Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | EASY YOL | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | EASY YOL | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | EASY YOL | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
The Nazis may have taken their home, but the family still has a guardian angel
In this emotionally rich story, a little girl and her family live happily in Paris until Nazi soldiers arrive druing World War II. She and her family must flee or risk being sent to a concentration camp, so they run into the woods, where they meet resistance fighters. But they're still not safe. They must cross tall mountains and sail in a rickety boat to England. Yet the whole time they're struggling to survive, the little girl thinks of the stone angel near their apartment in Paris and imagines it watching over her family.
Offering a never-before-told story of the Holocaust, Jane Yolen returns to the material she mined in the award-winning THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC. Filled with sorrow, hope, comfort, and triumph, this gorgeously illustrated book is sure to become a modern classic-offering adults a perfect vehicle with which to share a difficult subject.
Praise for STONE ANGEL:
* "This story provides a wonderful addition to materials about World War II and the Holocaust, and is appropriate for even the gentlest of readers."-- School Library Connection *STARRED*
Author Notes
Jane Yolen was born February 11, 1939 in New York City. She received a bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1960 and a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. After college, she became an editor in New York City and wrote during her lunch break. She sold her first children's book, Pirates in Petticoats, at the age of 22. Since then, she has written over 300 books for children, young adults, and adults.
Her other works include the Emperor and the Kite, Owl Moon, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and The Devil's Arithmetic. She has won numerous awards including the Kerlan Award, the Regina Medal, the Keene State Children's Literature Award, the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, the Golden Kite Award, the Jewish Book Award, the World Fantasy Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Association of Jewish Libraries Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
An unnamed Jewish girl living in Paris fervently believes in angels-she need only look at the Gothic buildings around her to know they exist. Those angels seem "farther and farther away" after the Nazis force her family to flee, but she never loses hope that a protective power watches over her. Writing in a style resembling blank verse, Yolen conveys a hushed sense of urgency and momentum: "Aron and I learned to be quiet, to become shadows, how to turn invisible, sleeping all day long, waking only at night." In her U.S. debut, British artist Green's velvety textures and rounded shapes exude coziness and familiarity in Paris, taking on a somber beauty when the family enters a literal and figurative wilderness, hiding with partisans in a lush green forest, before escaping to Spain over snowy mountains. If the ending resolves a bit neatly-back in Paris, the girl's father promptly resumes his old job at an observatory-the preceding pages convincingly portray a family tightly bound to one another, no matter how dire the circumstances. Ages 5-8. Author's agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
When the Nazis occupy Paris, a Jewish girl and her family flee to the woods, then to England. Throughout their exile, the young narrator is certain angels will protect them. Fatefully, a colossal angel adorns their new apartment building after the war. A carefully cadenced narrative conveys the enduring strength of family and faith, and calm mixed-media illustrations reinforce that theme. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
A girl remembers Nazi troops arriving in Paris and disrupting the happy life she has known. Her family flees, hiding in a forest with other Jews and foraging for food. When 10 of the men arm themselves and venture out and only 3 return, she knows that the others have flown off to be with the angels. Four years after her family crosses the mountains into Spain and takes a boat to England, the war ends. They return to Paris, where an angel statue seems to welcome the girl home. Though not always convincingly childlike, the graceful writing is poetic and often returns to the theme of angels. Using a subdued palette and soft textured effects, the mixed-media artwork creates an unusual sense of depth within the pictures. In an author's note, Yolen comments on historical subjects related to the story, such as Nazis, European freedom fighters, the Holocaust, and the angel statue in Paris. Children will feel the young narrator's hardships, but her family support and her faith lend warmth to this historical picture book.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2015 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-A little girl in Paris experiences an abrupt change in her happy and safe world when the Nazis arrive during World War II. To avoid being sent to a concentration camp, her family escapes to the woods, where they meet resistance fighters who help them survive. Her family later travels through the mountains to Spain and eventually to England. The young girl draws comfort from a guardian angel, whom she feels certain is watching over them. At the close of the story, the family returns to their home in Paris and listeners learn that the guardian angel is a stone statue near their apartment building and that it also survived the war. Yolen manages to put together just the right assortment of facts to ignite discussions between adult and child listeners. She provides an author's note to supplement the story as well. Rachel Botchan's narration and tone match the quiet triumph and innocence of a young girl. VERDICT Recommended for all public library collections.-Terri Norstrom, Cook Memorial Public Library District, Libertyville, IL © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A young Jewish girl and her family must flee when the Nazis march into Paris.Before the Nazis came, life was good. But when the "bad men came / in their brown shirts, guns in hands," everything changed. All Jews must wear yellow stars, Papa can no longer work, the family is forced from their home, and they are cursed in the streets. They leave the city to live in the woods, enduring hunger, cold and fear of capture. They embark on a long, arduous journey over the mountains to Spain and then across to England and loving relatives. The little girl is aware of the dangers and her parents' courage, and she remains steadfastly sure that a guardian angel is watching over them. When they return to Paris at the end of the war, there is a beautiful, monumental angel, surely the very one who had kept them safe, holding up the roof of their new apartment building. The girl narrates in an oddly dispassionate free-verse voice, so sure is she of the happy outcome for her family. Though an author's note provides additional information about the war and the Holocaust and the staggering number of deaths, it will be difficult for young readers to make the connection between the narrator's experience and the grim reality of the millions who perished. Green's mixed-media illustrations are appropriately dark and menacing. A different take on a difficult subject. (Picture book. 8-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
