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Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780439435406
ISBN number: 0439435404
Label: Scholastic Press
Manufacturer: Scholastic Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 32
Printing Date: September 01, 2004
Publishing house: Scholastic Press
Age index: Ages 9-12
Sale Popularity Level: 221972
Studio: Scholastic Press
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Product Description:
When Karen Hesse came upon a short article about cats out-foxing the Gestapo at the train station in Warsaw during WWII, she couldn't get the story out of her mind. The result is this stirring account of a Jewish girl's involvement in the Resistance. At once terrifying and soulful, this fictional account, borne of meticulous research, is a testament to history and to our passionate will to survive, as only Newbery Medalist Karen Hesse can write it.
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Rated by buyers -
They know
I can offer only
a gentle hand,
a tender voice.
They have no choice but to come.
They belonged once to someone.
They slept on sofa cushions
and ate from crystal dishes.
They purred,
furrowing the chest,
nuzzling the chins of their beloveds.
Thus begins this amazing work by Karen Hess and illustrated by Wendy Watson. This story was taken from a small article the author read concerning the cats of the Warsaw Ghetto during the take-over by the German Army, April 1943. A young Jewish Girl and her sister have escaped the fate suffered by so many, only because they could pass for "Polish," and were able to avoid being confined to this area in Warsaw. They were able to smuggle food to those trapped on the other side. Having problems finding food for themselves, a plan was made to bring food in from outside the city. Somehow the Gestapo found out about these plans and made their own plans to capture those who were trying to bring the food in.
The young girl, her sister, and others gathered the now stray cats from Krasinski Square, secreted them in bundles and were waiting at the station when the smugglers brought the bundles of food into the station. At just the moment when the Gestapo closed in with their dogs, the people released the cats and in the pandemonium which followed the people were able to escape with their food bundles.
My goodness, what a lovely work, used to tell of such a horrible even in our history. The author's flawless use of simple free verse is most effective in this case. The artist's light, almost glowing use of the brush and colour adds almost a surrealistic feel to such a dark event. To be frank, I cannot remember reading anything quite like this work.
The bravery of the little girl in the story, along with her sister and others involved in getting food to those being held is quite inspiring. Knowing of the absolute bravery of the young men and women fighting against what could arguable be the most evil a cowardly organization known in the world to that date, is inspiring beyond words. Many young men and women did escape the Warsaw Ghetto uprising to fight again another day, but many more did not. Note that I mention only "young men and women" here. The stark reality was that all the very young and the old had long since been sent to their doom at internment camps; by the tens of thousands. All that were left were those young and strong enough to work as slave labor in plants and factories.
Now I will say that this is a wonderful and well written work. I personally would not feel comfortable using it as an introduction to the Holocaust with the age group to which it is targeted which is grades two through five. If this book is read, it should be read with an adult who is familiar with the happenings of that time in general, and the Warsaw incident in particular. There is much in this little work that needs a much fuller explanation. I feel It would be best if a parent or teacher discussed these events, their beginnings and the final tragic outcome.
This is a unique work and belongs in any library, either public, school or library. I cannot say I "enjoyed" it, as I certainly did not, but I can say I appreciated it. I suspect that most who read it will be such as I, and after reflection, shed a tear or two.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
Rated by buyers -
The Cats in Krasinski Square is about a Jewish girl who is plays with cats outside a ghetto where people are starving. Her family and friends are determined to smuggle food into the ghetto. How will they do it? How are the cats involved in the story? Very moving, very beautiful!
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Once upon a time in a far away place, there lived a bad man, a very bad man. In fact this man was so good at being bad that he convinced the people of his country that he was a good man. Not only that, he convinced them he was the man for the job, the job of leading their government. So he did. Then he convinced his people that there were enemies living right there in their country and they should remove them. But inside his government where there were dark secrets, this bad man decided to create a Final Solution for dealing with these enemies within.
Years later and still unto this day, many writers and historians and journalists have tried to explain how this bad man gained such power to do the awful things he did. Karen Hesse and Wendy Watson combined talents to create "The Cats in Krasinski Square," in their effort to show one tiny moment in this ugly episode of history, the Holocaust of Jews, very first in Germany, then quickly spreading to other Germanic countries and conquered ones in World War II.
In Poland in Warsaw in the Jewish community, walls were built to keep in Jews and keep out non-Jews. Simply an early phase of the Final Solution. Separate the Jews into ghettos, then collect them in cattle cars to take them to the concentration camps, then eliminate their existence through crematoriums--the Final Solution. Notice the massing together at each phase, attempting to make negligible their humanity.
The cats in Krasinski Square are homeless because of the rounding up and crowding together of the Jews. The cats thrive on mice, but they miss their former masters. People outside the ghettos, both non-Jews and Jews able to escape and pass as Polish, keep the cats socialized by the attention they give them (see cover for an example).
A nameless girl, a Polish Jew, who escaped the ghetto, is the narrator of this simple, but heroic act to get food inside the ghetto. There are many holes in the walls, the escape hatch for the cats who come and go, seeking mice. It also is the entryway for food. For this particular episode, friends will arrive on trains with satchels of food to bestow in the holes of the walls. Unfortunately, the Gestapo knows and waits with hungry dogs. The cats are used as lures for the dogs, who go after them instead of the food. Food disappears into the walls and starvation is staved again for a while longer.
That is the essence of the story. A great story. The other half of this wonderful story is the illustrations. They are done in pencil, ink, and watercolors on Strathmore drawing paper. Watercolors tend to give a transparency to the subject, providing a dreamy cast. Watson also uses dark colors, possibly pencil, to provide a ominous overcast to every scene, then offsetting each with an orange glow, perhaps suggestive of hope and action. This is such a perfect pairing, words and illustrations to convey a message of action through hope and hope leading to action. A must-read book for every public, school, and home library.
Rated by buyers -
This is a childrens' book for children and adults about resistance and caring in Warsaw by an intelligent and brave Jewish girl, her friends both human and feline. It is sad but also encouraging. It is a difficult topic written with great sensitivity.
Rated by buyers -
This is a real story that happened a long time ago during WWII. It is a great book because the little girl thought of a good plan to distract the police. The illustrations were great. It was a beautiful story because they were helping Jewish people.
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