Title: The Old Brown Suitcase
Author:Lillian Boraks-Nemetz
Publisher: Ronsdale Press
Age Range: Young Adult (11+)
Time Period: 1938-1949
Location: Montreal, Quebec / Warsaw, Poland
“The Old Brown Suitcase tells an absorbing story of a young girl who survived the Holocaust against all odds. When fourteen-year-old Slava comes to Canada with her parents and sister and a suitcase filled with memories of a lost childhood, dark shadows haunt her new life. She cannot forget the hunger, stench and disease in the Warsaw Ghetto, nor the fear and humiliation of being incarcerated behind a high brick wall. She cannot forget her extraordinary escape from the Ghetto when she walked alone through the gates while the guards were looking the other way. Not can she forget disappearing into a strange and unknown place to survive under a hidden identity. The story juxtaposes heart-wrenching scenes from a child’s life in war-torn Poland with a life of a teenager trying to adjust to a new country in time of peace. In Canada, it is not easy for Slava to build a bridge between two cultures; nor is it easy to live with the turmoil of her immediate past. At the same time she must face the new challenges involved in being an immigrant, a Jew and a teenage girl. “
Winner of multiple literary awards, this book is based on the life experiences of the author – following the story of a fourteen year old Polish girl named Slava, whose Jewish family has immigrated to Canada after the second world war.
Alternating chapters between her childhood in Warsaw, Poland to life now in Canada, this story drew me in.
The scenes of her childhood – from the innocent beginnings of ballet school and a settled life to being housed with many other Jewish families, unable to go to school or learn, and unsure of their future – are vivid insights into a time period that is painful and hard to imagine.
After the war, we watch her grow in Canada. Struggling to deal with the challenges of being Jewish, a teenage girl, an immigrant, and memories of the war she lived through – Slava tries to find where she belongs in this new world. Her parents have decided her name will now be Elizabeth, in order to be more Canadian, and she struggles to learn English.
Considering this is my least favourite period of history, I wasn’t sure how I would like this story, but it was very well written, and completely emotionally riveting.
Note: This book felt very much intended for the older age level of children. Dealing directly with the Jewish Holocaust and the deaths of people around her, this book is rather intense. There’s references to smoking, makeup, and a teenage friend’s concern she might be pregnant -“[D]id you and Mark play a married couple?” is the closest reference to sex that is mentioned though.
The back of the book offers some great information about the history that the book is based on – about the Jews in Warsaw before, during, and after the war, plus some thoughts on how an immigrant who is new to your community might feel and how you can help them feel welcome.
Although this book would lend itself marvellously to a novel study, the closest I could find was a short 2 activity lesson.
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Title: Fire Ship Author: Marianne Brandis Publisher:Porcupine's Quill Age Range: Children (9+) Time Period: 1813 Location: York, Upper Canada "Fire Ship, Read more
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