May 14, 2019Brenna rated it really liked it · review of another edition
This is very well written and a wonderful way to share the stories of people who lived the Kindertransport. Emma Carlson Berne uses her own words to retell the stories, pictures that the Kindertransport "children" still had from when they were younger, and some quotes from those that own the stories. Yes, this may be a difficult read for a middle grader. The author writes clearly, in language that a middle grader can understand, and includes photos, a glossary, and some resources. Due to the possibility of a kid being sensitive to this subject, or may have questions upon finishing the book, this is something that I believe would work with classroom discussion or parental discussion after it's read. Overall a great source of information about the preWWll and during WWII time frame. Something that will make you think.

Strong addition to World War II era informational text for middle grades. The author highlights several Kindertransport stories and provides a follow-up for what happened after the war. The photos make this an easily accessible text for grades 4-8.

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This book was very close to my heart as my granddad was a Jew and lived to tell the tale of the Second World War. He was protacted by his non-jewish mother, but he did lose most of his family on his father's side. He often told us stories and to see this side of the war was interesting. This book is very well put together and everybody needs to read it if they don't want to see history repeating itself.

An interesting read for younger readers, giving them a glimpse into one of the world's worse travesties. Hard topic, but worth reading.

It's hard to read on the computer so I requested it from my local library. I will publish a review based on that.

Thank you for this book. Unfortunately, since it was not in kindle format, I was unable to read it.

My 12 year old son read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. He is very interested in learning about the Holocaust and I'm always happy when I can find an age appropriate book for him. He said it was a very good book and he read it very fast. He enjoyed it and he recommended it to his friends. Thanks!

I read this book around the time I was reading "Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees" by
Mary Beth Leatherdale, and think the two books would be excellent companion texts to each other - Stormy seas is more accessible and easier to read - and graphically very very appealing for the upper primary crowd, whereas Escaping the Nazi's is a more sophisticated and dense text that would more likely be accessible by more confident readers and those wanting further detailed information.

an educating and original collection of photographs and storytelling.

Capstone Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Escaping the Nazis on the Kinderstransport. This is my honest opinion of the book.

With personal narratives and recollections dotting the pages, Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport is the story of some of the ten thousand Jewish children. Rescued from Nazi occupied Germany and other surrounding areas, the children were brought to the United Kingdom from 1938 until 1940. The children, babies on up to the age of 17, were placed on all modes of transportation without supervision or guidance. Their transport had to be paid by private citizens or aid organizations, as the British government needed to stay neutral on the subject. Great Britain was allowed by Germany to accept the children, as they were not wanted by their homeland. Britain would not grant them citizenship, but the temporary visas would keep them in the country until the war was over.

The first kindertransport arrived in Harwich, England on December 2, 1938. The last transport from Germany was in September 1939 and the last from the Netherlands was in May of 1940. Through the stories of Tom Berman, Kurt Fuchel, Harry Ebert, Irene Schmeid, Hans Schneider, Ursula Rosenfeld, and Jack Hellman, readers are able to appreciate both the scale of the operation and its effectiveness.

Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport was written with younger readers in mind, as the stories definitely show a more uplifting side instead of just the horrors. I would recommend this to younger readers or for adults to use to get acquainted with the subject matter.

The Kindertransport was a short-lived program that rescued approximately 10,000 Jewish children in Nazi occupied Germany, Austria and Poland and Czechoslovakia between December 1938 (just three weeks after Kristallnacht, and May 1940. The children were sent to live with families in Great Britain. I have reviewed a number of books about the Kindertransport before, but most of them were novels.

In her new book, Emma Carlson Berne introduces readers to the program through the true stories of seven former Kindertransport survivors, including a detailed explanation of what was happening in Europe, especially after Kristallnacht, and how the Kindertransport program worked. The program was the brain child of British Jews and Quakers and only worked because at that time, Hitler wanted to get all Jews out of Europe. Still, It's hard to imagine parents willingly surrendering their children to strangers in the hope that they would be safe, but it just shows how dangerous Europe had become under the Nazis. It was up to the families to get their children to the transport train that would take them to the ships traveling to England, an expense difficult for Jewish parents to afford by 1938, having lost their jobs and most of their money having been confiscated by the Nazis. To make it more difficult, no parents or other family were allowed to travel with their children. For many, Berne points out, the train station would be that last time parents and children would ever see each other.

Berne than recounts the experiences of the seven children and how they became Kindertransport children. Her writing style is very interesting. She invites the reader into the book with sentences like: "We can imagine the train whistle blowing. 'All aboard,' the conductor might have yelled in German over the crowd of frightened children and weeping parents." (pg 62) Each persons recollections are told in their own words, as well, taken from interviews done when they were adults, and adding a sense of authenticity that these are true stories and not the stuff of imagination.

In addition to each person's story, Berne has included archival photographs of what Jewish life looked like in Europe before and under the Nazis and a collection of family photos each child must have taken to England with them. The whole book is set up like an old family album, including chipped, aged-looking pages.

There is extensive back matter, including a timeline, a Glossary, information about The Kindertransport Association, which you might want to check for additional information, suggestions for further reading, discussion questions, and and extensive Bibliography.

Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport is a well done, very well researched book. The seven stories included in it are poignant, and really bring home the feelings of desperation parents were feeling, but also the fear of the child suddenly being separated from their family, and not always being old enough to understand what was happening.

This is a valuable teaching resource for classes studying the WWII and Holocaust. Pair it with some of the excellent novels that have been written about the Kindertransport for a really in-depth, well- rounded sense of how the events of the time impacted children.

This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

This is a very important, and strangely, topical book for today. As I was reading it, I kept thinking, "History is repeating, history is repeating, why does no one DO something about it?!?" Ever feel like Cassandra? This book, so is.

It's geared towards a younger reader, not nearly as meaty as I would like it to be for me. For younger children, a good introduction to the horrors of the Holocaust. It's not overwhelming, but it is powerful and doesn't shy away from what the people interviewed in this book went through. A very respectable bibliography and notes section. The pictures of the children in happier times before they had to leave on the Kindertransport are heartbreaking in their innocence and everyday normal-ness.

Good book. Great for middle grade I would say. I wanted a bit more to it, so 4 solid stars. I do recommend this book to all ages though. History needs to be LEARNED from. From the sad state of affairs the world is in right now, I would say we still haven't learned this lesson yet. I am sorry to say we probably never will.

My thanks to NetGalley and Capstone Press for and eARC copy of this book to read and review.

I got a advanced reader copy in exchange of a honest review. Thank you to the publisher and the author.

Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport is a middle-grade novel for kids between 8-12 years old but I believe that everyone should read it. This tells the story of inumerous kids who have to travel out of their region due to the nazis, some of them are separated from their family, some loose relatives but they all suffer equally.

I'm a high-school senior and was reading this in History class during break. The teacher aproached me and we analyzed the photos together, it was a extremely sad but enlightening moment.

This book opens your eyes to new perspectives and reminds you that not every kid has a perfect and fun childhood which makes me incredibly sorry for them.

I hope a lot of kids pick up this book because I believe it will grow their empathy towards every single kid, not only the ones that they see everyday.

Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport is the true story of some 10,000 children and their departure from their parents into an unknown future. 7 different children's stories are brought to life along with their fate. There are pictures, poems, and letters along with descriptions of the frightening journey away from their parents. The end of the book explains whether or not their parents survived and how the children's lives unfolded. It contains a glossary, discussion questions, and a timeline at the end.

The book is written for middle grade ages. I highly recommend this book for schools, parents, and anyone who has an interest in learning about the Holocaust.

When reading books about WWII and the Holocaust, I always find myself getting emotional, and very angry. When I was in school, in my opinion, we didn't learn enough about it. It wasn't until I went to college and wanted to learn more, and started to understand how important it was to remember and educate others.

Kids need to read these books! We must never forget these events in history.

Excellent book I would definitely share with my students. More books have to be written like this one, so no one ever forgets the atrocities that occurred not that long ago in our history. So few survivors remain that it is important to share with young readers to prevent it from happening again.

Wow, this novel is something else, what a wonderful way to introduce the Kindertransport to children, to show them an aspect of history, in such a gentle way when the history itself is horrific.
I particularly loved Ursula's story, the most confronting and honest in the book, it really sits with me.

I love that this book is a history book but it feels like a chapter book, and the fact that the reader is learning without realising they are is a fantastic way to write history for children.
I definitely will be buying this book to add to my collection!

I found the story of these children very interesting. What they went through is amazing. I would like to have seen more information on what happened to more of them.

Excellent addition to our book collection on the World Wars and book study for our grade eight students.