Malka [Hardcover]

Mirjam Pressler (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

When the round-ups start in the Polish village, Malka's mother knows she must get her daughters across the Hungarian border to safety-a place where Jews can live in peace. But escape proves harder than they could have ever imagined. Raw and bleeding feet, bad weather, fear and homesickness fill their nights, until little Malka falls very ill, and must be left behind to be brought across when the threat has passed.

But the threat doesn't pass. Separated from her family, Malka finds herself in a terrifying world full of strangers, starvation, and constant fear of Nazi round-ups. Completely alone, she struggles to stay hidden in alleyways and old cellars, unaware that miles away, a broken-hearted mother is searching frantically for her lost little girl . . .

A shocking and unforgettable story of a child's heroic fight to stay alive during one of the most intense moments in human history.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-In October, 1943, Dr. Hannah Mai and her two daughters make a harrowing escape from German-occupied Poland to Hungary. When seven-year-old Malka becomes ill, Hannah leaves her with a family who promises to send her along as soon as she is well. Fearing German reprisals, however, the family turns her out, and German soldiers take her back across the border. A Polish policeman takes her in, and she forms a strong bond with his wife and son, a child with Down's syndrome. Fearing that she might attract German attention to the boy, the policeman takes her to the ghetto in another small Polish town where another family grudgingly takes her in until, in the face of a German "operation," they send her away. She lives alone in a coal cellar, scrounging for food and remembering to drink liquids as the lady doctor she barely remembers had said was so important. In Hungary, her mother makes desperate efforts to find someone who could help rescue her, finally deciding to leave her older daughter and make the dangerous trip back into Poland herself. The real Malka Mai, now living in Israel, remembers only bits of her six months on her own, but her family's story has been heartbreakingly reimagined by Pressler and smoothly translated by Murdoch. The alternating perspectives of the abandoned child and the mother who made an unbearable choice should appeal to older readers, especially those already attracted to Holocaust survival stories. This is a thought-provoking addition to that body of literature.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. Translated from the German and based on one Jewish family's real escape story, Pressler's novel never romanticizes either the victims or the rescuers. When the Nazi roundups begin in her Polish town in 1943, Dr. Hannah Mai tries to flee with her two daughters, Minna, 16, and Malka, 7, over the border to Hungary. On their way through the mountains, Malka becomes ill; the other refugees persuade Hannah to leave the small child behind with a family and send for her when she's well. But that family dumps Malka, leaving her on her own. The narrative swings from Hannah--trying to find safety, wracked by guilt, and desperate for news of her daughter--to Malka, alone, scavenging for food in the countryside and the ghetto. Both mother and child find refuge with kind strangers, Jew and gentile; but they also encounter cruelty, racism, and indifference everywhere. The mother's narrative is more convincing than that of the seven-year-old, who often seems closer to a young teen in her reasoning and skills. But the history is accurate, and the survival adventure will hold readers to the very last page. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (May 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399239847
• ISBN-13: 978-0399239847
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,541,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Malka, March 16, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Malka (Hardcover)

It was a warm summer day and Malka's mother, Hannah had just mended a patient, when the German Police invaded the village of Kalne and a German officer told Hannah that she should take herself and her children across the Hungarian boarder. Ivan was the first guide that helped Malka, Hannah, and Minna, and he Guided them to the house of Mrs. Kowalski who offered to care for Malka so that she wouldn't have to walk anymore, but Hannah declined. Mrs. Kowalski told them about a man named Kapolowici who was a Jew tobacco smuggler. After crossing the Hungarian boarder Malka became ill, and Hannah looked to find Kapolowici and after Hannah convinced him to help her she took Malka into the home. Kapolowici promised that he would take Malka to Mukachevo to meet back up with Hannah and Minna, but after his neighbors suspected him of helping the girl he just shoved her out onto the street without anything at all. She wandered the streets for hours until the noise and smell of an inn drew her in, where she was then arrested. Then a man named Zygmunt smuggled her out of the boarder police station and took her to his home where Teresa, Julek, Mytek, and other sons where she lived happily for many weeks until a German officer found out what Zygmunt was doing and he was forced to take Malka to a Jewish ghetto where she lived with the Goldfaden family until there was an operation and Malka was left alone. Malka then left and hitched a ride on a train and reached Germany and fell sick in the train and when she got stuck in a trashcan and was picked up and woke up in a hospital. Then a man found her and took her to her mother but by then she had forgotten who her mother was.

I liked this book because it had a lot of information about how ad life was for Jews in the 1940's. The German officer was talking to Hannah about escaping across the boarder, and he talked really loud so that other people could hear, a Jew is a Jew and there is no difference no matter what. Malka and her family ere forced to leave their home because they were living in fear of the Germans. Jews also lived in the ghettoes of cities because of racial segregation. Germans also created operations where they resettled Jews and eventually killed them.

I did not like this book because of how poorly Malka was treated. First of all the Kapolowici's promised to take Malka to Mukachevo but instead he pushed her out on the street. Then after she was released from the prison with Yossel and Shlomo promised that take Malka over the mountains but when she woke up they were gone. Then when Malka was in the ghetto and there was an operation the Goldfadens left her there because they said that they didn't have enough supplies for her but they really just did not want to care for her anymore.

I really liked this book because it described many places and living conditions during its time period. This book took place in many different places, such as Poland, Hungary, and Germany. The family of escapees traveled across dandelion fields, mountains, grasslands, and forests. When Malka lived in Lawacozne she lived in a nice house and when they got across the boarder they were still seeing houses, but when Hannah and Minna got to the camp for Poland escapees they were living in very small and cramped apartments with horrible living conditions.

I really liked this book because I learned more about living conditions for Jews in the 1940's. I disliked this book because of how Malka was treated but I also liked this book because it had a lot different scenery. I really thought this book was very good but there were also some parts that I did not like.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful, emotional maelstrom that won't let go, November 13, 2003

By 

D. Davidson (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Malka (Hardcover)

This book was an incredible experience... I read it in one sitting because I couldn't bear to stop. It was such a powerful look into the reality of what Hitler did, not only to the Jews, but how he brought out the best and worst of the Germans and othe people. I was impressed by the reality of the character descriptions... every person in the story was imperfect, as all people are. It was painfully easy to identify with some of the characters. This may be a bit powerful for younger readers, but will be an excellent discussion starter for teens (and adults) who could use some insight into cause and effect.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bittersweetly Wonderful Story!!!, May 14, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Malka (Mass Market Paperback)

Malka is clearly a five star book. It tells about all the hardships Malka, her sister Minna, and her mother Hannah went through during the Holocaust on their flee to Hungary and away from their homeland of Lawoczne, Poland. I could not stop reading after I started. I had to go on. I kept wondering; what will happen to Malka or Minna or Hannah? Will they survive? Right from the start, I got hooked on the bittersweet story of Malka and her family. I guarantee you that you will love this book, even if you don't like historical fiction!