"The Violin of Hope" was absolutely beautiful. The story and art were captivating, and I particularly enjoyed how the culture of the people in the story was portrayed. While the story had its sad moments, the hopeful ending brought a smile to my face.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book!

Oh wow! I didn’t expect for this to take such a sad turn with the nazis coming but I am also glad that some history is out in to this book. There are still a lot of those who think the holocaust never happened. I love the representation and how it shows that through horrible things, beauty can still come out if we keep our heads up. What a lovely story!

Violin of Hope, written by Ella Schwartz, and illustrated by Juliana Oakley is a sweet book that I enjoyed very much! This book tells the story of a violin, how it brought hope to a family during hard times, how it was taken away, and how it was filled with hope again. I love that this book tells of a difficult time in words that children can understand, and I appreciate that it is based on real lived experiences. I also like that there weee some pictures of the real people the book talked about, so students can continue to learn! Thank you to NetGalley and to the author, publisher, and illustrator of this book for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beloved violin is snatched from a Jewish father by Nazi soldiers. The soldiers throw it in a heap of other looted works of art where the once vibrant violin languishes for years. Many years later, a man buys the violin for his son, but it is in bad shape. A luthier recognizes the significance of the instrument and lovingly restores it to its former glory. The son learns to play the violin and together they tour the world bringing joy to thousands who hear their magical music.

“Violin of Hope'' IS a story of hope and triumph. While the illustrations are sometimes somber, overall they have a light forward-looking feel.

This would be a great story for kids who like music, love historical fiction, or are looking for a ray of light in a time of darkness.
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I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group Kar-Ben Publishing, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a very short children’s book following the life of a violin.

This was short and sweet. The illustrations were beautiful, I truly enjoyed them. I loved the light themes of Jewish culture and the holocaust that were surrounding this story. I especially love the authors note at the end giving more detail into the background of this book. I thinks it’s really important to have children’s books like this one to start teaching the importance of certain things young.

My biggest complaint with this book is that even though it was a children’s book I still thought it was a bit short. I felt the story could have been a bit more flushed out with just an extra 2-4 pages in it.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley, Lerner Publishing Group, & of course Ella Schwartz for allowing me to read this early in exchange for my honest review.

This is set to release November 4, 2024. I definitely recommend picking it up for your little ones!

Brought to life with beautiful illustrations, this picture book provides a glimpse into the horrific treatment of Jewish people by the Nazis. The story follows the journey of a violin stolen from a Jewish family and left to rot alongside other stolen treasures before being rescued, repaired, and then returned to the hands of a young Jewish musician.

What Worked For Me:
- The illustrations make use of lovely, soft colors and do a good job of depicting some of the tragedy of the situation without going too dark for young readers.
- The story itself was beautiful, and the implication that the violin eventually returns to a later generation of the same family made me smile.

What Didn't Work:
- While the story as a whole was beautiful, the text at times felt overly simplistic for the topic. There was little context within the story for what was happening, although a note at the end does explain things.

Violin of Hope is a beautiful, powerful story of the reclamation of precious items that were stolen from Jewish people during WWII. This is an interesting children’s book on WWII, because it does not re-tell or examine the experiences of people during the Holocaust but rather told the story of an object, the violin. I thought that was a unique take because I never really knew what happened to the things the Nazis stole from Jewish people. I just kind of thought that the Nazis took the things for themselves, to make themselves prosper. This violin, however, was thrown in a basement of sorts until rediscovered by a violin repairman.

I really enjoyed the author’s note at the back, depicting the real organization behind the Violin of Hope! There is a team that repairs the violins and gives them to a Jewish orchestra to perform.

Interesting book, not super profound, but I liked it.

Before nap time for the two little boys, we do story time. 📖📚Or try to each day 🤪 And today since it was rainy, windy and cold, we did more than normal. The boys LOVED these books. All of them were such cute stories and had fun illustrations. My oldest son asked lots of great questions. My middle son said, “again mommy again!!!” My favorite was Violin of Hope. It was all about the holocaust. Such a great book for elementary school teachers with that topic. It was so heartfelt and had such sweetness to it. The Big Book of Useless Knowledge had my oldest son just bursting with questions, because it was so fun!! I use to teach preschool for five years, so a fun new children’s book is always a joy for me to share with the boys before rest time. Add these to your summer reading lists! Thank you @netgalley for these advance copies.

Violin of Hope by Ella Schwartz (comes out November 4)

Monsters at School by Laura Baker (comes out June 24)

The Day I Had a Dinosaur by Ashley Wall (comes out June 10)

I See You Smile by Deborah Farmer Kris (comes out July 8)

Bubbles the Dragon by Alison Thomas (comes out April 27)

The Big Book of Useless Knowledge (comes out May 13)

I received an electronic ARC from Lerner Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Thought provoking story about a violin's journey from loved and treasured to tossed and forgotten to restored and played world wide. Readers see a Jewish family before the Holocaust celebrating and listening as the father made beautiful music on the violin. Then, the Nazis arrive and seize it along with other valuables. This is a difficult part of history that families will need to take time to process together. The violin ends up in a storage place and slowly begins to fall apart. A luthier finds and restores it. (Informative text about the Violins of Hope project is included at the end.) A young boy tries the violin and grows up to play it in concert halls around the world. Hints are provided that this could be a younger family member of the original owner, but Schwartz leaves that for the reader to decide. Powerful story of loss and hope and love. The illustrations capture the gamut of emotions as the story moves through time.

Five stars for this read!
This was an interesting historical fiction children's book. Beautifully illustrated and well written!

I wasn't sure how Holocaust history could be written into a children's book without being graphic or violent, but I was not disappointed.

-The music-loving Jewish family clearly care for one another. They are classic and conservative.

-The book is written in a way that shows the Nazi's greed and wrong without going into mature detail for young ages.

-In the end "Violin Of Hope" shows how much joy, comfort and encouragement music brings through the good and sad times.

I am definitely a a supporter of Israel and it was refreshing to see a clean kids book that also is supportive of Jews, I've never read a book like it. Very unique!

Many thanks to Kar-Ben Publishing for the complimentary e-book I received to review through Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and the thoughts above are my own.

A beautifully illustrated story that focuses on honoring and remembering the resilience of people and their culture in the darkest of times.

An excellent picture book that insights some deeper discussion amongst parents and their child. Throughout lovely illustrations ( I especially adore all the family moments in the book) violin of hope shares the story of how a violin taken away from the family it belonged to by the Germans managed to find a home again after the war ended, a home in the hands of the son of its original owner who after years he too wishes to bond with his own son through music the very way his father had with him.

The story is poignant and lovely and the in no way too graphic for a child of young age to handle. The messaging that despite all attempts of the war to prove the opposite, art in whatever form ( in this particular case through music) will never die or be restricted in the hands of those on the most privileged side of the war. Cannot recommend this enough this is an absolute must read

Beautiful story about the power of art and the revolution inherent in resistance. This was a lovely story that I would recommend to any of the educators I work with. The art was also beautiful.

Wow - what a wonderful story of hope and history. In the world we live in - especially now - it's important that children know the history of the Jewish people. This just touches on it, but does a great job with a difficult subject. I love how there is the true story of the instruments that were salvaged from the holocaust at the end of the story. I loved the illustrations as well! Bravo!

A gorgeous picture book about the unbreakable strength of music and how it's beauty can better the world. A man's beloved violin is taken away from him by a Nazi soldier and is abandoned in a cellar to deteriorate for years. Eventually it is found by a luthier and carefully restored to make music once again. The imagery in this book is beautiful and the message about music outlasting atrocities is touching.

Ella Schwartz's book, Violin of Hope, intertwines history, music, and the strength and resilience of people as it transitions from the past to the present. The. beautiful illustrations by Juliana Oakley complement the mood and setting of this story. Set against the backdrop of World War II, the story follows the journey of a violin, stolen by the Nazis and left for ruined, only later to be discovered, restored by a luthier, and placed in the hands of a budding violinist, who may have ties to the original owner.

This book is perfect for grades 3-6. Both as a read-aloud and independent text. For older grades, it can be read aloud to students to introduce social science units related to WWII or when discussing music history.
Five stars: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Thank you #Netgalley and Kar-Ben Publishing for this e-arc.Ella Schwartz, illus. by Juliana Oakley

During the Holocaust, the beloved violin is taken from a Jewish family and never returned. Many years later, a luthier breathes new life into the old instrument and passes it onto a Jewish music student who cherishes it and plays it in an orchestra.

#ViolinofHope #NetGalley

Very powerful story! I love that the artwork was subdued to allow the great story to shine. Just enough detail for a young person to appreciate the illustrations.
The story detail leads me to recommend it for children who have some knowledge in Jewish culture and the Holocaust. Yes, this book could teach children about it but I feel the story would not resonate as much with non-readers and littler children. "Luthier" was even a new word for me!
I love that the story came full circle not only in the narrative but then through the Violins of Hope organization detailed in the end. The right audience should be interested to learn more about this.
Definitely a wonderful and important read.

A violin is confiscated from a Jewish family by a Nazi soldier. The book follows the violin.

The illustrations of the family at the beginning are really sweet. I loved that it followed the violin and showed what happened when the violin was left in the pile of things while no one was attending to it.

This would be a great book to share with students in 3rd-5th grade as they start to learn about the Holocaust. It shows some of Jewish culture rather and hope, rather than only focusing on the horrors of that time.

I loved this story. It's so heartbreaking to think about the family and their possessions and what happened to them. The idea that a violin could carry on such hope through it's music is beautiful.