This book was deeply moving. ( )

I love stories that show how an individual's bravery can make an enormous difference (even at a personal cost).

Looks at the Japanese diplomat who used his powers--against the orders of his own government--to assist thousands of Jews in escaping the Nazis in Lithuania

My son brought this book home from the library. Everyone should read it. This man was an amazing WWII hero, although he was never a soldier. ( )

When Hiroki Sugihara was five years old, he and his family lived in Lithuania. It was 1940, and one morning, hundreds of Polish Jewish refugees arrived at the gates of Hiroki’s home, because his father, Chiune Sugihara, was the Japanese diplomat. The refugees wanted visas to get to Japan, but it was something the Japanese government did not wish to do. After struggling with the decision, Hiroki’s father decided to go with what was right — to hand write thousands of visas. It meant he lost his job, later on. But Hiroki and his family saw that what his father did was truly monumental. A well written and simply, clearly told book with monochrome illustrations. The theme reminds me to do the right thing and be courageous in the face of difficult decisions. ( )