Yellow Star

Title: Yellow Star

Author: Jennifer Roy

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The Holocaust is one of those things in history that no one likes to talk about. Some would like to forget it ever happened while others simply deny it ever happened at all. What a shame it is to shut out a part of our world’s past because it is “unpleasant”. Growing up in school, I remember The Holocaust being one of the things I learned about in history that impacted me most. In fact, I would go as far to say that it horrified me. Even as young as fifth grade, I remember being absolutely devastated about what I learned happened to all of these innocent people. However, nothing is more impactful than reading a first-hand account of an experience such as this and that is exactly what readers will find in Yellow Star. Being a huge fan of poetry, I absolutely fell in love with book and literally never put it down. It was a quick read, yet so moving and heart-wrenching. At times, I felt as if I was watching a movie.

What I think kids will like about this book is that the information is presented through the eyes of a child. The character is someone they can easily relate to making the story all that more powerful. The story is also presented in a non-threatening way. Children who don’t necessarily like reading will find this book more appealing because of the short collections of poems used to tell the story. I myself, found the story to be more powerful because of this and think children might as well. Overall, the book would be an excellent introduction into the topic of the Holocaust in any upper elementary through middle school classroom.

My only reservation with the book is that it tells a “success” story for the main character and her family when in reality there weren’t very many success stories to tell. Sylvia was one of the lucky ones and the few children to survive her camp. I wouldn’t want the children in my class to be under the impression that many people survived The Holocaust when they didn’t. Thus, it would be very important to study the topic in depth for them to get a better understanding of what actually happened, particularly in the older grades. All in all though, this is a book that definitely belongs in any classroom library. It is heart-wrenching, inspiring, and, best of all, it’s true.