Customer Reviews

Rose Blanche (Creative Editions)

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Congratulations! You have successfully located the best translation of the book "Rose Blanche" available on the market today. While the British and German translations may change significant portions of this tale around and about, the American version (all thanks to hard work of excellent translators Martha Coventry and Richard Graglia) is true to authors Gallaz and Innocenti's original plot and vision. So well done you! Give yourself a pat on the back and a hanky. You'll need it after you finish reading the book.

It's Germany during World War II. As we watch, our little heroine, Rose Blanche, describes the early days of the war. The soldiers are being packed up and shipped away and everyone is cheering them on. Swastikas are plentiful. One day, Rose sees a small boy escape from a van in the middle of the street. The boy is quickly caught and placed within the cramped van once again. Curious, Rose Blanche follows the van to the edge of town and into the forest. There she comes face to face with the children of a concentration camp. After offering them some of her food, the first person narrative abruptly begins to be told in the third person instead. We are told that Rose Blanche continued to bring food to the hungry children. Finally, the citizens of the town flee, wounded soldiers amongst them. Rather than escaping, Rose Blanche makes one last trip to the camp, only to find it empty. A single shot rings out and we see the Communist soldiers filling the now abandoned town. The book ends with, "Rose Blanche's mother waited a long time for her little girl". Flowers bloom, but the single purple bloom the girl placed on the barbed wire has wilted.

Tragedy in the key of E. The text is rather well written, giving no specific person or persons blame, but rather suggesting a collective guilt. Admittedly, I was a little taken aback by the sudden switch in narrative. One minute you know exactly what Rose Blanche is thinking and the next you can only interpret her emotions through descriptions and visual images. A review of this book in the March 2004 issue of "Children's Literature in Education" suggested that this is done so that the reader is given a bit of distance when the girl is shot. Admittedly, I don't expect my heroines to die in the picture books I read but I think we can chalk that up to naivete on my part more than anything else. This is, after all, an incredibly realistic work of fiction. The character of Rose Blanche even attains a kind of religious piousness at the end of the tale. In her final picture, she stands in the position of a saint. Her eyes are downcast, one hand lightly touching her heart, and the other placing a small purple flower on the broken fence.

Which brings us to the illustrations. Innocenti's pictures deftly tell a story within the actual text. In the first few pictures, Rose appears in happy crowd scenes. Then, as she discovers more about the world in which she lives, she is placed farther and farther away from other people. Rose is continually set apart from the others by her clothing as well. Where everyone else is resigned to grays and browns, Rose sports a pink dress with a bright red bow on her head. The illustrations are strikingly realistic, never becoming cartoony or visually inconsistent. Innocenti is deft at the millions of different ways in which light changes a scene. And to top it all off, he's done some of the most brilliant fog I've ever seen put down on paper.

This is a book about seeing what other people won't. The name "Rose Blanche" is explained by the author on the book flap. The Rose Blanche was a group of young Germans that protested the war. Like the heroine of this tale, they were unduly executed for the crime of thinking differently. The best use of this book is to utilize it in such a way that we can never forget how important it is to question authority at all times and to always fight for the truth. It seems that message is more important today than ever. A tip of the hat to the Rose Blanches of the world.

I was introduced to the holocaust in the 1960s as a military brat on a field trip to Dachau, Germany. I was 12. It gave me nightmares for months. It still affects me at 45. The original site has been cleaned up for tourists now (thank goodness). This book was given to me by a professor in my Reading Class at JMU. It is a very delicate response to a very intensely controvertial issue in world history. It can be treated lightly or on a deeper level for Kindergarten through 3rd grade students. No matter what the emphasis, treat it with great respect..... it has a deep impact on some children. It is a beautifully illustrated version of a very ugly issue of this world's humanity. Read it, but use with great care in a classroom. It's very potent.

I was first introduced to this book in 6th grade, by my teacher. I am now a freshman in college, and i'm using it in a presentation about the Holocaust. The fact that this book has stayed in my memory for such a long time should give you an idea about the impact it has on readers. From the perspective of a student, I highly recommend this book to teachers everywhere. Its a book you'll never forget.

This book was about a young girl that lived during the times of the holocaust. Rose Blanche was out one day and stumbled upon a concentration and she was young so she didn't really know what was going on. She saw children that were around her age who were all skin and bones. She decided that she would bring them food everyday. ....
I liked this book because it is a book that tells about the times of the holocaust. It tells how Rose didn't really know much about what was going on because she was so young. She saw the troops in her town and everything but she didn't realize the terrible things that were happening to people. This is a book that really tells how children felt back then during those times.
Through this book it seems that the author is trying to get across the feelings of children during those times. They didn't really know the extent of what was going on. All Rose knew was that the children she saw in those concentration camps were starving and that she wanted to help them.

This beautiful picture book will help make the Holocaust accessible to very young readers. Rose Blanche is a deeply moving story that will affect nearly all who read it. The detailed illustrations are drawn from a perspective that gives the reader a sense of security whilst offering a vivid view of the fate of others not so secure. Because this story is an allegory, it can be appreciated by readers of many ages. On one level, this is simply the story of one girl, Rose Blanche, finding out for herself what is happening to her countrymen and trying to help. On another level, Rose Blanche stands for all who helped the Jews, even though to do so meant certain death for the rescuers. This quiet book inspires courage.

I was first read this book in a drama class for teachers in training. I have never seen so many people cry at once. This book has the potential to be used in so many ways in the classroom, as it touches peoples hearts. Both children and adults can see the world through Rose's German eyes (a view not often portrayed in allied history), and explore the deeper meanings in both the text and the beautiful illustrations. The more you look at the pictures, the more you can see. If any teacher needs a book to study the second world war, I recomend Rose Blanche.

The time period is World War II. The main character is a small girl, named Rose Blanche. This is her story.

Rose is walking about one day through a forest when she comes to a tall barbed wire fence. Inside the fence is a concentration camp, where many people are being held. Rose goes to this place everyday, bringing food to the children.

Then, one day, when she reaches the small clearing where the children are, she finds it gone. Bits of wire and wood are lying littered on the ground, and she holds a small purple flower above the scattered wood.

The flower is a single ray of hope, shining brightly through the darkness. It is a hope that the war will end and hope that the lives of people across the world will return to normal. This book is a symbolism of what one little girl did to make the world a better place. Rose Blanche is truly an interesting, and touching read.
~~**Jessica**~~

I was first inroduced to this book by my children's literature professor at the Univeristy of Maine Farmington. She told me it was an excellent book and I totally agree. This is a must read for every literate person. The story moved my entire literature class to tears. What a book. It is a must for EVERY classroom.

One little girl has the only hope in the world! Everyone else is sad and angry. There is no more peace in the world. But how can you blame them at such a time as to which can be discribed in one word... Holocaust. The Nazi soldiers have come to conquer the Jewish race.
The little girl is German and her name is Rose Blanche. I like the illustrations because the red she wears really shows against the dreary colors around her. She is brave and sacrafices a lot for others she has an amazing, and sad story I think everyone needs to hear!

I THOUGHT THIS WAS A VERY GOOD BOOK. ROSA IS A YOUNG GIRL WHO IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HER WORLD DURING WWII. THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE WONDERFUL. THIS IS A GREAT READ ALOUD STORY! IT OFFERS SOME INSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS TOO, FOR A CREATIVE TEACHER. THIS BOOK CAN ALSO BE A GREAT DISCUSSION STARTER! ALL IN ALL A VERY GOOD READ.