The War Within: A Novel of the Civil War

Bibliographic information: 

Matas, Carol.  The War Within: A Novel of the Civil War. Aladdin Paperbacks, 2001, p. 151. 

Brief plot description:

The War Within takes place in Mississippi during December 1862 and January 1863.  Hannah begins the story on the first night of Chanukah where Joanna has invited two Yankee soldiers to join them even though the family is Confederate.  One of the men Captain Mazer is a Jew and Joanna really likes him.  That night the Captain tells the family that General Grant has made a law that states that all Jews must leave the Confederate states, but Captain Mazer promises that they will be safe.  Eugenia and Hannah plan a party where they invite the Yankee soldiers in hopes of getting them drunk before a fight with the Confederates.  The Confederate Army burns the Yankee supplies, but the fire threatens Hannah’s home.  After they return home, they are informed that they must leave and go to Cairo, Illinois.  What will happen to them along the way?  Will their story end happily?        

Brief review:

I like the format of the book because it is written in a diary form.  One confusing part is that the story starts in what seems like the prologue but should be a dated entry in the diary.  I believe that this book would be great to use during a Civil War unit because it shows how a little common thread could lead to a whole family changing their view of the war.  It also does a really good job of telling what happened to another group of people that were singled out.  I never knew that the Jews were told to leave the south by General Grant.  With this different view some people could come to the conclusion that both sides of the war discriminated against their fellow citizens.  Overall, I really liked this book because of the historical information.   

Genre label:

Historical Fiction, Jewish

Reading level/interest level:

5^th-8^th grade

Character names/descriptions:

Hannah – 13 years old, Jewish, southern lady

Joanna- Hannah’s sister

Simon- Hannah’s brother, in army

Leon- Hannah’s brother, in army

David- Hannah’s brother, at home

Henry- Hannah’s brother, at home

Jule- Hannah’s personal servant

Father- Chief Commissary for the Confederate Army

Wife- Holding down the general store

Eugenia- Hannah’s friend

Miss Douglas- Hannah’s teacher

Similar materials in style content, theme or characters:

Torn Thread by Ann Isaacs

Amelia’s War by Ann Rinaldi

Sarny: A Life Remembered by Gary Paulsen

Bright Freedom’s Song: A Story of the Underground Railroad by Gloria McLendon Houston

Awards:

Books for the Teen Age, New York Public Library

Sydney Taylor Honour Book

Geoffrey Bilson Honour Book

Finalist, McNally Robinson Book for Young People

The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award

Finalist, Lamplighter Award

Number the Stars

Bibliographic information: 

Lowry, Lois.  Number the Stars.  Yearling Book, 1989,  p. 137.

Brief plot description:

Number the Stars takes place during the Holocaust in Denmark in the village of Copenhagen.  In the story there is the Johansen family that includes Lise, Annemarie, and Kristi.  The town of Copenhagen has a curfew of eight o’clock since the Germans have been there for the past three years.  Peter brings news that many Jewish shops are being closed down by the Germans.  The Rosen family is Jewish, and Ellen comes to live with the Johansen’s to be safe.  Peter takes her parents somewhere else to be safe.  The families then meet at Uncle Henrik’s house.  What happens while they are at Uncle Henrik’s house?  Will the families survive the war?

Brief review:

I really enjoyed this story because it shows how a family overcomes a war to help a family in trouble.  I believe that this book could be used in a fourth through eighth grade class.  In these grades it could be used when discussing World War II or the Jewish culture.  The book illustrates the sacrifices some people are willing to make in order to overcome injustice and evil.  I believe that the main idea of Number the Stars is that one should never discriminate against another and that if someone is discriminating against others that you should step up and help them fight.  I really enjoyed this book because I enjoy reading things about war and the way the Jews were treated during the Holocaust.

Genre label:

Historical Fiction

Reading level/interest level:

4^th- 8^th grade

Character names/descriptions:

Lise Johansen– eldest, not Jewish

Annemarie Johansen- 10 years old, middle child, not Jewish

Kristi Johansen- youngest who is in kindergarten, not Jewish

Uncle Henrik – lives on water overlooking Sweden

Ellen Rosen- Annemarie’s friend; Jewish

Peter Neilse - Lise’s finance

Similar materials in style content, theme or characters:

Jacob’s Rescue: A Holocaust Story by Malka Drucker

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Behind the Bedroom Wall by Laura Williams

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Subjects/themes:

World War II, Jewish culture

  

Awards:

Newbery Award

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

ALA Notable Children’s Book

Maine Student Book Award

Kentucky Bluegrass Master List

Kansas William White Master List

Sydney Taylor Book Award, Association of Jewish Libraries

Arkansas Charlie May Simon Master List