The Brushmaker's Daughter

by Kathy Kacer

Overview

It is 1939 in Berlin, Germany, and twelve-year-old Lillian and her Papa are on the run from Nazi soldiers. Because they are Jewish, they are in danger of being arrested and put in prison. Lillian's father is blind and it seems no one is willing to help them, until they meet Otto Weidt. Mr. Weidt runs a factory that makes brushes for the Nazi army, and his secret is that he employs blind Jewish workers. Lillian soon learns that Otto Weidt is determined to keep her, Papa, and all the Jewish workers safe. But will he be able to? Inspired by a true story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781772601381
Publisher:	Second Story Press
Publication date:	09/22/2020
Series:	The Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers , #18
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kathy Kacer’s books have won a number of awards, including the Silver Birch and the Jewish Book Award. A former psychologist, Kathy now travels the globe speaking to children and adults about the importance of keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. Kathy lives in Toronto with her family.

Editorial Reviews

"The Brushmaker’s Daughter can be used in a teaching unit about the Holocaust, and it would be an suitable accompaniment to her excellent nonfiction books, among them The Underground Reporters and Hiding Edith."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials - Harriet Zaldman

The unimaginable is made alive, heart-wrenching, and reachable for modern young readers.

From the Publisher

Kacer’s writing is an important contribution to children’s literature, to education and to history.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

★ 2020-07-03
It is Berlin in 1941, and the Nazis have further escalated their search for Jews to deport to the concentration camps.

Lillian Frey and her father, who is blind, run through the night to a promised safe place at Otto Weidt’s factory, which is contracted to supply brushes to the army. His employees are blind Jews. Weidt is not Jewish, but he too is blind and at risk of deportation or murder by the Nazis for this disability. The factory contains a secret room where the workers, who have developed close friendships, can hide in an emergency. Weidt arranges for safe housing, where Lillian and her father are fed and well cared for by their kind landlady. But their safety remains precarious at best, for the Gestapo is always watching. When the workers are brought to the trains for deportation, all seems lost. Weidt uses every possible means to rescue them, threatening to report the Gestapo agents for endangering the army and providing bribes to secure their release. Kacer creates the fictional Freys and has12-year-old Lillian narrate the events in a voice that is true, strong, and wise beyond her years. In a detailed afterword the author presents the biographies, backgrounds, and outcomes of Weidt and several of the real workers. Otto Weidt’s compassion, strength, and bravery have led to his recognition as Righteous Among Nations at Yad Vashem, and with this novel, Kacer brings him to life for children.

The unimaginable is made alive, heart-wrenching, and reachable for modern young readers. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews