Tells about how the cats in Warsaw, Poand outfoxed the Gestapo at the train station during World War II.

Contains historical facts.

It can be very hard to write about the Holocaust for children. Either you water down the subject so much that you trivialize it, or you give them nightmares for a year and a day. This goes doubly or triply for picture books, where the young age of your readers has to be taken into account. And of course you want a story with a hero, not just victims, if at all possible. (The truth is that there isn't much to say about the Holocaust that you can say to kids. It boils down to "It was a terrible time, and a lot of people died".)

This book manages to convey the appropriate emotions of hiding and fear ("I wear my Polish look and my Polish walk, Polish words float from my lips") without showing too strongly any actual brutality. The author doesn't shy away from the hard, and pertinent, issue of hunger; and we can see the soldiers on nearly every page, but we don't explicitly see any violence either. And the book ends on a relatively high note - they outsmart the Germans and their dogs, and get food into the Ghetto, including a special bundle for her friend who is inside, despite the danger of the location. Younger children will pick up on the accomplishment, older ones will understand (or begin to ask) about why this happened.

The afterword is particularly informative. ( )

The Cats in Krasinski Square is based on a true story. It tells of how cats were used to outsmart the Gestapo during WWII so that food could be smuggled to the Jews in Warsaw, Poland. Given the subject matter, the story has a more serious tone than many picture books and the neutral tones used in the illustrations seem to echo that. Still, the climax of the story is somewhat humorous and the writing is beautiful, almost lyrical. It also has the benefit of being educational. The author includes some historical background at the end of the book which may actually be more beneficial if read first, especially for those who are not familiar with the situation in Poland at that time period. In my opinion, part of what makes this story great is that it can be read on several different levels depending on a child’s level of understanding. Highly recommended! ( )

This is great account of heroism during the Holocaust and World War II era. This is one of those story types you don't often hear about unless retold in historical fiction or non fiction. Even though the format is a picture book, it would contribute to any high school world history curriculum. Beautiful pictures by Watson helps visualize this time during the holocaust and the warsaw ghetto. Hesse tells the story eliquently through the eyes of a young Jewish girl who has escaped the ghetto. It's wonderful to read about an uplifting story that took place during a very dark time in history. I would alo recommend this book to English teachers to elicit creative writing ideas and prompts. ( )

The spare text and gentle illustrations bring a heroic moment in occupied Poland at the beginning of World War II to children in an age appropriate manner. Beautifully done and a story worth telling. ( )