Cleburne Public Library The Tattooist of Auschwitz
APRIL 2019
Heather Morris In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.
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Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.
It’s National Library Week! April 8-13
How many total items do we have in our collection? Did you know?
The Cleburne Public Library is 114 years old. The local women’s club founded the library. In 1903, Andrew Carnegie donated $20,000 to building a beautiful new library, it formally opened in 1905. “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.” ― Andrew Carnegie Last year over 73,000 books were checked out by our community!! The library had 123,000 visitors; a daily average of 412/day.
Bring your overdue materials April 8-13 and we will forgive your fines!
What do you love about CPL?
Name: Phone #: Drop off your entry at the front desk during the week of April 8-13 to be entered into the CPL Library Week Contest.
Holocaust Books Number the Stars Lowry, Lois. A ten-year-old Danish girl's bravery is tested when her best friend is threatened by Nazis in 1943.
The Butterfly Polacco, Patricia. During the Nazi occupation of France, Monique's mother hides a Jewish family in her basement and tries to help them escape to freedom.
The Complete Maus (Maus I & Maus II) Spiegelman, Art. Maus tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father's story. Maus approaches the unspeakable through the diminutive. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), shocks us out of any lingering sense of familiarity and succeeds in drawing us closer to the bleak heart of the Holocaust. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits. This astonishing retelling of our century's grisliest news is a story of survival, not only of Vladek but of the children who survive even the survivors. Maus studies the bloody paw prints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us.
Even adults have a difficult time fathoming the horrors of the holocaust, so how can this subject be addressed with children? It can be a hard, painful thing to try to discuss and explain, but reading good books (and talking about them) is a good place to start. Experts say that learning about this era is very important so that “the more likely we will be to stand up in the face of all genocide all around the world, and say, never again.� During the month of April the Cleburne Public Library is encouraging all who are interested to read a book about the holocaust. Those who read one of these books are invited to attend the book club meeting on April 18 at 6:00 PM to talk about them with one another. We have created an annotated bibliography of books in the library’s collection that deal with the holocaust in some way that are appropriate for children and teens. Please pick up a copy of this list in the library or search our online catalog to help select a book that is right for your child. As always, children, teens, and parents are advised to select their reading choices based on their own abilities, interests, and family values.
No Exit Taylor Adams
Broken Ground Val McDermid
The Fifth Doctrine Karen Robards
Celtic Empire Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler
She Lies In Wait Gytha Lodge
The Border Don Winslow