No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War (National Book Award Finalist) [Hardcover]

Anita Lobel (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Series: National Book Award Finalist

Anita Lobel was barely five years old when World War II began and the Nazis burst into her home in Krakow, Poland, changing her life forever. She spent the days of her childood in hiding with her brother and their nanny in the countryside, in the ghetto, then finally in a convent when the Nazis caught up with her and she was imprisoned in a succession of concentration camps until the end of the war. Sent by the Red Cross to recuperate in Sweden, Anita slowly blossomed as she discovered books and language and art.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Nominated for a 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War is Anita Lobel's gripping memoir of surviving the Holocaust. A Caldecott-winning illustrator of such delightful picture books as On Market Street, it is difficult to believe Lobel endured the horrific childhood she did. From age 5 to age 10, Lobel spent what are supposed to be carefree years hiding from the Nazis, protecting her younger brother, being captured and marched from camp to camp, and surviving completely dehumanizing conditions. A terrifying story by any measure, Lobel's memoir is all the more haunting as told from the first-person, child's-eye view. Her girlhood voice tells it like it is, without irony or even complete understanding, but with matter-of-fact honesty and astonishing attention to detail. She carves vivid, enduring images into readers' minds. On hiding in the attic of the ghetto: "We were always told to be very quiet. The whispers of the trapped grown-ups sounded like the noise of insects rubbing their legs together." On being discovered while hiding in a convent: "They lined us up facing the wall. I looked at the dark red bricks in front of me and waited for the shots. When the shouting continued and the shots didn't come, I noticed my breath hanging in thin puffs in the air." On trying not to draw the attention of the Nazis: "I wanted to shrink away. To fold into a small invisible thing that had no detectable smell. No breath. No flesh. No sound."

It is a miracle that Lobel and her brother survived on their own in this world that any adult would find unbearable. Indeed, and appropriately, there are no pretty pictures here, and adults choosing to share this story with younger readers should make themselves readily available for explanations and comforting words. (The camps are full of excrement and death, all faithfully recorded in direct, unsparing language.) But this is a story that must be told, from the shocking beginning when a young girl watches the Nazis march into Krakow, to the final words of Lobel's epilogue: "My life has been good. I want more." (Ages 10 to 16) --Brangien Davis

From Publishers Weekly

Few admirers of Lobel's sunny picture book art (On Market Street) would guess at the terrors of Lobel's own childhood. Here, in beautifully measured prose, she offers a memoir that begins in 1939, when the author was five, as German soldiers march into her native Krakow; Lobel's adored father, the owner of a chocolate factory and a religious Jew, flees soon after, in the middle of the night ("He had kissed me in the night, and I did not know it"). Deportations begin, and before long the author and her younger brother (who is dressed as a girl) are sent to the country, in the care of their Niania (nanny). Thus the two children embark on years of flight, on a turbulent course involving assumed identities, blackmailers, a dangerous stay in the Krakow ghetto, concealment in a convent, capture and concentration camps. In 1945 the children are liberated, in Ravensbruck, and brought to Sweden to recuperate from what turns out to be tuberculosis, and they are eventually reunited with both parents. Lobel brings to these dramatic experiences an artist's sensibility for the telling detail, a seemingly unvarnished memory and heartstopping candor. Focused on survival, the child narrator does not pity herself or express her terror: she observes everyone keenly and cannily sizes them up. This piercing and graceful account is rewarding for readers of all ages. It may prove especially valuable for children who have graduated from Lobel's picture books and who may therefore feel they "know" her; this memoir would help such readers build a personal connection to WWII and its tragic lessons. A 12-page inset of family photos is included. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow; 1st edition (September 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688159354
• ISBN-13: 978-0688159351
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,449,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this beautifully written book!, August 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War (National Book Award Finalist) (Hardcover)

This was a really moving, beautiful book. I think in the book, Anita Lobel depicted the opinions and feelings of a child and teenager very realistically. The book is easy to read and a real page-turner. It is written in a very clear, simple style so that the reader is able to sympathise and understand the character's feelings. Anita Lobel is able to write the book in a way that shows that she doesn't pity herself for what happened during the Second World War in Poland. The author never overexaggerates or overemphasizes the situations that she experiences. What really stunned me about her character as a child, was that she confronted every situation very bravely and maturely. As a child, Anita Lobel was thankful for any small improvement in her life during the war.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read!, April 28, 2004

By 

D. J Nelson "cordria" (Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War (Paperback)

Summary:
In 1939, when Anita Lobel was five, German soldiers marched into Krakow. Anita's father, the owner of a chocolate factory and a Jew, runs away in the middle of the night. As a child, Anita Lobel spent years hiding from the Nazis and trying to protect her little brother. The two children have to work through assumed identities, a dangerous stay in the Krakow ghetto, hiding in a convent, and much more! They were captured and marched from camp to camp. Finally, in 1945, they were reunited with their parents and they had to learn to live all over again.

My thoughts:
This book touches your heart in a way few books do. Told from a child's point of view, using a very child-like voice, the story leaps out of the pages and into your mind. This book is written by an illustrator of beautiful picture books like Potatoes, Potatoes, and On Market Street. The title, No Pretty Pictures, seems to reflect her drawing career. In one example, when she first was allowed to enter school after the war, she was sent to an art class. There, she was given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and a set of new watercolors. She painted a wonderful blue chair, to the delight of her art teacher and the other students. She hasn't stopped painting since.

One moral that simply explodes out of this book is to never give up. No matter what life throws at you - starvation, imprisonment, hiding, or whatever - you can persevere. Anita overcame all of the obstacles placed in front of her, either by herself or with the help of others, and has created a spectacular life for herself. If she can succeed despite such odds, so can everybody else.

I think children would love to read this book when they are old enough to get all the way through it. At almost 200 pages, it is not a quick book to read. But it is a gripping, page-turning story - one of those kind that you can't put down. I think children will be drawn to the child-like voice of the story, the innocence the author manages to use. Anita Lobel is one of those truly gifted authors that can tell a horrible story about a child, for a child, without sounding condescending or self-pitying.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating, unforgettable read ., June 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War (National Book Award Finalist) (Hardcover)

Facsinating, in a word, describes Anita Lobel's book " No Pretty Pictures". Even though I am 33 years old I found her book to be incredibly interesting (even though it's claimed to be a "young adult book). I have always been interested in the Holocaust survivor stories, and "No Pretty Pictures" takes you on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs of one survivor and her younger brother. Anita Lobel's way of describing her memories make you feel like they happened yesterday. The way she relates the story through her long ago child's eye to the teenaged, more mature eye leaves the reader in awe of her ability to tap into shelved but not forgotten memories. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Even old adults (like me), would surely find this book inspiring and unforgettable. I will never forget it, it made me appreciate everything in my life a lot more.