The Holocaust Resource Center & Archives. Children's Books About the Holocaust: A Selective Annotated Bibliography (Compiled by Claire Rudin, 1998)

Published by The Holocaust Resource Center & Archives, Children's Books About the Holocaust: A Selective Annotated Bibliography (Compiled by Claire Rudin, 1998) is a publication necessary for all librarians and useful for educators and parents interested in supplying their children with material to teach the lessons of the Holocaust - without traumatizing learners with the severity of the content.
Rudin's introduction stresses the importance of carefully selecting materials: "In offering such books to children, it is important to remember that an encounter with the Holocaust hastens the end of innocence. When children read a vivid survivor's story that includes experiences in a concentration camp, they enter a world in which humanity is of a different nature than they had encountered until then, what the Holocaust survivor Alexander Donat called the `Holocaust Kingdom.' Remembering this, the selector of books for children to read will make sure that the full horror of knowing the Holocaust is postponed until greater maturity makes possible acceptance of that reality, and then, perhaps, understanding."

Bibliographic entries in Children's Books are concise and cogent, providing such useful information as a range of levels in school (e.g., Grade: 5-8). An additional feature, Library of Congress classification numbers, allows for easy browsing of local library shelves - at first glance, this may seem a minor detail, but this feature saves a great deal of time. A subject and title index is supplied, providing means to easily access books according to themes, and a "Grade Index" is also provided to conduct a search for specific age groups.

Twenty-nine volumes are listed under the "Biography & Memoirs" section, expanding on the widely used Diary of Anne Frank to include works on Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, and even Adolph Hitler. Twenty-four volumes are listed under "Fiction" and eighteen volumes are listed under "Non-Fiction." The nonfiction texts cover a wide range of issues, including prewar Jewish village life, the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the Hitler Youth, and many others. The six "Reference" entries are invaluable as well, directing readers to such useful works as Macmillan's Historical Atlas of the Holocaust (1996), the Blackbird Press Holocaust series (1998), and the Shoe String Press resource book for adults, Learning About the Holocaust, Literature, and Other Resources (1995).

Children's Books About the Holocaust is an invaluable resource for any library, public or private. For ordering information, contact the Holocaust Resource Center & Archives, Queensboro Community College, The City University of New York, Bayside, NY. Telephone (718) 225-1617. FAX (718) 631-6306. Email