From School Library Journal
Gr 5-7--These books offer material that has been better presented in other titles. Bearing Witness tells of the liberation of the concentration camps, of the difficulties confronting liberated Jews, the trials of some Nazi leaders, and some key events since the war, such as the Eichmann trial. Kallen points out the irony of our ``Operation Paperclip,'' which made it easier for war criminals to enter the U.S. than for Holocaust survivors. Faces describes organized resistance fighting, the work of rescuers in different European countries, and individuals such as Raoul Wallenberg and Oskar Schindler. Holocaust attempts to tell of the Nazi rise to power and the ``Final Solution.'' Kallen is at times eloquent, especially in distinguishing between the Holocaust and other atrocities and in assessing the frightening rise of anti-Semitism in much of the world today. However, the books are too short, too repetitive, and too carelessly assembled to be wise purchases. In Holocaust, Joseph Goebbels is spelled ``Goebbles'' in both text and index, while in Witness it is spelled correctly. Twice the author states that Anne Frank died on a death march, thus negating the good parts of the text. Perhaps worst of all are the poorly reproduced, murky black-and-white photographs. Children will be far better served by Milton Meltzer's Never to Forget (HarperCollins, 1976) and Mirian Chaikin's A Nightmare in History (Clarion, 1987; o.p.).
Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
