The World War II Diary of Devorah Bernstein
Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1941
by Carol Matas
ISBN: 0-439-96946-8 Hardcover
208 pages
Ages 9 to 12
5 ½" x 7 5/8"
Devorah fights to help her cousin Sarah emigrate from Paris before the Nazis round up the Jews and deport them to internment camps, or worse. She also fears for her two brothers who are fighting in the war overseas. Will she lose everything?
An Excerpt from Devorah's Diary
FEBRUARY 3
A strange and bizarre thing has happened. I was walking home from school, when a young kid threw what I assumed was a snowball at my back. I yelled at him and thought nothing of it until Elizabeth gasped in horror as I turned to go into my house. “Your coat!" she shouted at me. “Take it off."
We hurried into the house and I took it off and turned it around so I could see the back of it. There was a swastika on it! Really. I screamed, dropping it to the floor. Mommy came running in from the kitchen. I pointed to the coat. She picked it up, looked at it closely and said, “Where did that come from?" in a very quiet voice.
Elizabeth said that a boy hit me with something.
“But he couldn’t have drawn this," I said. “He just hit me with a snowball and ran."
Mommy had bought me the coat at a factory on Main Street, only a couple of months ago. She looked inside and there it was — a swastika in red dye. She said that the snow or damp must have brought it out, but I didn’t understand.
“Someone at that factory is a Nazi," she said. “Or is playing a terrible joke on the customers. I’m phoning Mr. Berdinsky right now."
We heard her angry conversation and his obvious apology. She got off the phone and said, “He wants to get to the bottom of this." He’s bringing a new coat over himself tonight and picking this one up.
FEBRUARY 4
Mr. Berdinsky called to say that he had discovered the culprit, a nasty fellow who hated Jews. He’d got the job at the factory just to make trouble — he wanted to display the swastika and if a Jew bought the coat, even better. Well, now the police are dealing with him.
It’s one thing to think about Nazis in Europe — it’s another to realize they are right here.
From Dear Canada: Turned Away, text copyright © 2005 by Carol Matas.
"I loved the book Turned Away! It was exciting, and I found a few funny parts as well. I also liked the book No Safe Harbour. Guess what, I want to be a writer of history, too, someday. I love historical fiction!"
Amanda T., Age 11, Alberta, Rating: 10
"I absolutely loved it!!! I love that there is so much history! It was so sad what they wanted to do to the Jews! I love all the Dear Canada books!! I think they are a great series to read!! Everyone should read them!"
Marisha S., Age 10, Ontario, Rating: 10
"I love your book because it’s sad. I love to read your books."
Milan A., Age 10, Ontario, Rating: 8
"I like this book! It was cool when the book mentioned a place in Winnipeg."
Michele C., Age 13, Manitoba, Rating: 10
"I loved this book so much. It was great, but it was very sad. I love books about Canadian history."
Bailey W., Age 12, Ontario, Rating: 10
"Turned Away was really good. It almost made me cry."
Stephanie E., Age 12, Nova Scotia, Rating: 9
"This book is really wonderful! It helped me learn about the terrors that Jewish people had to live with during World War II. I can't believe that racism could still go on at a time when soldiers fought overseas to end this torture. But because it has happened, we should be extremely thankful that we don't live in a world where everyone hates us just because of who we are like Sarah, Devorah's cousin had to. Thank you Dear Canada for writing historical fiction that relatesour lives so we can learn about history, good and bad."
Diana Y., Age 10, Ontario, Rating: 10
"Although No Safe Harbour is my favourite book in the series, this book was pretty amazing."
Kara F., Age 12, British Columbia, Rating: 10
"One of my top 5 books — a must-read."
Rachel H., Age 12, Alberta
"I finished reading Turned Away and it was sooooo good. It really made you see what it would have been like to live during WWII."
Kelsi G., Age 11, Nova Scotia, Rating: 10
"I really like this book, Turned Away because it was easy to understand and it taught me A LOT about World War II and all about Hitler."
Shirromi S., Age 10, British Columbia, Rating: 10
"This book was very sad and it helped me to see what life was like during the war."
Krystal D., Age 14, Ontario, Rating: 7
"I really enjoyed this book! It was interesting, but what happened in France and other European countries was sad. This diary is my favourite one from the Dear Canada series!"
Andrea G., Age 10, British Columbia, Rating: 9
"I loved this book! It made me cry at parts! I would for sure read it again and would recommend this book to anyone!"
Jacqueline B., Age 11, Ontario, Rating: 10
"This book is SOOOOOOOOOO interesting! I chose this book for my book report at school. I couldn't stop reading it because it was so interesting!"
Heather M., Age 12, British Columbia, Rating: 10
"I absolutely loved this book. It made me think about the hardships of war. This book was so good, it almost made me cry. Carol Matas is a very good author and makes me feel as though I was Devorah Bernstein."
Latoya H., Age 15, Ontario, Rating: 10
"Turned Away is a well-written book. It was compassionate and had some suspense. I really loved it!"
Rebecca R., Age 13, Ontario, Rating: 10
"This is my fave book. And I come from Winnipeg, and I was hoping you’d make one for Winnipeg. Total 10 out of 10!"
Emilie F., Age 13, Manitoba, Rating: 10
"Besides No Safe Harbour, this is the best book I have read in the Dear Canada series. I love how the author makes the story so realistic. I cried during some parts too! "
Amalie F., Age 12, Ontario, Rating: 9
|
