Customer Reviews

Elisabeth

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My daughter brings home a library book every Wednesday from her school. On one occasion, she brought home ELISABETH, by Claire Nivola. I read it to her that night and was moved by the story. The next night, Thursday, my husband also read her the story. On Saturday, my husband, a physician, received a call from the emergency room where a woman who was from out of town, was experiencing pain from a previous fracture. He accepted the case and when he began taking her history, he was struck by the similarity it bore to the book he had just read. He mentioned it to her and she said she also knew the story as SHE WAS RUTH, the child in the book. My husband immediately took our daughter to meet her. Just to let you know - the book is a true story.

I came upon this book by accident and bought it for my granddaughter a year and a half ago when she was 4 1/2. We felt that she was too young to deal with the Holocaust aspect of the story, but will eventually reveal it to her. It is a favorite with her, for the story of loss and recovery is touching in its own right. As an American-Jewish contemporary of the doll's first owner, I get chills just reading the synopsis, and a catch in my throat when I tell people about it. The illustrations are beautiful, in their poignant detail and rich colors. This wonderful book deserves to be much more widely read than the sales ranking here would indicate.

This little book is powerful in it's simple text and folk art-like illustrations. I have not yet been able to read this aloud to my daughter without a catch in my voice. And while at age 5 she is too young to learn about the details of the Holocaust, she certainly understands the sadness of a little girl leaving her precious doll behind and the wonder of discovering the same doll years later. As a homeschooler, I am able to use this resource to study history, geography, family relationships, culture and issues of faith and religious persecution (of course tailoring discussion to be age appropriate). I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone, young or old. This is an excellent addition to your home library.

Elizabeth is a wonderful book. The story is moving and real, the art is memorable. And it teaches real truths from and to the heart and mind.

This is the author's mother's story of having to flee Hitler's Germany, leaving everything behind, including her beloved doll Elisabeth. The illustrations are beautiful but have the emotional reserve and distance of the text itself, and the improbable happy ending does not ring true. The whole story is too sad, and children of the picture-book age do not need to be introduced to the historical horrors of the world in order to grow up as compassionate people. It is hard to imagine a child of the target audience having this as a favorite book; adults, yes, and maybe very traumatized children, but parents should read it before deciding if it is appropriate for their own kids.

I just finished reading "Elisabeth" by Claire A. Nivola as I am at the moment processing this book here at work (I work in a university library). I've completed about 180 kids' books just now, and I must admit that this one was the most poignant. I also have to say I wondered whether or not it was a true story, but judging by the notes at the back in the ISBN section, it states that it is a work of fiction. Nevertheless, it was lovely and I was very touched by it. Thanks for allowing me to share this with you...