaust Story

Marion, a five year old girl, is desperate to find four pebbles the same shape, size, and color.  If she does, she has hope of keeping her family whole.  

Ted Pearce - Holocaust Song - The Forgotten People

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VysrYc3Ln0w

This youtube clip is incredible.  You can skip to the song at about 2:35 into the video.  Very touching!

From A Name to A Number

At age 13, Alter Wiener's father was murdered during the German invasion of Poland.  He survived five concentration camps and now tells his story in writing and to audiences around the world.

Marking Humanity

This book is a series of stories, poems, and essays written by holocaust survivors.  I chose this book for two reasons.  The first is that I like that it has short stories and poems so that I can pick and choose the most important parts.  The second reason I chose it is because it is the true stories written in the words of the survivors.  I was so moved by the book, "To Be a Slave" and I thought this would have a similar impact with my topic of the Holocaust.

A Picture Book of Anne Frank

I chose this picture book because I think in some of the younger grades it would be a great introduction to the real diary.  I would probably use it to get the kids interested and hopefully leave them wanting a little more.  When you first hand a kid a thick novel, they are immediately overwhelmed.  This would be a good way to slowly guide them into the real thing!

Mara's Stories: Glimmers in the Darkness

What is one to do to pass the time in a concentration camp?  A young girl named Mara tells stories to the women and children.  The stories are folktales she tells are about the gathering of the Jews, the camps, and the gas chambers.  She also tells of Jewish traditions, from legends of magic and swindler’s tales to prayers.

The Girl in the Green Sweater

The Girl in the Green Sweater by Krystyna Chiger and Daniel Paisner is the true story of a girl and her family who lived for 14 months hiding from the Nazis in an underground sewer in Lvov, Ukraine.  She tells of the techniques she used to hide herself and her brother when Nazis stormed through their house, how her father taught her how to read and write in the sewers, and how Leopold Socha, a Polish Catholic, brought them the necessities.  I thought it was interesting that the actual sweater is an exhibit at the Holocaust Memorial Museum.