One of my classmates recommended i read the book called
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr.
Let me tell you how awesome it was! I don't know if many people have read this book, but I would highly
recommend it to anyone who is planning on teaching middle school. Here is s brief summary of what I
thought!
The title did not make sense to me,
but after I read the story it made complete sense. Judith Kerr did a fantastic
job of writing this book. She had me wanting to read more and more. I
especially liked the character development. Anna and her older brother, Max,
are lost and confused throughout the book because their dad left, and before
they know it they are moving from country to country trying to escape Hitler’s
rule. I think it would be extremely difficult and exhausting to go through what
they did as far as learning new languages and making new friends. What I found
most interesting is Anna being excited about moving. They had lived in Berlin
for such a long time that I though Anna would want to stay and be with her
friend Elsbeth. Max did was not excited to leave at all. He had an issue
leaving his best friend Gunther. As children, they were asked to deal with a
lot.
Kerr
was successful writer, but as we talked in class we talked about a few
inaccuracies in the story for example the idea of the elections. The
information was wrong about what really happened in Germany at that time. I
agree that teachers should know this information, but we need to “go along with
it to make things simple.”
There
were also many words that students may not be familiar with such as “flat,”
“lift,” and “overall.” It would be important to discuss these terms as a class.
I loved everything about this book, and I can see myself using it as part of a
Holocaust unit.
