A searchable database of books recommended by the CCBC.
More information about CCBC Choices book recommendations
Irena's Children: A True Story of Courage
CCBC Review:
Irena Sendler and others in the underground movement in Warsaw doing World War II helped saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis. This compelling adaption of a book for adults documents their work in a chronological account that is full of tension, but grounded by the commitment of Irena and her compatriots, some of them Jews themselves, to do what they knew to be the right and decent thing, the only thing possible, regardless of the risks. While Irena is the primary focus, small sections throughout the narrative follow the efforts of several others with whom she worked saving Jewish children, many of them from the Warsaw Ghetto, through clever, courageous, bold endeavors. Most of the children were placed with willing Polish Christian families. A work of nonfiction shot through with poignancy concludes with a final chapter that follows the fate of Irena (who died in 2008 at age 98, a hero in Poland and beyond) and some of her key co-conspirators, an adapter’s note, and endnotes. ©2016 Cooperative Children's Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 12 and older
Age Range:
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Substantial Narrative Non-Fiction
Subjects:
20th Century
Activism and Resistance
History (Nonfiction)
Holocaust
Jewish People
Poles and Polish Americans
World History
World War II
Diversity subject:
Jewish
Publisher:
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publish Year: 2016
Pages: 257
ISBN: 9781481449915
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 940 Mazzeo