Star of Fear, Star of Hope

Suffused with bittersweet regret, this sensitive picture book from France begins with the reminiscences of an old woman. The narrator, Helen, describes being eight years old-when it's 1942, in Nazi-occupied France. Her best friend, Lydia, has been forced to wear a Star of David on her jacket. The night of Helen's ninth birthday, Lydia sleeps over. While Helen's parents are at work, strangers tap on a neighbor's door, calling out strange passwords and looking for shelter. The Nazis are arresting Jews. Lydia asks to go home to her family, which infuriates Helen-it's her birthday, after all. Her last words to Lydia are ""You're not my friend anymore!"" She never sees Lydia again but, in all the intervening years, sustains hope (``with all my heart'') that Lydia has survived. In a powerful marriage of art and text, the simple, spare lines and muted tones of Kang's illustrations quietly support the poignant story. Fluidly written and centered in events a child can comprehend, the book is an ideal starting point for serious discussion about the Holocaust. Ages 7-10. (May)