Welcome to part 3 in My Historical Fiction Evolution series
where I discuss my love for the genre and how it has changed over the past 20
years.
Click the links below to check out the first two posts in
this series.
To recap:
Part 1: My introduction to historical fiction in elementary
school with Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr.
Part 2: Historical fiction close to home with Booky: A
Trilogy by Bernice Thurman Hunter and Guest of War Trilogy by Kit Pearson.
After learning about the terrible lasting effects of the
atom bomb in Japan and the hardships of those during Great Depression and World
War II Toronto, my historical fiction evolution was about to delve even deeper.
It was my grade 7 teacher who introduced me to the horrors
of the Holocaust, when my class watched the film Life is Beautiful. Click below
to watch the movies trailer.
This film follows a Jewish man and his son as they are sent
to a concentration camp during World War II. The atrocities the Jewish people
faced absolutely horrified me, but it also made me want to learn more.
So naturally I turned to my newfound love of history and
historical fiction. This would also mark the first time I would read
non-fiction.
Now you are probably expecting me to mention The Diary of aYoung Girl by Anne Frank, however I admit that this wasn’t one of my favourite
books. Instead I will focus on the following middle grade and young adult books
set during this time period:
Surviving Hitler
My Canary Yellow Star
My Canary Yellow Star by Eva Wiseman was a book I was given
in high school by my mom who met the author. Like Surviving Hitler, it follows
a young Jewish person (in this case a girl named Marta) as their rights are
stripped away by the Nazi regime and sent to a concentration camp.
I have reread both of these books several times over the
years (and will continue to do so), but their horrors and message of hope will
never dull. It is with books like these that the people whose lives were
tragically cut short are remembered. They are also a great learning tool for
the youth of today.
Stay tuned for part 4 in my series where my evolution in
historical fiction continues.
Are there any books set during the holocaust that you would
recommend? Leave me a message in the comments.
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