The Missing: The True Story of My Family in World War II

This poignant memoir documents the author and poet’s genealogical detective work to discover his relatives’ fates during WWII. Growing up in England, the former British children’s laureate heard about great-aunts and -uncles in France and Poland who had disappeared by the end of the war. As an adult, Rosen becomes determined to find out what had become of them. In the first-person, the author compellingly illustrates how the Nazis sought not only to extinguish the Jewish populace, like Rosen’s family, in concentration and death camps, but also aimed to erase their existence from memory—and that discovery spurs him onward, through family interviews and discovered letters. Alternating between prose and poetry, the accessible narrative includes poignant poems that underscore the search and deepen understanding of both Rosen’s family and his drive to uncover the truth. Supplemented by black-and-white photographs, a comprehensive family tree, and an extensive list for further reading, this multifaceted tome offers a potent, personal look at family history and the Holocaust, with a rousing call against ongoing prejudice and contemporary crises. Ages 10–14. (Oct.)■