Nonfiction
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1 online resource
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"When we were seven or eight or nine or ten, our home was the old city of Prague." So begins this powerful story of the children who were rescued from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II, as Hitler's campaign of hatred toward Jews and political dissidents took hold. Told from the collective perspective of the children, the narrative starts in 1938 and follows them as they journey to foster families in England for the duration of the war, return to Prague afterward in an unsuccessful search for their parents, and eventually connect with Nicholas Winton, a British former stockbroker who was instrumental in bringing them to safety. Award-winning author Caren Stelson teams up with acclaimed illustrator Selina Alko to sensitively tell this tale of survival and defiance in the face of tyranny. Learn the inspiring history of the Czech Kindertransport, which rescued 669 children from Nazi persecution. "An unlikely hero saved the lives of hundreds of children during the Holocaust. Stelson describes how Jewish Czech children were saved via the Kindertransport during World War II. Beginning in 1938, they were taken via train from their hometown, Prague, to England, where they lived with foster families for several years while war raged in continental Europe. After the war, they returned home to learn most of their parents had perished. Many years later, they also discovered, for the first time, the identity of the self-effacing man who had literally set the wheels in motion by organizing the transports and securing necessary documents, allowing them-a total of 669 children-to leave their war-ravaged country and Nazi brutality behind so that they might live. His name? Nicholas 'Nicky' Winton, an Englishman working in Prague in the late '30s and one of many whose contributions made the Kindertransport possible. Decades later, he was honored by the Czech president and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to humanity. This searing account is all the more heart-rending because it is collectively narrated by the young people saved by Winton, delivered in the innocent, matter-of-fact voice of a child. The illustrations, rendered in acrylic, colored pencil, and collage, are powerfully poignant and have childlike appeal, capturing readers' sympathetic attention. A backmatter feature, 'Winton's Children,' notes that five depicted children represent actual young people saved by Winton, who is himself portrayed. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A not-to-be-missed, inspirational book about courage, heart, and the necessity of caring for others."-starred, Kirkus Reviews "This book tells my father's story through the eyes of the children he helped to save from the Holocaust. My father, an ordinary man, put together a small team and together they saved 669 children. His story is a reminder of the huge difference any one of us can make in the lives of others. Our world depends on it. This tragic episode in our history is being repeated now in many parts of the world. Governments alone seem unable to solve these problems-it is down to people like him, people like us, to make the change we want to see." -Nick Winton, son of Sir Nicholas Winton
Mode of access: World Wide Web