Middle Grade Nonfiction Review: STARS OF THE NIGHT

Title: Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport by Caren Stelson, illustrated by Selino Alko

Book Beginning:

Friday56 (near the end of the unpaged book):

Summary: On December 1, 1938 the first Operation Kindertransport took place, transporting 196 Jewish children from Berlin to Harwich, England. The next day Nicholas Winton gets involved, helping create a British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia. Over the next year he scrambles to make spaces for as many Jewish Czech children as he can aboard a transport to Britain. In total he helps save 669 children. When WWII started the transports ended and Winton does not stay in touch with any of the children, in fact, he serves in the Royal Air Force. Fifty years later, in 1988, his wife finds a scrapbook in their attic. Inside is a list of the children's names, photos, letters from parents, and other documents -- everything Winton had about the Czech Kindertransports. Later that year he is invited to meet with his "children." They've been wondering who saved them all those years before.

Review: The phrase "stars of the Night" were words spoken by their mothers before the children left home: "There will be times when you feel lonely and homesick. Let the stars of the night and the sun of the day be the messenger of our thoughts and love."

Nicholas Winton's Kindertransport story is not only a story of history but also one that inspire us to action today. May his courage and forethought inspire all of us to make a difference in children's lives. To save one life can help save the world.

I was really touched by this account of the kindertransport and the brave man who saved so many lives but I was flummoxed by the way the publishers chose to present the information in a children's-style book with lots of illustrations. The topic is one for middle or high school students, but the format is appealing to young children. There seems to be a mismatch here.

I did love the book, though, and it is worth the time to search for it at your library.

-Anne