Hiding from the Nazis

In their fourth book about the Holocaust, Adler and Ritz (Child of the Warsaw Ghetto) again funnel a vast, horrific subject through the true experiences of one Jewish child. This story belongs to Lore Baer, whose German parents fled to Holland just prior to WWII. After the invasion of Holland, four-year-old Lore was sent by herself into hiding, living for two years on a Christian family's farm. She and her protectors grew to love one another, so much so that when the war ended Lore had difficulty reuniting with her own family. Although the perspective lurches from historical to personal, and the text lacks the sensitivity of Shulamith Levey Oppenheim's similarly themed The Lily Cupboard, readers will gain an understanding of both the events and their impact on children. Ritz's murky, sometimes clunky watercolors have noticeably less inspiration this time around. Her factual, newsreel-style depictions, while recording the story's events, unfortunately do not capture the emotional fallout. Ages 6-9. (Oct.)