Black Radishes

October 15, 2010

Gustave Becker, an 11-year-old Jewish Boy Scout, and his parents flee to St.-Georges-sur-Cher in the Loire Valley from Paris during World War II to escape the growing hatred in the city and bide their time until they receive immigration visas to the United States. Luckily, their rental home falls just inside the unoccupied zone when Germany invades France. Younger readers may need background information on the Holocaust and France's Vichy government, but they will understand the life-threatening intensity of Gustave's predicament, as his family continues to be the target of hostility, he joins the French Resistance and he helps his Swiss-born father, who has papers to cross the Demarcation Line, smuggle contraband and even family members across the border. While this debut novel, loosely based on the author's father's experiences, often rushes through key plot elements, it raises important questions about nationalism, equality and identity and fills a void in Holocaust literature for this age group. Pair it with The Dog in the Wood, by Monika Schröder (2009), for another fictionalized family account of the Holocaust from a rarely told perspective. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 9-12)

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January 1, 2011

Gr 5-8-After a somewhat slow beginning, this story of the plight of Jews in France from 1940 to 1942 develops into a dramatic tale of courage and determination. Gustave Becker, 11, lives in Paris, enjoying his time with his friend Marcel and his cousin Jean Paul. Then his parents suddenly announce that the family will be moving to Saint-Georges, which they believe to be safer, until they can get visas to go to America. A more even pace follows as Gustave deals with being in a new place and hiding the fact that he is Jewish. He is taunted by Phillipe, a bully who has a visceral hatred of Jews. Gustave develops a friendship with Nicole, a Catholic girl who turns out to be the daughter of Resistance fighters. The story becomes exciting when Gustave takes over her Resistance task when she is sick. The black radishes of the title refer to bribes his father tries to make with German border guards between the occupied and unoccupied zones. Meyer shines light on the bravery of Resistance fighters, and her story gradually crescendos into a gripping read comparable to Marilyn Sachs's classic A Pocket Full of Seeds (Doubleday, 1972), Carol Matas's Greater Than Angels (S & S, 1998), and Norma Fox Mazer's Good Night, Maman (Harcourt, 1999).-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ

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December 15, 2010
Grades 4-7 The story begins in Paris in 1940, when discrimination against Jews in France has become more blatant and more dangerous for Gustave and his parents. Hiding their religious identity, they move to a small village, where they wait for their immigration visas. Soon the border of German-occupied France is established near their home. Like his father, Gustave begins to take uncommon risks, crossing over to find food and helping those who want to escape. Partly based on Meyers fathers experiences, the story derives its credibility from the vivid details of daily life and the depiction of changes slowly taking place within Gustave, who balances the occasional cruelty he endures with the friendship and trust he sometimes finds. The novels tension builds slowly, reaching its crescendo when Gustave masters his fears in the face of mortal danger. This fine first novel could be read in conjunction with The Good Liar (1999), which takes place in occupied France during WWII.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)