Benno and the Night of Broken Glass

Author: Meg Wiviott

Illustrator: Josée Bisaillon

Peach's Picks Rating:
 


Year of publication: 2010

City of publication: Minneapolis, MN

Publisher: KAR-BEN  Publishing

ISBN: 9780-0-8225-9929-6

Author website: http://megwiviott.com

Illustrator website: http://joseebisaillon.com/

Media used for illustration: Mixture of collage, drawings and digital montage

Annotation: This story, set in 1938 Berlin, is told from the viewpoint of a neighborhood cat who watches as Jews and Gentiles are affected by the beginning of the Holocaust.

Personal reaction to the book: It is 1938, just prior to the beginning of the Holocaust. Benno, the neighborhood cat, has no particular owner, but makes his home in the cozy cellar next to a furnace at Number 5 Rosenstrasse in Berlin. During the day he visits homes and businesses of Jews and Gentiles where he is affectionately welcomed. The people in this pleasant neighborhood are friendly and interact with one another, but it begins to change as the Nazi regime begins to take over Berlin. Then, one night known as Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass), the cat watches as “men in brown shirts” (Nazi Stormtroopers) destroy the homes, businesses and Neue Synagogue. Benno’s Jewish friends disappear and life is never the same. The book reads aloud well. The action moves along and horrors surrounding Kristallnacht are comprehensible, but not overwhelming to readers. However, it is difficult to read this book to a group when holding the book and showing pictures. The font is small and not easy to read. Each illustration is a two-page spread. The pictures extend the text showing a calm neighborhood that is transformed into chaos and rubble during the course of the story. Though on pages 1-2, what appears to be a quiet neighborhood is shown with buildings and lampposts slightly off-balance with dark skies in the background, foreshadowing the terrors to come. As the drama unfolds the illustrations become more off balance and angular. This book offers a thoughtful means to supplement discuss of events surrounding the Holocaust. Includes an afterword providing additional information, a bibliography, and a list of other children’s books related to the Holocaust.

General curricular connections:

• Holocaust

Specific example of curricular connection matched to State Standards:
Subject: History

Grade level: 10

Standards:

History-Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve

Grade 10

World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World

10.8 Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.

5. Analyze the Nazi policy of pursuing racial purity, especially against the European Jews; its transformation into the Final Solution; and the Holocaust that resulted in the murder of six million Jewish civilians

Recommended grade levels:
School Library Journal recommends this book be used with grades 3-5
Booklist recommends this book be used with grades 2-5
Peach's Picks recommends this book be used with grades 3 and up

Awards/Recognitions:
School Library Journal starred review

Note: This entry applies to the assignment criteria to review books published during  2010-2011.

Repetition: Pages 2, 10, and 24; Reference to Benno’s bed near the furnace and fresh milk left there for him

Book cover picture retrieved from http://www.karben.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=370