What Rosa brought

In late 1930s Vienna, young Rosa enjoys time with Grandma while her parents run their grocery. But when Nazis invade, persecuting Jews and imposing restrictions, Rosa wonders why, and Grandma explains, "The Nazis say Jews are bad. Some people believe them." As Nazi oppression intensifies, Rosa's parents must close the store and look into going to America, but their visa applications are repeatedly denied. Meanwhile, her father begins making trunks for their livelihood, even creating one for a rabbi to protect and hide the synagogue's Torah when he departs Austria. Inspired by this, Rosa considers what her family might take on a journey. Eventually, their visas are approved--but only three: Grandma stays behind. While parting is heartbreaking, Rosa's comforted by Grandma's reassuring words and love--and she "carries it in her heart throughout her life." Expressive, eloquent mixed-media illustrations interweave intricately detailed and evocative elements and judiciously use color, depicting the Nazis' increasing presence and impact and, finally, Rosa and her parents' arrival in America, with the Statue of Liberty on the horizon. While treating a complex subject and likely best read with adults, this is an affecting, touching portrayal of a Jewish family's experiences during the onset of WWII, through hardships and uncertainties, to finding resilience and hope. An author's note with family photos explains Rosa's story was based on his mother's memories.

Nazi forces have marched into Vienna, and for Jews like young Rosa and her family, life is filled with danger and deprivation. Her parents' grocery store closes, her father turns to making trunks to support the family, and escape seems impossible. "America doesn't want to let us in," explains Rosa's beloved grandmother; "they're afraid we'll be lazy or make their country worse." When Dad helps a rabbi transport a Torah by building a trunk with a secret compartment, and the family receives their longed-for visas to America, the event feels like a miracle: "We helped the Torah escape.... Now God is helping us." But Grandma must stay behind when the Nazis restrict how many family members can leave. Rosa, who has been pondering what each person would bring with them to a new home, is distraught, until Grandma helps her realize the most important thing she can take to America: her grandmother's love, something that she carries "in her heart throughout her life." Sager Weinstein (Lyric Mckerrigan, Secret Librarian) bases the story on family experiences, per a concluding author's note that reminds readers that every person saved from catastrophe also saves future generations. Characters are portrayed with pale skin. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator's agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary. (Nov.)

PreS-Gr 4--A story that may be challenging for younger children to fully understand but is compelling even before readers know that it is based in true events. Rosa is a Jewish girl in Vienna in 1938. Her grandmother watches her during the day, while her parents run the family shop. "Then the Nazis came, and things changed." The girl is confused as the appearance of Swastika symbols and vandalism become more commonplace in her neighborhood. Her grandmother simply explains: "The Nazis say Jews are bad. Some people believe them." Rosa's parents try to stay optimistic, hopeful that their loyal customers will continue to shop and support the family. Increasingly oppressive prohibitions, including banning Jews from owning businesses, force the family to pivot: making and selling trunks one at a time as if it were for a yard sale. After failing the first time, the family eventually receive their visas to leave for America. However, Rosa's grandmother must stay behind, as the Nazis only permitted three family members to leave. "I'm the oldest," the grandmother explains to Rosa. "and you and your parents have many more years of life left than I do…. you will take my love with you." This devastatingly poignant picture book is based on a true story: Rosa is the author's mother. The dialogues and events are based on her memories, stories from his grandparents, and supplemented by records. VERDICT Within the context of guided family and classroom conversations, this gorgeously illustrated picture book can be an important age-appropriate tool to educate children about the Holocaust while emphasizing the enduring power of perseverance and love.--Jane Huh

"Then the Nazis came, and things changed." In Vienna, Rosa's parents work in their grocery store while Grandma watches over the child. Then Nazi flags appear everywhere, and hatred against Jews, like Rosa and her family, becomes rampant. Grandma tries to answer Rosa's perplexed questions as gently as possible, but how can you explain the unexplainable? When Jews are banned from owning businesses, Dad surreptitiously builds and sells one trunk at a time for departing Jewish neighbors, even helping a rabbi hide a Torah in a false bottom. The family desperately waits for a visa that will allow them to flee to America. Rosa, in her innocence, imagines what she might take with her when they leave, seen as white-line ghostlike objects floating around her. When the visas finally come, and there isn't one for Grandma, Rosa takes the most important thing of all on the journey: Grandma's love. Drawing inspiration from his mother's childhood experiences, Weinstein employs spare, carefully selected language, without sugarcoating, to describe the rapidly escalating events. Wheeler's illustrations inform the wider, more harrowing tale, gradually growing darker and more fraught with menacing vignettes of book burnings and broken windows. After viewing the family's apartment, nearly emptied of belongings, and watching them eat in a soup kitchen, readers will find the family's sadness, fear, and hunger to be palpable. Heartrending, tender, and eye-opening. (author's note, photos) (Picture book. 7-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.