Saving Hanno

March 15, 2019
Grades 3-6 In this age-appropriate Holocaust story, Jewish siblings Rudi and Lotte escape from Nazi Germany to London on a Kindertransport and are placed with British families. Rudi's parents arrange for his dachshund, Hanno, to be transported separately, and boy and pooch are reunited after a six-month quarantine period. Rudi is adjusting to his new life with Aunt Irene and Uncle Don until Britain declares war on Germany, resulting in another placement away from London and a nationwide effort to exterminate all pets?including Hanno?by Brits fearing starvation. Halahmy's novel introduces readers to a little-known facet of the war that saw some 750,000 UK pets put down in the opening days of WWII. Nine-year-old Rudi's understanding of the world around him is somewhat limited, and his experiences with his kindly guardians are correspondingly naive. Sixteen-year-old Lotte, on the other hand, becomes a poorly paid servant to her rescuing family, stifling her dreams of higher education. While there's no real closure for the human characters here, Hanno's rescue by a wealthy British woman will please young readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)