How to use this Page

WARSAW, New York – Storybook heroine Maggie Steele will be traveling to the New York State Indoor meet this weekend with eight vaulters who are ready to soar. State qualifiers from the Warsaw Pole Vault Club (PVP) received copies Maggie … Continue reading →

I picked this book off the library shelf because I saw that it was about cats, and we love cat books around here. Well, it turned out to be quite serious subject matter. I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to talking to my eldest son about serious topics. There are certain things about WWII I just don't think a 6 year old needs to know yet.

I'm not a creative writer, but I'm guessing it is fairly difficult to write a children's picture book set in the WWII Warsaw Ghetto, and even more difficult to write such a book that would not be too frightening for this age. Karen Hesse's The Cats in Krasinski Square avoids both. Hesse based her book on an article she read abut cats who outsmarted the Gestapo at a Warsaw train station. In Hesse's book, a young girl narrates a story in which a plan to smuggle food inside the Ghetto is almost thwarted by the Gestapo. The heroes of the story are the cats, who confuse the Gestapo's dogs at the station.

Hesse's soft and lyrical text, as well as Wendy Watson's gentle palette, mitigate the harsh reality of the Warsaw Ghetto. Hesse's attention to the cats' loyalty and reciprocated love for their human companions is a wise choice and helps make the topic approachable for parents like me. Even as I was still debating whether or not to read it to my 6 year old, he picked it out and read it himself. The suggested age range is grades 3-5.

It's a well-written book about a sensitive topic. I hope you remember this book when your children begin learning about World War II.

Want More?
Read more about the author.
Visit the illustrator's webpage. She illustrated one of my favorite childhood books: Father Fox's Penny Rhymes.
Bearing Witness Through Picture Books: a list of books about the Holocaust at School Library Journal.
Never Forget focuses on books for children about the Holocaust.

Big Kid says: I like those cats.

Late Sunset over Lake Winona Originally uploaded by teachergal I marveled, twice, about the fact that the sun sets later in Indiana than it does in Rhode Island (i.e. because it’s on the western part of the Eastern Time Zone). Therefore, after Ruth, Christi, and I parted from Jen, Cathy, and Sarah, I detoured to the [...]

Four New York editors, an agent, and a bestselling
author are coming to Connecticut on Saturday, April
26th for another F1rst Pages conference, one with a
new imprint launching in Fall 2008! One of those
prominent editors, making her own path in the business
is Adriana Dominguez, Executive Editor of Latino
imprint, Rayo, at HarperCollins. If you want to learn
more about publishing in the Latino market and receive
feedback on your work, make sure not to miss Adriana's
workshop. (See link below)

So if you can make it, the networking experience will
be worth your while and there are opportunities to
work with professional editors and an agent in an
intimate group and have the chance to submit. There
is an opportunity to be acquired if you have the right
stuff.

Just make sure you read the guidelines carefully.
Just a reminder that the navigation bar is at the top
of the page and the payment links are at the bottom of
each publishing professional's page.

Go to www.f1rstpages.com - click on conference tab or
go directly to the conference at
www.f1rstpages.com/conference.