Sunday, December 02, 2007

Books with Jewish Deaf Characters

In honor of Hanukkah, below are two books which include Jewish Deaf Characters. Happy Reading!

Resistance (2005) by Janet Graber
Hardcover: 138 pages
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books


Reading Level: Grades 7-10.
In German-occupied Normandy, France, fifteen-year-old Marianne worries that her mother is exposing the family, especially Marianne's deaf younger brother, to great danger by volunteering for more perilous assignments in the resistance movement . They are hiding and nursing an Englishman in their woodshed when the local German colonel decides to lodge one of his soldiers in their home.

The Silent Hero (1994) by George Shea
Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Reading Level: Grades 3-5

The true story of a young Deaf French boy, Pierre, who rescues a British pilot and helps him back across enemy lines during World War II. Thirteen-year-old Pierre witnesses the December 1940 downing of an Allied airplane by Germans near his home in St. Claire, France. With great difficulty, he manages to rescue the American pilot, Jim Rush, and hide him from the Nazis in a secret room under a woodshed until he can be safely returned to England. Based on a true event, Shea's book vividly portrays life in occupied France, with special emphasis on the activities of the French Resistance. Although classified as nonfiction (no sources are cited), the text reads like an adventure story. The short chapters and a relatively easy reading level will make the book attractive to young history buffs and also hold the attention of older reluctant readers.

1 comment:

Jen Robinson said...

Just thought you'd want to know about a YA book that comes out in March that includes a young deaf child (six-year-old Hucky). The book is "My Most Excellent Year", by Steve Kluger. I'll be getting up a review this week sometime. He doesn't appear to be Jewish, though.