From Our Collection

The horrors of the Holocoust, in particular Kristallnacht, the beginning of ethnic cleansing, is a painful topic for young children to grasp. This book illustrates the before and after effects of the Nazi raids from the perspective of a stray cat. This unassuming stray animal loves following Sophie and her friend to school, eating their crumbs along the way. Everything changes one night when the raids begin and Benno the cat never sees Sophie again. The men in brown shirts begin raiding homes and burning synagogues, changing the landscape of Berlin and the lives of all its inhabitants, including Benno. The afterword and bibliography at the end of the book help parents add more information about the events in the story.