Stone Angel

Narrator Rachel Botchan's youthful voice gives credibility to a Jewish girl who shares the experiences of her family as they flee Paris at the opening of WWII. After an easy daily life of brioche and croissants, the children learn the ways of partisans living in the forest and eventually escape over the mountains to Spain and by sea to England. Botchan's pacing is brisk, and her elocution precise, permitting the action to unfold vividly--from the initial presence of the Brown Shirts and closed patisserie doors, to an existence in the forest with food from "nature's cupboard" and sleeping outdoors, and finally to a reunion with the stone angels of Paris. (Young listeners will surely welcome conversation about this story with an adult.) A.R. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

December 22, 2014
An unnamed Jewish girl living in Paris fervently believes in angels—she need only look at the Gothic buildings around her to know they exist. Those angels seem “farther and farther away” after the Nazis force her family to flee, but she never loses hope that a protective power watches over her. Writing in a style resembling blank verse, Yolen conveys a hushed sense of urgency and momentum: “Aron and I learned to be quiet, to become shadows, how to turn invisible, sleeping all day long, waking only at night.” In her U.S. debut, British artist Green’s velvety textures and rounded shapes exude coziness and familiarity in Paris, taking on a somber beauty when the family enters a literal and figurative wilderness, hiding with partisans in a lush green forest, before escaping to Spain over snowy mountains. If the ending resolves a bit neatly—back in Paris, the girl’s father promptly resumes his old job at an observatory—the preceding pages convincingly portray a family tightly bound to one another, no matter how dire the circumstances. Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown.

August 1, 2015

K-Gr 3-A little girl in Paris experiences an abrupt change in her happy and safe world when the Nazis arrive during World War II. To avoid being sent to a concentration camp, her family escapes to the woods, where they meet resistance fighters who help them survive. Her family later travels through the mountains to Spain and eventually to England. The young girl draws comfort from a guardian angel, whom she feels certain is watching over them. At the close of the story, the family returns to their home in Paris and listeners learn that the guardian angel is a stone statue near their apartment building and that it also survived the war. Yolen manages to put together just the right assortment of facts to ignite discussions between adult and child listeners. She provides an author's note to supplement the story as well. Rachel Botchan's narration and tone match the quiet triumph and innocence of a young girl. VERDICT Recommended for all public library collections.-Terri Norstrom, Cook Memorial Public Library District, Libertyville, IL

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