Yellow Star (book)
Encyclopedia
Yellow Star is a 2006 biographical children's novel by Jennifer Roy
. Written in free verse
, it depicts life through the eyes of a young Jewish girl whose family was forced into the Łódź Ghetto in 1939 during World War II
. Roy tells the story of her aunt Syvia, who shared her childhood memories with Roy more than 50 years after the ghetto's liberation. Roy added fictionalized dialogue, but did not otherwise alter the story. The book covers Syvia's life as she grows from four and a half to ten years old in the ghetto. Syvia, her older sister Dora, and her younger cousin Isaac were three of only twelve children who survived. After the war, Syvia moved to the United States, married, and only much later told her story to Roy. Since its publication in 2006, the book has received multiple awards, starred reviews, and other accolades, and has been made into a likewise well-received audiobook.
that Syvia was forced to wear.
More than 50 years after the events described in the book, Perlmutter Rozines began telling her story to family members, starting with her son, Roy's cousin Greg, who told Roy's sister Julia, who told Roy. Roy tape recorded the conversations between herself and Perlmutter Rozines, and used those conversations as the basis for the book.
Yellow Star is written in free verse
, after Roy struggled with how to authentically express Perlmutter Rozines' experiences to children in a way that did not seem stiff or detached. Roy cites Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal
-winning Out of the Dust
as an inspiration for the book's voice. Roy edited Perlmutter Rozines' various recollections together into chronological order, and penned narrative introductions to each chapter describing the war's events outside the ghetto. While the book is substantially based on Perlmutter Rozines' recollections, it is classified as historical fiction
since Roy included fictionalized dialogue.
and forced that nation's second-largest community of Jews, 270,000 strong, into one section of the city of Łódź, which they later walled off to form a ghetto. Before the invasion, Syvia and her family lived in Łódź. When her father heard rumors of the impending German invasion, the family traveled by buggy to Warsaw. The family was unable to find work or housing in Warsaw, so they returned to Lodz. When the Germans did invade, they forced Syvia's family to relocate, along with other Łódź-area Jews, into a segregated section of the city: a ghetto
. The book relates Syvia's explanations of what life in the ghetto is like: her friends, people around the ghetto, jobs, and her schedule. It relates how Syvia's family is forced to sell her doll, leaving her with rags and buttons as her playthings.
When the other Jewish children were sent to Chelmno
, Syvia's family smuggled the children from cellar to cellar. The book also relates tragic events: one of Syvia's friends disappears, and another is killed and burned in an extermination camp. The ghetto is liberated one day shy of Syvia's tenth birthday, on January 19, 1945. Syvia, her older sister Dora, and a younger cousin, Isaac, were three of only twelve children who survived.
in Washington, D.C. She gave a videotaped interview to the Shoah Foundation
, which records the personal recollections of Holocaust survivors.
and Booklist
. The Publisher's Weekly review commended the book for "the lyricism of the narrative, and Syvia's credible childlike voice, maturing with each chapter, as she gains further understanding of the events around her". Another reviewer praised the format, saying the "free-verse format suits the young narrator and subject matter well" and concluding that "Readers searching for an accessible Holocaust novel will be absorbed by this haunting story based on true events". Library Media Connections review praises Roy for her age-appropriate language: "When Syvia witnesses the shooting of people in the street, author Jennifer Roy captures the fear of the moment without graphic descriptions". Yellow Star was selected as a "fiction and poetry honor book" in the 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
s, an American Library Association Notable Children's Book for Older Readers in April 2007, and won the 2009 William Allen White Children's Book Award
, selected by vote of sixth- through eighth-graders in Kansas.
Yellow Star was made into an audiobook read by Christina Moore
in 2007. A Booklist review noted that "Moore's 'vroom sput-sput pop' to mirror Nazi motorcycles, booming bomb sounds, and transition to a scratchy voice to reflect the youngster's oncoming sickness more than make up for a few technical glitches, including evidence of page turning and distracting breathing sounds."
Roy, whose other works include children's educational materials, hosts a variety of Yellow Star "Guides for Teachers and Book Groups" on her website.
Jennifer Roy
Jennifer Roy is the award-winning author of Yellow Star, which won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award , Sydney Taylor Honor Award, The William Allen White Children's Book Award , a New York Public L Book, an ALA Notable Book, National Jewish Book Honor Award, and received starred reviews in...
. Written in free verse
Free verse
Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...
, it depicts life through the eyes of a young Jewish girl whose family was forced into the Łódź Ghetto in 1939 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Roy tells the story of her aunt Syvia, who shared her childhood memories with Roy more than 50 years after the ghetto's liberation. Roy added fictionalized dialogue, but did not otherwise alter the story. The book covers Syvia's life as she grows from four and a half to ten years old in the ghetto. Syvia, her older sister Dora, and her younger cousin Isaac were three of only twelve children who survived. After the war, Syvia moved to the United States, married, and only much later told her story to Roy. Since its publication in 2006, the book has received multiple awards, starred reviews, and other accolades, and has been made into a likewise well-received audiobook.
Background
Yellow Star is the outgrowth of Sylvia Perlmutter Rozines' recollections of life in the Łódź ghetto. Perlmutter Rozines, then Syvia Perlmutter, was a four and a half year old child when she and her relatives were confined to the ghetto in late 1939. The ghetto was liberated the day before she turned 10: more than half her life had been lived in the ghetto. The book relates the events of those five and a half years, as an adult Sylvia recalled them years later. The title derives from the yellow badgeYellow badge
The yellow badge , also referred to as a Jewish badge, was a cloth patch that Jews were ordered to sew on their outer garments in order to mark them as Jews in public. It is intended to be a badge of shame associated with antisemitism...
that Syvia was forced to wear.
More than 50 years after the events described in the book, Perlmutter Rozines began telling her story to family members, starting with her son, Roy's cousin Greg, who told Roy's sister Julia, who told Roy. Roy tape recorded the conversations between herself and Perlmutter Rozines, and used those conversations as the basis for the book.
Yellow Star is written in free verse
Free verse
Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...
, after Roy struggled with how to authentically express Perlmutter Rozines' experiences to children in a way that did not seem stiff or detached. Roy cites Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
-winning Out of the Dust
Out of the Dust
Out of the Dust is a verse novel written by Karen Hesse. It was the winner of the Newbery Medal in 1998, Scott O'Dell Award, an ALA Notable Children's Book, an ALA "Best book", a School Library Journal "best book of the year", a Booklist "Editors' Choice" award, a Book Links "Lasting Connection", a...
as an inspiration for the book's voice. Roy edited Perlmutter Rozines' various recollections together into chronological order, and penned narrative introductions to each chapter describing the war's events outside the ghetto. While the book is substantially based on Perlmutter Rozines' recollections, it is classified as historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
since Roy included fictionalized dialogue.
Plot
In 1939, the Nazis invaded PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and forced that nation's second-largest community of Jews, 270,000 strong, into one section of the city of Łódź, which they later walled off to form a ghetto. Before the invasion, Syvia and her family lived in Łódź. When her father heard rumors of the impending German invasion, the family traveled by buggy to Warsaw. The family was unable to find work or housing in Warsaw, so they returned to Lodz. When the Germans did invade, they forced Syvia's family to relocate, along with other Łódź-area Jews, into a segregated section of the city: a ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
. The book relates Syvia's explanations of what life in the ghetto is like: her friends, people around the ghetto, jobs, and her schedule. It relates how Syvia's family is forced to sell her doll, leaving her with rags and buttons as her playthings.
When the other Jewish children were sent to Chelmno
Chelmno extermination camp
Chełmno extermination camp, also known as the Kulmhof concentration camp, was a Nazi German extermination camp that was situated 50 kilometres from Łódź, near a small village called Chełmno nad Nerem . After annexation by Germany Kulmhof was included into Reichsgau Wartheland in 1939...
, Syvia's family smuggled the children from cellar to cellar. The book also relates tragic events: one of Syvia's friends disappears, and another is killed and burned in an extermination camp. The ghetto is liberated one day shy of Syvia's tenth birthday, on January 19, 1945. Syvia, her older sister Dora, and a younger cousin, Isaac, were three of only twelve children who survived.
Aftermath
An extensive "Author's Note" details the fate of the people Syvia interacted with in the Ghetto, including how the survivors in her immediate family settled initially in Paris. Afterwards, she emigrated to the United States, Americanized her name, married David Rozines (another Holocaust survivor), and settled in upstate New York as Sylvia Perlmutter Rozines. As of 2006, Sylvia, now widowed, had moved to Maryland, and volunteers at the United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
in Washington, D.C. She gave a videotaped interview to the Shoah Foundation
Shoah Foundation
Shoah foundations are organizations that are formed to further the remembrance of the Holocaust of World War II. There are currently two major foundations that are internationally active.-Major Shoah Foundations:...
, which records the personal recollections of Holocaust survivors.
Reception
Yellow Star received starred reviews in Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
and Booklist
Booklist
Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
. The Publisher's Weekly review commended the book for "the lyricism of the narrative, and Syvia's credible childlike voice, maturing with each chapter, as she gains further understanding of the events around her". Another reviewer praised the format, saying the "free-verse format suits the young narrator and subject matter well" and concluding that "Readers searching for an accessible Holocaust novel will be absorbed by this haunting story based on true events". Library Media Connections review praises Roy for her age-appropriate language: "When Syvia witnesses the shooting of people in the street, author Jennifer Roy captures the fear of the moment without graphic descriptions". Yellow Star was selected as a "fiction and poetry honor book" in the 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards were first presented by The Boston Globe and Horn Book Magazine in 1967. They are among the most prestigious honors in the United States in the field of children’s and young adult literature...
s, an American Library Association Notable Children's Book for Older Readers in April 2007, and won the 2009 William Allen White Children's Book Award
William Allen White Children's Book Award
The William Allen White Children's Book Award is an annual book award chosen by Kansas students. It was established by Ruth Garver Gagliardo in 1952, in memory of William Allen White and is administered by Emporia State University. It was the first statewide readers' choice book award in the United...
, selected by vote of sixth- through eighth-graders in Kansas.
Yellow Star was made into an audiobook read by Christina Moore
Christina Moore
Christina Moore is an American actress. She is most notable for her membership in the main cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv, for replacing Lisa Robin Kelly as Laurie Forman on That '70s Show during the sixth season and for portraying Candy Sullivan in the TNT show Hawthorne.She had...
in 2007. A Booklist review noted that "Moore's 'vroom sput-sput pop' to mirror Nazi motorcycles, booming bomb sounds, and transition to a scratchy voice to reflect the youngster's oncoming sickness more than make up for a few technical glitches, including evidence of page turning and distracting breathing sounds."
Roy, whose other works include children's educational materials, hosts a variety of Yellow Star "Guides for Teachers and Book Groups" on her website.
External links
- JenniferRoy.com Author's website.
- Yellow Star at publisher Marshall Cavendish.
- Yellow Star at Google Books.