Hide and Seek

Rachel Hartog is only eight years old when the Nazis invade her native Holland. Gradually her childhood is disfigured: sent to a school for Jewish children only, forbidden to enter the parks or use the swimming pool, stripped of her beloved bicycle, forced to wear a yellow star, Rachel cannot understand the persecution of her family and friends. Drawing on her own experiences during WW II, Vos fills the narrative with understated but painfully realistic moments: for example, Rachel falls and scrapes her knee; a well-meaning stranger attempts to seat her on a public bench, forbidden to Jews; terrified and desperate, she bites his hand. The Hartogs then flee into hiding in a series of homes and are given false names, and Rachel and her younger sister are eventually separated from their parents. Although the feelings of the hidden and their protectors lack the complexity that characterizes Johanna Reiss's The Upstairs Room , Vos's novel deserves special attention for its sensitive and deeply affecting consideration of life after liberation. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)