Book: The Devil’s Arithmetic

This is a very cool book.  They even made it into a movie starring Kirsten Dunst.  It is written by Jane Yolen.  It’s about a girl your age named Hanna.  She goes to her aunt’s house to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover.  While celebrating, Hanna is magically transported back to Poland circa 1934.  The Nazis have taken power and her family finds themselves on their way to a concentration camp.  Life in the camp is very hard: little food, horrible living conditions and the cruel Nazis that threaten Hanna (now called Chaya) and her family.  But Hanna tells her friends and family stories to keep their spirits up.  It’s SUCH a good movie.  I watch it almost every year.  My Hebrew School class read it a couple of years ago.  Then, we had a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance in LA.  We heard a real life Holocaust survivor speak.  Poor lady, blames herself for sending her little brother (accidentally) to the gas chambers.  Anyway, the book is better than the movie.  See if you can borrow it from the library. The movie is on YouTube in nine different parts.  This is the first part.  In the end, there is a bit of nudity as the women are shuffled into the gas chamber – thought I’d warn you. If you wanna watch that far, thought you should be prepared.  Sometimes, when I’m struggling in life, I read or watch sad stories.  It helps me see my own strength.  And since you cannot eat at my Passover table this year, perhaps you can “eat” at Hanna’s table.  Enjoy the story!