# books on holocaust for 12 year old



## harplade (Jul 14, 2005)

Anyone have any ideas for good books about the Holocaust that can be read by a 12 year old girl?

My daughter and husband are going to Romania in a couple of weeks and maybe to Poland and to visit Auchswitz. I want her to have some idea about the atrocities before she just walks in the camp.

She is homeschooled and has studied some about the war.

Any ideas would be great. I picked up "Night" by Elie Wiesel at the library and will review it but I think it may be too intense.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Harplade


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

Diary of Ann Frank


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## Lilandra (Oct 21, 2004)

my dd just read it in class and she's in the 8th grade. it has some descriptive scenes but she says its not as bad as other books. There is a great political cartoon perspective on the war and war propaganda - Dr. Suess' Suess goes to war. It explains things from a different perspective without gory details. Devils Arithmetic, Milkweed, Night of a 1000 years are others her class is reading about the holocaust. Go to the book store, it seems to be a milestone month and there are quite a few displays and end caps on holocaust books at Barnes and Nobel.


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## akhomesteader (Jan 5, 2006)

These books were suggested to me when my boys get to about 11 or 12 years old. I included the links for Amazon that have descriptions and reviews:

While Six Million Died by Arthor D. Morse http://www.amazon.com/While-Six-Million-Died-Chronicle/dp/0879518367

The Nuremberg Laws (Words That Changed History Series) by Amy Newman
http://www.amazon.com/Nuremberg-Law...=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204592022&sr=1-4


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Also, there is a good video/book about a school that studied the holocaust called "Paper clips". The video is very good in that it has survivors talking about the holocaust. It is about a school that took it upon them selves to collect as many paper clips as there were people who died in the holocaust so that the kids could understand the magnitude of that number. All sorts of things happen along the way. The paper clips are on display in a rail car that was used to transport people to concentration camps. The display is in TN. The kids who studied this were, I think, young teens, so it would be totally appropriate for a child of that age. 

Cindyc.


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## harplade (Jul 14, 2005)

Thanks so much, I'm going to check at our library and then move on to Amazon or whatever. We have found in the years that we haven't had TV in our home (like 10 years) that we have become more sensitive to gory things. Compared to her friends, my daughter seems to be much more affected by vivid images,etc. Anyway, all that to say, I want her to understand all of the history (b/c it's reality) but I also know she can get kind of intense. Hard to explain but I have become the same way and I think it's because we never see fictionalized death and gore on TV so it sticks in our head. OK now I sound like we are schizophrenic-like I said, it's hard to explain but I thank you for suggestions and anymore that you may have.


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## Dente deLion (Nov 27, 2006)

"Paper Clips" sounds great - and the fact that it's a school project may provide enough emotional distance to allow her to grasp the idea intellectually before jumping in with both feet.

I think I read Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place in 6th grade (not as assigned reading, just because my mom said it was good!). I don't remember it well enough to comment on the content, but it is about the Ten Boom family's efforts to rescue and to help, so at least it shows extraordinary good in the face of extraordinary evil.

There is a short story by Cynthia Ozick called "The Shawl" - it would be a brief introduction to the camps, so maybe good for the initial "dose," but understand that it does not have a happy ending.

Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz may be too much for her, but you or your husband might want to read it. Perhaps there will be isolated passages you'd like to share aloud, without having her read the whole book.


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## RockyGlen (Jan 19, 2007)

I know I am in the minority, but I do not like the Diary of Anne Frank.

These are some that we used:

The Night Crossing by Karen Ackerman
Clara and her older sister, Marta, were chased home by other children - one of them used to be Clara's best friend. Since the persecution in Austria was increasing, Clara's father decided that they would make a "night crossing" out of Austria and into Switzerland. The family sold everything of value, including the mother's wedding band, but the mother insisted on keeping the Shabbat candlesticks. Though the Shabbat candlesticks were hidden in the elder sister's petticoat, they often clinked together, giving away their location. When the family neared the gate to the Swiss border, they realized that they could not chance the candlesticks clinking together. So, to keep the candlesticks from making noise, they were hidden inside Clara's dolls. When they reached the gate, Clara not only had to pretend that the family had only been away on a holiday, but she carried the family's most valued possessions. Acting brave and strong, Clara successfully answered the Nazis' questions with quick and clever answers. The family successfully made it into Switzerland. 


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The Shadow Children by Steven Schnur
Years after the Second World War, a young boy, Etienne, made his annual visit to spend the summer months with his grandfather. On his grandfather's farm, Etienne helped with the pears and other chores and took excursions into the woods on Reveuse, the horse. At a certain point in the woods, he heard children but didn't see any. After a short discussion with Madame Joboter, a woman who helped the grandfather with house chores, Etienne was told that the location where he heard voices was haunted and that he was not to go there ever again. The grandfather pushed these stories aside and claimed that they stemmed from fears of guilty people. The grandfather did not explain what he meant by that. Etienne again went back to the location and this time saw and talked to some children. They seemed to be hiding in the woods and waiting for a train. Etienne didn't understand and when he told his grandfather, his grandfather did not believe the story. Etienne's further journeys to this location yielded him physical items such as a pocketknife. Later, Etienne found a pen that made a blue mark on his arm. The grandfather then told the story. 
Many children had been sent by their parents out of Germany in a last effort to save their lives. Many of these children had ended up in the grandfather's small town. The townspeople tried to help these children, gave them food, mended clothing, and tried to give them a place to sleep. One day, the Nazis came and, under penalty of death, ordered all the children rounded up to be sent on a train, supposedly so that the Nazis could house and feed them. The townspeople delivered the children to the Nazis, hoping that what the Nazis had said was true. Quickly they discovered that the children would be rounded up onto cattle cars. None of the children ever came back. The townspeople hadn't spoken of the children for years, attempting to hide their guilt, but the children refused to be forgotten. 



**We explained that there is no such thing as ghosts or haunting, but that the tale was a good description about how good people are just as guilty when they do not stop evil and how their consciences do not let them forget.
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Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Two young girls, Ellen and Annemarie, were not only neighbors but best friends. On the Jewish New Year, Ellen and her family went to the synagogue for services and were told by the rabbi that the Nazis had taken the lists that had all the names of the Jews. Ellen's family were warned that the Nazis might come that night to take them away. Ellen was to stay with Annemarie's family and pretend that Annemarie and Ellen were sisters. Ellen's parents left without Ellen knowing exactly where they were going. Late that night, several Nazis came to Annemarie's family's apartment and insisted on looking around. They questioned Ellen's dark hair, but Annemarie's father was clever and "proved" to the Nazis that she was his daughter. 
Ellen, Annemarie, Annemarie's mother, and Annemarie's sister left the next day for Annemarie's uncle's house. Annemarie's uncle, Henrik, was a fisherman and was out on the water when they arrived. Several times, Annemarie's mother and her uncle seemed to be talking in some kind of code, but she wasn't sure what they were talking about. Then uncle Henrik announced that there was going to be a funeral for great-aunt Birte, but there was no such person. After privately confronting her uncle about this fact, her uncle told her that they had not told her the truth because it is easier to be brave if you do not know everything. 

That night, the casket arrived in a hearse and then the mourners came. Among the mourners, were Ellen's parents. The mourners were taken in two groups to uncle Henrik's boat and hidden in a secret compartment. A small package that was of severe importance was left behind and it was up to Annemarie to get it to the boat before the boat left. Running through woods, Annemarie carried the important envelope under bread and cheese in a basket. On her journey, she was stopped by Nazis with fierce dogs. The Nazis went through her basket and found the envelope. Since she did not know what was in the envelope, it was easier for Annemarie to remain brave. The Nazis left the contents within the envelope untouched and she barely made it in time for the boat. Later, her uncle explained what was in the envelope and why it was so important for the trip. Her friend Ellen and the rest of the group had made it safely to Sweden.


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## RockyGlen (Jan 19, 2007)

One of the best books we read was called The Devils Arithmetic, but we read it out loud as a family and talked about it. A modern Jewish teen does not want to go to Sedar - she's bored and wants to be with her friends. If I remember right, she sipped some sedar wine and got tipsy, but she was transported back in time to WWII Poland and ended up in a concentration camp. It was gritty, I won't kid you about that, but it was an excellent book, and by reading it out loud we were able to not frighten the children. 

Like you, our children are not sensitized to violence, but I felt that this issue could not be understood without a little fear. I would NOT hand this to a child to read, unless they were late teens, but I think it was the best of the books we read on the subject.


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## jerzeygurl (Jan 21, 2005)

I second the hiding place,


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## highlandview (Feb 15, 2007)

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry


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## FrodoLass (Jan 15, 2007)

Already mentioned, but Number the Stars and The Devil's Arithmetic...

Some I found in my YA Lit book...you could check them out on Amazon:

After the War, Matas
Anne Frank and Me, Bennett and Gottesfeld
Briar Rose, Yolen
Jacob's Rescue: A Holocaust Story, Drucker
Malka, Pressler
Milkweed, Spinelli


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## RichieC (Aug 29, 2007)

harplade said:


> Anyone have any ideas for good books about the Holocaust that can be read by a 12 year old girl?
> 
> My daughter and husband are going to Romania in a couple of weeks and maybe to Poland and to visit Auchswitz. I want her to have some idea about the atrocities before she just walks in the camp.
> 
> ...


Night is a great book. Yes, it is intense (how could it not be?), but not gratuitously so.


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

The Hiding Place might be over her head in places, but Corrie ten Boom didn't go into gory details, so it's still a good choice. The movie is pretty good, too. Some years ago I got quite a few books with Holocaust themes from Scholastic. I can't think of the titles at the moment, but my dd read them all more than once. She, also, was (& still is) quite intense, & these books made a big impression on her. I'll post the titles if I can find them, but you could also try checking the Scholastic web site.


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## Dutchie (Mar 14, 2003)

Ed Norman said:


> Diary of Ann Frank


Yes, that is what I was going to suggest. It is an "easy" way in for a youngster as it was written by a youngster.

(Please don't give me grief for using the word "easy" in this situation ...... my family suffered enormously at the hands of the Nazis during WWII so I don't take this whole thing lightely).


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## Bernadette (Jan 17, 2004)

No, I don't home school (kids long off on their own) so I don't know what drew me in to this forum today.

Holocaust. An extremely important topic that children need to learn about. But there are some very interesting misconceptions.

Not to minimize what happened to the Jewish people, but there is a very important aspect to the entire thing that is consistently overlooked. The Jewish people were ONLY about 60-70% of the people sent to concentration camps. Think about it. There were a phenomenal number of Jewish people persecuted, but that leaves an incredible number of 'non-Jewish' that perished in the same way. There were other religions, other political views, anyone that was perceived as a 'Jew-lover' - they too were sent to the camps. This was how the Nazis were able to carry out their plan. It was insidious - like contaminated water seeping its way into the ground water of the world. It was there and in the system before people really understood what was happening, and if anyone - ANYONE - spoke out, they met the same fate as the Jewish people. This is just another reason why we must not turn a blind eye and relax in the fact that it was one specific group of people, I don't belong to that group so I don't have to worry. So wrong. 

Did anyone know there was a concentration camp in France? Natzweiler-Struthof in the Voges Mountains. Google takes you to some interesting sites. This concentration camp was very eye-opening for me - my ancestors emigrated to Canada in the mid-1800's, from Alsace Lorraine. Many of the surnames on the memorials at Strutholf can be found in my family tree. We are German Catholics. My husband was in the Canadian Military for a while, and we lived in Southern Germany, and visited Struthof. The names on the memorial were something we found accidentally - not something we went looking for!! 

The base library in Lahr had some extremely interested old books. In particular, there were a couple written by survivors of the camps, very poorly translated to English. They were extremely enlightening with regard to the internal emotional workings inside the camps and what it took to survive. These books were not so memorable as to the facts they contained, but the overall feelings and impressions they left you with. There was almost a class system inside the camps, the different groups that didn't associate, the alliances between these different groups, different things done to manipulate the guards, whatever was necessary obtain more food and/or better conditions for their group...

People who over-simplify and say things like "it could never happen here" or "why didn't those people do something?" just have no idea what took place.

I apologize for butting in on a forum/thread where I'm not known, but people who are home schooling often do so so they can provide their children with a broader more complete education than the mainstream. I hope I was able to provoke a few thoughts and encourage parents and their students to look deeper than just the mainstream information.


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