Books for children on life in Poland
Yesterday, I received an email, asking for recommendation for books on life in Poland in the late 1800’s, suitable for 8-12 year old children. Here is what I wrote,
Funny how things can coincide. Right before I opened your email I finished a book written for sixth graders that is partially set in Poland. However only the book’s first third is there and the timeframe is a bit after what you are asking about: 1915-1925. I posted a blog entry about the book, “The night of the burning.”
I am sorry to say that we do not have exactly what you are looking, but I would like to mention a few items that might interest you.We have three books set in Poland written for children, but they are all in the Holocaust era: In the shade of the chestnut tree, The feather-bed journey, and Flowers on the wall. We also have a short VHS video (with Eli Wallach) suitable for children about life in the Shtetls. Finally I would like to recommend Roman Vishniac’s “Polish Jews; a pictorial record“. It has lots of excellent black and white photographs, many of them showing school age children. It also has an introductory essay, titled “The inner world of the Polish Jew,” which might be a bit too advanced for a your daughter’s reading level.
I hope you will come in and pick one or more of these items.
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