Hiding Edith by Kathy Kacer

Book seller blurb: In 1938, Edith and her family joined the many Jewish people forced to leave their homes to escape the Nazis. In a desperate bid for survival, Edith was entrusted to the care of a children's home in Moissac, France, where other Jewish children were hiding. All the people of the town promised to keep the children's identity a secret. Could they possibly succeed? Would Edith ever see her family again? A dramatic and moving account of one girl's experience during World War II.

By coincidence my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything penned a blog post this week about Anne Frank and Samantha Read Smith (more about this young girl in a moment).  I often had students in Grade Five or Six who wanted to read The Diary of Anne Frank but I did not purchase this for my library because I think it is better suited to an older reader aged 13+.  I did have Hiding Edith in my library, but I will confess I had not read it until this week. I picked up my copy at a recent charity book sale. Hiding Edith was published in Canada in 2006 and the Australian edition arrived in 2011. Younger students aged 10+ who are interested in Anne Frank are sure to find the story of Edith Schwalb engrossing. Kathy Kacer interviewed Edith and other children who were saved when they went into hiding in the French village of Moissac so this is a non-fiction biography of a young Jewish girl. She had to cope with leaving her family, living with strangers, and changing her identity.

As unimaginable as it may seem for today’s youngsters to comprehend the experience Edith endured, Kacer has succeeded in allowing the young reader into the apprehensive and troubled mind of this child survivor. Kirkus

Hiding Edith details not only the amazing courage and struggles of one young girl, but the inspiring spirit of the people she met. Second Story Press

Here is a very detailed set of teaching notes from the publisher. You can listen to a five-minute audio sample here from the Introduction to Hiding Edith. 

Here is an alternate cover for Hiding Edith:

Companion books:

Beyond Belief

This is a picture book version based on the famous diary of Anne Frank

Girl 38 Finding a Friend

Let me Whisper you my Story

Now to briefly mention Samantha Reed Smith. Take a minute to read the post above from Kinderbookswitheverything.  I had no idea about this courageous young girl. Samantha was born in 1972 in Maine, USA. She was worried about the Cold War (1947-1991) and so she took some action and wrote a letter to:

"Yuri Andropov, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, expressing her concerns about the possibility of nuclear war. Her sincerity, genuine curiosity, and unshakable belief in the goodness of humanity shone through her words. To everyone’s amazement, Andropov responded to Samantha’s letter with an invitation to visit the Soviet Union." History Captain

She travelled to the USSR in 1983

"Samantha’s message was simple but profound: Peace is not an abstract concept; it’s a shared aspiration of all humanity. Her youthful innocence allowed her to see beyond political rhetoric and to touch the hearts of people who had been taught to see the West as an enemy." History Captain

Read more here:

• The letter sent by Samantha and the reply.
• Kids Britannica
• Kids encyclopedia

I previously talked about another book by Kathy Kacer - To Hope and Back. 

My parents were both survivors of the Holocaust. My mother survived the war by hiding. My father was a survivor of the concentration camps. Their stories of survival were an inspiration to me as I was growing up. As an adult, I was determined to write their stories and pass them on to young readers. In that way, future generations would never forget that time in history. Kathy Kacer