Star of Fear, Star of Hope [Hardcover]

Jo Hoestlandt (Author), Johanna Kang (Illustrator), Mark Polizzotti (Translator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up

Nine-year-old Helen is confused by the disappearance of her Jewish friend during the German occupation of Paris.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Suffused with bittersweet regret, this sensitive picture book from France begins with the reminiscences of an old woman. The narrator, Helen, describes being eight years old-when it's 1942, in Nazi-occupied France. Her best friend, Lydia, has been forced to wear a Star of David on her jacket. The night of Helen's ninth birthday, Lydia sleeps over. While Helen's parents are at work, strangers tap on a neighbor's door, calling out strange passwords and looking for shelter. The Nazis are arresting Jews. Lydia asks to go home to her family, which infuriates Helen-it's her birthday, after all. Her last words to Lydia are "You're not my friend anymore!" She never sees Lydia again but, in all the intervening years, sustains hope ("with all my heart") that Lydia has survived. In a powerful marriage of art and text, the simple, spare lines and muted tones of Kang's illustrations quietly support the poignant story. Fluidly written and centered in events a child can comprehend, the book is an ideal starting point for serious discussion about the Holocaust. Ages 7-10.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4?This extraordinarily moving picture book, originally published in France and set in the north of France during World War II, has spare prose and appropriately stark illustrations. An elderly woman recalls an incident in her childhood that she would give anything to undo. Her Jewish friend Lydia is visiting, and, in the middle of the night, a frightened Jewish woman seeking refuge awakens them by pounding on the door of a "safe house" across the hall. Lydia then asks to be taken home. With deep sorrow and guilt, Helen remembers that she shouted at her friend for leaving on the eve of her birthday. Stars are the symbols around which the story turns. Lydia's mother, sewing the yellow star on her daughter's jacket, explains that a new law compels Jews to wear them but that "the place for stars is in the sky." The woman in the hall is trying to tear the star off her coat and when Helen, already contrite, opens the birthday present left for her by Lydia, she sees a paper doll with Lydia's face painted on, complete with a wardrobe including a jacket with a star. Helen never sees her friend again and, for a long time, she is angry at the stars. The illustrations appear to be of charcoal and crayon pastels in subdued colors with black outlines. The drawings are simple and barely rounded, almost as if the figures were paper dolls, as well. A mood of fear and impending doom prevails. Will it reach children? Absolutely. There is no book exactly like this one. Elisabeth Reuter's Best Friends (Yellow Brick Road, 1993) is somewhat similar, but Star is the superior title.?Marcia W. Posner, Holocaust Memorial and Educational Center of Nassau County, Glen Cove, NY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Walker Childrens (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802783732
• ISBN-13: 978-0802783738
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #508,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Holocaust

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Teaching Tool to discuss the Holocaust, September 14, 2000

By 

Teach "dssealts" (Columbus Grove, OHIO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star of Fear, Star of Hope (Paperback)

Each year I do a thematic unit on the Holocaust and this is one of the picture books that I use with my sixth grade students. They enjoy the story and the pictures portray the writer's feelings were very.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Holocaust picture book, April 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Star of Fear, Star of Hope (Hardcover)

An elderly lady retells events from her childhood. She describes her confusion and fear when her best friend has to wear a yellow star, her sadness when her friend mysteriously disappears one night and her enduring hope of finding her again. Great introduction for learning about the Jews under Nazi Germany. Reading level is third grade but good as a read aloud to younger children. Very moving.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, December 26, 2008

By 

Leisha Obrien - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star of Fear, Star of Hope (Paperback)

I bought this book for school for a unit that I was doing. With all of the other books I bought through Amazon, it was a great resource for myself and my students. Full Satisfied with the seller!