This is a wonderful story for children who like to relate to personal stories in history. The plight of Maurice's family is a familiar tale for those studying World War II - Jewish family fleeing their home in Europe - but the exodus and internment camps in island nations are not well known. Maurice is a character to look up to - he knew what he wanted and went to get it!

This is a non-fiction children's graphic novel about a Jewish refugee family’s flee their home in Belgium during the Second World War. I found the graphic novel to have good pictures and a great story line. I think kids around 5 grade and up would be the best fit for the book. I think the graphic novel was written in away that kids could easy follow the book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Maurice and His Dictionary is the story about Maurice and his growing up years, from being a jew in Nazi held Belgium, to when he enters college in Canada. The artwork was good but the story lacked depth or anything remarkable. It seemed a retread of many other stories you hear about escaping a desperate situation and life getting better.

Maurice and his Dictionary is a haunting yet intriguing non-fiction, historical tale.

Maurice's family is fleeing from Belgium during World War 2. This story is their journey about how they escaped and how they settled in Jamaica. Maurice wants to be a lawyer and is working really hard to try to not only do well in school but to make sure his own life is safe.

The tale is tough to read as an adult, but I think it's a good introduction to history for younger readers. If you're teaching about the war, this could be used as an educational source. This is a graphic novel, but I could see this being used for middle schoolers and high schoolers to see a different version of the events from someone else's eyes instead of just their textbooks.

The back of the book has a picture of Maurice's family (the author's Father is Maurice) and has some wonderful pictures and documents to put a face to this story. It's really cool to read and really sad at the same time.

The illustrations and their dull colours give some really interesting effects to the story. This book is not meant to be the happiest book (it's based during war time), so the dull colours in certain pictures really hit home with the tone. It's nice to see colour theory being used in this story, even if it's for sad effects.

Overall, I think this is a very powerful and moving story! If you like non-fiction, historical books or graphic novels, this is a unique read!

Five out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and OwlKids for sending me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

If graphic novels and real-life WWII stories interest you, don't miss this book! The book follows the life of the author's father/grandparents as their Jewish family deals with life in Europe during the holocaust. It's a different perspective of this time period: they end up in Jamaica at an internment camp. Throughout the book, Maurice stays true to his desire to learn and become a lawyer.

Another aspect I love is the family pictures at the back of the book. It's really cool to connect the story to real people. I appreciated the moments of humor tucked between the serious bits, and it's definitely appropriate for younger audiences! Plus graphic novels are flying off the shelves these days. Use this book to suck your reluctant reader into history!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own and unbiased.

This inspiring true story describes how Maurice and his family were living in Brussels when the Nazis invaded and their lives were upended. They went from Vichy, France to Lisbon, Portugal, and then to an internment camp in Jamaica. Maurice, always the studious type, aspired to be a lawyer. And, despite family hardships, he succeeded in getting into a college in Canada. The story, told as a graphic novel, is based on family memories, photos, and Maurice’s actual dictionary that helped him learn English in order to succeed in high school in Jamaica. Written by his son, the back matter also includes family photos and a note from the author. An interesting and successful way to present biography. Also, a unique contribution to Holocaust studies.

The author tells his family's story of escaping Nazi persecution, from Belgium to France to Spain and Portugal, to finally sail across the Atlantic and arrive safely in Jamaica. The story is told in graphic format, from the protagonist's (the author's father Maurice as a young boy) point of view, which gives the reader the sense of urgency of the family's situation, without revealing too much about the horrors of war. Maurice is presented as a child with plans for his future, and one with a good sense of how to take ownership of those plans. This would be a good entry point for discussing the Holocaust, and for what you might do when you are denied the normal tools to achieve your goals.

A BIG Thank You to Netgalley and Owlkids Books for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of ” Maurice and His Dictionary” for my review.

This was a wonderful children’s book. Firstly, what struck me was how the author kept the author realistic in lines to what his father had experienced. The author talks about his father’s life in the end, with real life family pictures. There, he explains how the the graphic novel came into being. The author could have easily added some fictional elements and villains to make the graphic novel more adventurous. However, I loved that he stuck to what happened in real life in the story. This made the characters more real and gripping to read about.

Also, the illustrations by Enzo Lord Mariano are amazing! I loved the simplistic feel and the color palette used. In fact, the character’s look reminded me of the 90s Nickelodeon cartoons which I adored. No offense to the illustrator, but I enjoyed reading this story so much that I would have preferred the author released it as a fiction book with more details. I would have loved to read more adventures and challenges Maurice faced. For example, things that he came across as he stepped away from camp to go to college. Moreover, I would have also liked to see more of his interactions with his family. I loved reading about his siblings and his parents, and wondered what they would have been going through.

Therefore, even though I loved this book, I felt a lot happens in this graphic novel, and it felt rushed. I hope that the author releases similar graphic novels and makes this as a series. I would love to read more about Maurice’s family and other things that he went through.

This graphic memoir recounts the disruption for Jewish family who must leave their home in Belgium to escape the Nazis. Told by Maurice ,who was the author's own father, it's a story of humans reaching out to one another in times of dire circumstances and the importance of clinging to one's dream. For Maurice that dream was to become a lawyer, something he eventually achieved by insisting on an education regardless of whether he had teachers or a school. Living in a refugee camp in Jamaica, he was determined to gain knowledge from other refugees and to improve his English with the help of a dictionary. A clearly written, heartfelt story of a risky wartime journey that will capture the interest of many readers, especially fans of a graphic format.

Maurice must leave his home country to escape the Nazi's but he does not lose his dream of education and becoming a lawyer to help people. I loved the illustrations in this true story, based on the author's fathers experience, they feel like sepia photographs giving you insight into Maurice's life. The story moves from Europe to Jamaica, focusing on the hope of a better situation soon, without glossing over the injustice and challenges the family encounters along the way.

An excellent graphic memoir about perseverance and the presence of teachers, great and small, in the lives of every person despite harrowing circumstances.

Thanks to NetGalley and OwlKids Books for the advance read of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

Every look into history is beneficial.

Students love graphic novels.

Thank you, Cary Fagan for sharing your father's story, especially his drive and love for learning. It is inspirational.

This is a powerful story based on a true story. This is about a young boy and his quest to become an attorney and continuing his education despite escaping Europe as a refugee and traveling through several countries. The illustration is also great and I quite enjoyed this graphic novel. Thank you to NetGalley for making this available for review. It's well done!

This graphic novel is the perfect addition to any reader's collection of World War Two literature. It follows Maurice, a young student who had to flee with his family during World War Two and the Nazi occupation and his journey coming into young adulthood in such an uncertain time. What I liked most about this graphic novel was the uncommon journey that Maurice and his family embarked on. When people think of the Holocaust and World War Two, they think of Jewish families either fleeing or perishing in the concentration camps. But this elaborated on an often overlooked aspect of Jewish life and survival in these times, voyages across the sea to Jamaica after fleeing Nazi occupation in other countries. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject or those who want to know more.

This is such a fantastic real-life story of one young man's struggle to get an education and move up in the world, despite the circumstances he faces. Because it is written in graphic novel format, the story is more accessible for my lower-level reading students. I would definitely mark it as a high interest / low level book (with maybe a little more vocab work than usual) and include it in a unit about World War 2. What makes this book even sweeter is that it's a son sharing his father's legacy...

Well researched, and written story of the author's father's escape from Belgium, during World War II. Maurice's family were Jews, and they had to make their way across the continent where they finally fled to Jamaica.

Through it all Maurice wanted to be a lawyer, because only as a lawyer, could all be equal. Sounds as though it was impossible feat, considering he was in a refugee camp, but still he manages to do so, and ends up emigrating to Canada to complete his studies.

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Lovely pictures, the story flows well, and bonus, we get to see pictures of the real Maurice, as well as his English dictionary that he used to learn English.

Highly recommend this book, told so simply, yet powerfully, about the determination and luck of this young man, to achieve his dream in the face of all the world threw at him.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.