Synopses & Reviews
Remember World War II: Kids Who Survived Tell Their Stories allows readers to understand the war not as seen through the eyes of soldiers but through the eyes of children who survived the bombings, the blackouts, the hunger, the fear, and the loss of loved ones caused by the war. The author shares her own recollections of being able to see the faces of Japanese pilots as they headed for the naval base at Pearl Harbor to drop their deadly bombs on unsuspecting American ships and soldiers, then shares her feelings at having to leave her father behind as the rest of the family is evacuated to the U.S. mainland.
A few days later, in the Philippines, the family of a young British girl is forced to turn their house over to the invading Japanese Army and move to a detention center where breakfast is a watery mush made with coconut milk; lunch is slimy spinach; and dinner a thin black soup. But at least she has food and shelter. Twelve-year-old Eiko Arai, of Tokyo, is not so fortunate. When the American B-29 bombers began around-the-clock bombing, fires circle the city destroying everything in their paths. She and her mother have to step over charred bodies to get to the train station, where she becomes separated from her mother. If it had not been for a stranger yanking her on board a moving train, she would have been left behind, alone.
Meanwhile in Germany, 14-year-old Hedi Wachenheimer goes to school one day only to be sent home with the words "dirty Jew" ringing in her ears. Worse yet, she finds her home locked and empty and learns that her father and uncle have been taken away by the Nazis. She eventually flees to England to live out the war never knowing the fate of her parents. Lilly Lebovitz escapes the gas chamber by pinching her cheeks to make herself look healthy. She spends the war in a slave labor camp, but at least she survives.
For Fred Losch, proud member of the Hitler Youth, the war ends in a ditch in Berlin, where as the prisoner of a Russian soldier, he finds himself wondering "all this effort-for nothing!" Although no fighting took place in the United States, there was a hate war between many Americans and Japanese Americans. On his 13th birthday, Allan Higa finds himself being shipped off to a detention center where he and his family live in a cramped barracks without any heat or electricity or plumbing until the end of the war.
Nicholson skillfully weaves these stories and more into her historical narrative of the war to create a history lesson that readers will not soon forget. Some 50 archival images, maps showing alliances and major battles, and a time line of key events in the European and Pacific theaters add to the book's "you are there" feel.
Synopsis
"Mother, they're here.The Nazis are here!"
It was march 15, 1939. The place was Plzen, Czechoslovakia. The life of 15-year-old Jirina Zizkovska, like the lives of millions of people across Europe and around the world, war was about to change -- never to be the same. In Remember World War II you will experience the war through the real-life accounts of kids who survived the war in Europe, the Pacific, and on the home front.
What would you do if you had to go to sleep every night to the sound of Nazi boots pacing the floors of your house? That's what Solange Berger and her sister had to endure after the Germans took over their home in Belgium. Can you imagine being told that listening to the radio was punishable by death? For Olga Held, whose German family had become disillusioned with Hitler, news broadcasts from England were a lifeline of hope. The quacking of their "watch duck" Georgie was a signal to turn off the radio.
What if, like Japanese American Thompson Izawa, your Sunday morning fishing trip turned into a nightmare, as you witnessed Japanese planes bombing the U.S. fleet in Pearl Harbor? Or how would you feel if your mother painted your name and blood type on your chest, knowing the information could save your life? That's what happened to some of Eiko Arai's friends during the firebombing of Tokyo.
Through these and other stories, Dorinda Makanaõnalani Nicholson captures the resilient spirit and incredible bravery of kids in wartime. By combining eyewitness accounts with carefully researched narrative and compelling archival images, she makes Remember World War II an unforgettable reading experience.
Synopsis
Dorinda Makanaõnalani Nicholson was born in Hawaii to a Hawaiian mother and a Caucasian father. At the age of six she was an eyewitness to the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Her first book, Pearl Harbor Child, chronicles that historic event. Nicholson believes it is her mission to bring World War II history to life for children. She is married to Larry Nicholson, an award winning photographer, video producer, and graphic artist. The two combined their talents to create Pearl Harbor Warriors, which won the International Reading Association Intermediate Nonfiction Award, the Benjamin Franklin Multi-Cultural Award, and was selected for the 2003-2004 Mark Twain Master List. The Nicholsons have four sons and six grandchildren. They live in Raytown, Missouri, with a very spoiled dog named Corduroy.
About the Author
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