Title: A Time to Hide
Author: Marion Seidemann Fredman
Major Themes: Germany, Holland, Netherlands, Jewish Holocaust
Synopsis: Soon after they were married, Grete and Julius had to hide from the Nazis for several years.
I’m always delighted to find a new picture book that describes a bit of history in a way that young children can understand it. I read A Time to Hide to my six-year-old this evening. Before we started, I asked her if she knew about Adolf Hitler, and she did, so this wasn’t a new concept to her.
Publisher’s description:
When Grete and Julius fled Nazi Germany, they never imagined they’d be forced into hiding in a Dutch attic. While in hiding, their daughter Marion was born—a moment of light amid the darkest of times. Years later, Marion Seidemann Fredman shares her family’s courageous story of love, loss, and resilience in this visually rich nonfiction picture book.
My thoughts:
Both my daughter and I enjoyed the story and the illustrations in A Time to Hide. The illustrations are done as if in a scrapbook. There are a variety of backgrounds on the pages, from burlap to wallpaper, along with several others. The illustrations themselves vary from old photographs to drawings to paintings. One page is all black—when Grete and Julius hid in a wall. I found that a very effective way to feel what they felt.
A Time to Hide is a wonderful, gentle way to teach children about the Holocaust. Just enough is said about the concentration camps that it is easy to see why Grete and Julius had to hide, but nothing is graphic. One thing I really liked was a doctor’s attitude about a surprise pregnancy: Giving birth to a Jewish child was the ultimate act of resistance to Hitler’s evil! This is a book I would love to have on our shelf.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.
WARNING: There are a few mentions of people dying in or en route to concentration camps.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Kindle | Hardcover
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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