My Family for the War by Anne C Voorhoeve

My Family for the War by Anne C Voorhoeve was originally published in Germany in 2007. It was published in the United States in 2012. A few years ago, I first read about Nicholas Winton and his role in the Kindertrasnport that helped rescue Jewish children during WWII. This book, My Family for the War is a historical fiction of this event.

Franziska is a Christian child, but because her grandparents were Jewish, her family becomes a target of Hitler's regime. Fraziska's parents work desperately to find a way to get her out of the country to safety. She is given a spot on the Kindertransport and must make a new life in England. She must learn a new language, and learn more about her Jewish ancestry in order to fit in with her new foster parents.

I enjoyed this story. I liked that although it is fiction, the story is plausible. I liked the growth I saw in Fraziska and her struggles as she tried to come to terms with the loss of her family and her struggle to determine who her family was now that she lived in England. The relationships in this story are well developed and realistic.

Thank Heavens for the families who were willing to take these children into their homes and treat them well.

Here is an article I used in my classroom that tells more about Nicholas Winton. He was an amazing person who worked hard to save as many children as he could. He saved the lives of 669 children.

My sweet mom donated another 100 zip bags to our NICU book project. These 2-gallon bags allow us to package the books in a way that keeps them safe from possible spills at baby's bedside. Thanks, Mom.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you.