Title:

The Cats in Krasinski Square                       Picture Book #1

Author:

Karen Hesse

Illustrator:

Wendy Watson

Publisher:

Scholastic Press

Date:

2004

ISBN:

0439435404

# of Pages (Readership):

32 pp. (‘Tween, Possibly YA)

Genre

Historical Fiction

Diversity

Jews

Plot Summary:

The narrator is a young Jewish girl who, along with her older sister Mira, has escaped the Warsaw Ghetto. The narrator must always walk and speak like a Pole as she regularly visits the cats that pass in and out through the holes in the wall of the ghetto.

Mira has joined the resistance movement and is preparing to smuggle food into the ghetto. When the Nazis discover the plan and bring dogs to the train station to meet the resistance people who are carrying food, the narrator’s plan to release cats to distract the dogs works and allows the food to reach the starving people behind the ghetto walls.

Illustrations:

In muted tones, the pencil, ink, and watercolor illustrations simply convey the plot.

Theme(s):

Even people who are struggling for personal suvival can reach out to help others.

Personal Response:

The author’s note and historical note describe how Hesse read and researched this story and provide readers with a bit of background on Jewish resistance. Except for one scene, the simplistic illustrations mask the tension and daring of the resistance movement and of the tenuous plight of Jews who posed as Poles. However, this tension could be a starting point for discussion.

Curricular or Programming Connections:

This book could be used to invite middle school students to further investigations into resistance activities during WWII.

Resistance

Survival

Humanitarian aid