The next day I saw our synagogue in ruins and I cried. Burned prayer books were everywhere. When no one was looking, I hid this one in my coat. I wanted a reminder of the place where I had been so happy.
(from The Tattered Prayer Book)
The Tattered Prayer Book by Ellen Bari is a picture book intended to be a gentle introduction to the Holocaust. When Ruthie finds a box of old photos at her grandmother’s house in a box marked “Germany,” she discovers a tattered and burned Jewish prayer book and learns that it belonged to her father when he was a young boy. Ruthie is surprised to learn that her father was born in Germany, and despite his desire to forget, he tells her his story.
Ruthie’s father describes the happy life he enjoyed in Hamburg and how everything changed after the Nazis came to power. He tells her about the friends he lost, the prayer book he found on the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht) in 1938, and how he and his family came to live in America. He remembers the comfort the prayer book gave him and is grateful for the discussion prompted by Ruthie’s question.
With Avi Katz’s illustrations, which have an old-book look about them, The Tattered Prayer Book puts readers in the shoes of a young boy who witnesses so much hatred and fear yet does not lose hope. There is no mention of the death camps, mass shootings, or the systematic slaughter of millions of people, so parents need not worry that they are sharing too much too soon. But it definitely is a book that will spark questions, as children struggle to understand why the synagogues were burned, why Ruthie’s father lost his friends, and why his family had to leave their home.
The Tattered Prayer Book is more than an introduction to the Holocaust. Ultimately, it emphasizes the pain of remembering but how doing so can both honor those who perished and teach children about a period in history that should never be repeated. Just like Ruthie’s father used the prayer book as a reminder of the good times in Germany, Ruthie’s curiosity is a reminder that children long to understand and are our hope for the future.
Disclosure: I received The Tattered Prayer Book from Gihon River Press for review.
© 2014 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I guess my hormones are a little wacky because I got teary reading your review. It’s so important that young folks learn about the Holocaust, and it sounds like this is good book to introduce them to this heartbreaking part of history.
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It’s a deceptively simple book, really easy to read, but when you really stop and thing about what the book is trying to say, it’s quite powerful.
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Sounds like a good introduction, though I wonder how parents would handle the questions it is likely to generate
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I’m sure those questions won’t be easy, but at least the book doesn’t touch on the death camps, etc., just through the period shortly after Kristallnacht.
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My best friend has been looking for books like these for her kid, so I’m going to recommend this to her. It sounds powerful and just the right book to start learning about the Holocaust.
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I hope the book helps your friend!
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Anna, sounds like a valuable, historical book for people of all ages. I ‘m sure I would find it heartbraking but compelling.
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Oops–heartbreaking! :0
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It’s definitely a great starting point for parents!
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I can see how this book would be a good way to introduce the Holocaust to children. It’s something I have wondered about, although I still have time to ponder it.
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It’s been so long, I don’t remember how I introduced The Girl to the topic. I definitely would have used this book if it had been published back then.
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Great review Anna and the title goes on my list! Thanks for sharing,
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Thanks, Noelle!
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What a great idea for a book. I hope many young people read it and the Holocaust is never forgotten.
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Me, too!
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Thanks for putting this one on my radar.
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Glad to help!
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Looks like an excellent place to start learning about the holocaust, something we and future generations should never, ever forget.
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Definitely!
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I wouldn’t have thought it possible to introduce young people to the Holocaust in a way that didn’t terrify them but this does sound as if it does it in just the way a mother would.
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That’s a perfect way to describe it!
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