Karen Ackerman

Clara's family is Jewish. Soon after the Nazis annex Austria in 1938, the persecution begins with midnight arrests, vandalism, and burglaries. Months earlier there had been laughter and jokes in Clara’s house. Now, nights are filled with fearful whispers. Then, Clara overhears her father saying, “We must leave Austria now, before it is too late.” Papa sells their belongings for cash to bribe the guards at the Swiss border. Mother will carry their one satchel. Anything the girls want to take must be worn or carried in their coats. Clara takes her grandmother’s dolls, Gittel and Lotte and volunteers to hide the family’s precious silver candlesticks in the dolls’ straw stuffing. The family cuts off their yellow stars and sets out under the cover of darkness. At the Swiss border, Clara must lie to protect herself and her family.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com… (mere)

A trio of children go to visit their grandfather, who was a vaudeville performer in his youth. Their grandfather laments the passing of the "song and dance" days, but he still pulls out all his old vaudeville gear and puts on a one man variety show for his grandchildren. The children are genuinely delighted by their grandfather's performance, and he is equally pleased to be able to share a piece of his personal history with his descendants. Though this story has a sort of melancholy nostalgia to it, I think that ultimately what the grandfather was missing was performing for an audience, so that in addition to passing along memories of his performance to his grandchildren, he was also able to realize that he didn't necessarily miss performing for a large audience, just a grateful one.… (mere)