While Ruelle admits in her afterword that “many of the details of this story are destined to remain forever uncertain,” she and DeSaix (who also collaborated on Hidden on the Mountain
) have pieced together a fascinating history of how the North African Muslim community of Paris and the Grand Mosque secretly harbored Jews and others after the Nazi invasion (“It was... an oasis hidden behind high walls right in the middle of the city”). The story isn't always easy to follow—it is by necessity episodic—though Ruelle provides ample detail and explanation, and DeSaix's moody oils provide the emotional and narrative ballast. Working mostly in double-page spreads, she masterfully conveys how the compound's serene, exotic interiors offered reassurance during desperate times. In one of the most striking images, a Jewish girl stands solemnly in front of one of the mosque's elaborately tiled walls; it's as if the mosaic's beauty and scale had a talismanic power, capable of warding off an otherwise horrible fate. Ages 8–up. (Sept.)
