Monday, July 17, 2017

My Historical Fiction Evolution Part 3


Welcome to part 3 in My Historical Fiction Evolution series where I discuss my love for the genre and how it has changed over the past 20 years.

Click the links below to check out the first two posts in this series.

To recap:
Part 1: My introduction to historical fiction in elementary school with Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr.

Part 2: Historical fiction close to home with Booky: A Trilogy by Bernice Thurman Hunter and Guest of War Trilogy by Kit Pearson.

After learning about the terrible lasting effects of the atom bomb in Japan and the hardships of those during Great Depression and World War II Toronto, my historical fiction evolution was about to delve even deeper.  

It was my grade 7 teacher who introduced me to the horrors of the Holocaust, when my class watched the film Life is Beautiful. Click below to watch the movies trailer.


This film follows a Jewish man and his son as they are sent to a concentration camp during World War II. The atrocities the Jewish people faced absolutely horrified me, but it also made me want to learn more.

So naturally I turned to my newfound love of history and historical fiction. This would also mark the first time I would read non-fiction.

Now you are probably expecting me to mention The Diary of aYoung Girl by Anne Frank, however I admit that this wasn’t one of my favourite books. Instead I will focus on the following middle grade and young adult books set during this time period:


Surviving Hitler



Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps by AndreaWarren gives the true account of a holocaust survivor as he recounts his harrowing tale. This book is chalk full of pictures, many of which were extremely hard to look at. These pictures made the time period come alive for me.

My Canary Yellow Star 


My Canary Yellow Star by Eva Wiseman was a book I was given in high school by my mom who met the author. Like Surviving Hitler, it follows a young Jewish person (in this case a girl named Marta) as their rights are stripped away by the Nazi regime and sent to a concentration camp.



I have reread both of these books several times over the years (and will continue to do so), but their horrors and message of hope will never dull. It is with books like these that the people whose lives were tragically cut short are remembered. They are also a great learning tool for the youth of today.

Stay tuned for part 4 in my series where my evolution in historical fiction continues.


Are there any books set during the holocaust that you would recommend? Leave me a message in the comments. 

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