Each of these profiles of Dutch Jewish children and young adults who survived World War II in hiding are compelling and distinct, but across the narrative there is also a sense of continuity. This is in part a factor of geography — in a country as small as The Netherlands, the children in hiding were often aided by the same people and traversing the same locales in their escapes. In most cases, they were also children whose families had been given an initial exemption by the Germans — often middle-class families with skills considered useful. Some of the children were hidden in situations where they felt loved and cared for and formed lasting bonds with the people who took them in; people they came to think of as family. Some were treated awfully, or had to move around often. Some whose parents survived never regained a sense of belonging or connection to their families when they were reunited. Regardless of their experiences in hiding, it’s clear all of them had to deal with the lasting impact. A final chapter includes photographs of each of the individuals profiled as older adults. (Age 12 and older)

The personal stories of survival shared in this book will stay with readers long after they have finished the book. An eye opening book about being a Jewish child during WWII, hiding and doing everything in their power to survive the Holocaust. Each story is accompanied by pictures of the survivors then and now. Each story is different but all children shared the same need for survival. The Jewish children in this story survived unimaginable horrors, hunger, cold, homelessness, abuse and much more. Each foreign word introduced in the book (Dutch, Hebrew, German) is italicized and explained on the bottom of the page making the book reader friendly and easy to understand.

Dutch. Originally published in Dutch as Ondergedoken als Anne Frank by Uitgeverij Van Oorschot in 2011. English translation by Laura Watkinson published in the United States by Scholastic, Inc. in 2016.