Historical Fiction genre
Ano Hi no Koto (The Things That Happened on That Day): Remember March 11, 2011 (2012), is a Japanese-English bilingual picture book. Through a boy’s perspective, the story invites readers to see the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that happened on March 11, 2011 in the northeastern region of Japan. The central theme of this story is loss of family, linking with the motifs of separation, social isolation, survival, and hope.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
Eight-year-old Bernie is thrust into the terror, starvation and daily atrocities of World War II when the Japanese bomb and capture her native island of Guam. Live Bernie’s story as she and thousands of Guamanians are captured and placed in concentration camps for nearly three years.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3
A single china cup from a tea set left behind when Jews were forced to leave Russia helps hold a family together through generations of living in America, reminding them of the most important things in life.
Vibiana, an unwanted fourth child, finds her name and identity in Christianity, but with the Boxer Rebellion in full swing and Chinese Christians facing death, she must decide whether her loyalties lie with her religion or her country.
The year: 1943. The place: Manhattan. Linus Muller works at the family grocery store in the east 70s. When his oldest brother, Albie, leaves to fight in World War II, Linus takes over the grocery deliveries. One of his customers is an artist from somewhere in Europe who arranges to have a crate of oranges delivered every other week
When young American pilot Rose Justice is captured by Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women’s concentration camp, she finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery, and friendship of her fellow prisoners.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 7, Issue 1
Touched by Fire, Irene N. Watt’s exquisite new novel, explores one family’s journey as they flee from the pogroms of Russia in 1905, where the Cossacks burn villages to the ground, to Berlin, Germany, where Jews have a hard time living and working in peace, to the streets of the Lower East Side in New York. Teenage Miriam gives a first-hand account of the excitement everyone feels about going to America, the “Golden Land,” the journey in steerage, the arrival at Ellis Island, and the discrimination the immigrants feel while seeking employment. When Miriam finally lands a job at the Triangle Shirt Waist Company as a cuff setter, she believes her future in the New World is finally secure. But on March 25, 1911, the fire that starts from overflowing bins of material scraps rages into what becomes known as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and Miriam’s life is forever changed.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VII, Issue 4
Before the rise of the Nazi party, Germany, especially Berlin, was one of the most tolerant places for homosexuals in the world. But that all changed when the Nazis came to power. The pink triangle sewn onto prison uniforms became the symbol of the persecution of homosexuals, a persecution that would continue for many years after the war. A mix of historical research, first-person accounts and individual stories brings this time to life for young readers.
Italy, 1944: Florence is occupied by Nazi forces. The Italian resistance movement has not given up hope, though — and neither have thirteen-year- old Paolo and his sister, Costanza. As their mother is pressured into harboring escaping POWs, Paolo and Costanza each find a part to play in opposing the German forces. Both are desperate to fight the occupation, but what can two siblings — with only a bicycle to help them — do against a whole army?
Misha and his family do their best to survive in the appalling conditions of the Warsaw ghetto during World War II, and ultimately make a final, desperate stand against the Nazis.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 3