Catherine’s War

Billet’s emotive historical graphic novel portrays a Jewish girl forced to hide her identity during the Nazi occupation of France. When Rachel Cohen’s school outside Paris becomes unsafe, the aspiring photographer changes her name to Catherine Colin and forsakes any expression of her Jewish identity. Before being whisked away by the French resistance, Catherine’s teacher asks her to take pictures of the war (“We’ll need these testimonies”). After, she lives an itinerant life, traveling from a Catholic boarding school in Saint-Eustache to a peasant farm near Limoges and later to an orphanage in the Pyrenees. Though fear and trauma haunt the country, Catherine encounters the selflessness and sacrifice of strangers, becoming a selfless and generous young woman in the process. Fauvel’s earth-toned illustrations feature expressive faces alongside panels of photographs being developed, which prove moving as they become visible alongside other characters’ disappearances. While no scenes from the war are portrayed, violent episodes do occur. Thoughtful meditations on the importance of art and shared connection combine with historical fact to make Catherine’s journey feel relevant. Ages 8–12. [em](Jan.) [/em]