Hedy’s Journey: The True Story of a Hungarian Girl Fleeing
the Holocaust
By Michelle Bisson
Illustrated by El Prima Ramon
The illustrations have a simple, classic feel to them,
almost sophisticated with their neutral grays, browns, and blues and a touch of
soft, salmon-pink here and there for a bit of color.
This book has a powerfully message right at the beginning:
“Everyone always says how brave I was to travel through Europe on my own in the middle of World War 11. I didn’t think I was brave. I was Jewish, so I had no choice.”
Hedy’s cousin, who stayed with them in Budapest, willingly
boards a train for deportation. She says she wants to be with her parents and
brother no matter what happens. Her finals words were: “I am only sorry I
didn’t get more out of life while I could.” This statement shows the horror of
this time.
“Marika understood she was going to die.”
After this, Hedy’s family knew they were no longer safe.
“If the Nazis were coming for one Jew, it was only a matter of time before they came for us all.”
They set plans to travel to the United States. First, they
have to get to Portugal to board a ship, but a problem arises when only three
tickers are acquired. Someone would have to stay behind and wait. That person
is Hedy.
When it’s time for her to leave, she’s in Nazi territory
alone.
Before their flight to the United States, the Japanese
attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, initiating the US’s entrance into the
war. The tragic turn of events ruins their plan to travel by an American
passenger ship to New York.
They have set backs and a bit of luck that sees them on a
boat sailing refugees to Cuba, Chile, and New York. While on board, tragedy
strikes, reminding everyone the cost of war.
Parts of this story is gloomy for a picture book, as any
story would be when talking about the Holocaust, but it’s a good story for kids
learning about the Holocaust in school. It’s another perspective.
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