Lily Renée, Escape Artist: From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer

This intriguing short biography tells the story of Lily Renee (Wilhelm). Austrian by birth, her father was a director of the luxurious Holland America cruise line. Persecuted for their Jewish faith, the family lives through forced homeshare and Kristallnacht before Lily is sent to England on one of the last Kindertransport trains. Starved by her English "mother," she eventually leaves and finds work as a nurse's aide and mother's helper. When police identify her as a possible alien interloper, she turns herself in ... only to find that she is not in trouble but being looked for so she can join an ocean liner bound for America, where her parents await her! (Luckily, the cruise ship -- from her father's line -- had been unexpectedly show more delayed, or she would have missed the boat.) As her family tries to rebuild from scratch, she works odd jobs and eventually becomes the illustrator behind Senorita Rio, who fights Nazis and accomplishes what Lily could not -- vanquishing them. An engaging true story of persecution, escape, and reinvention. Highly recommended. (153) show less

The biography of the artist Lily Renee Wilheim is rendered in graphic form. The result is a really good little graphic life story with a Holocaust background, yet which is not "about" the Holocaust as such. It provides a quick historical introduction to many facets of the Second World War and the refugee experience, through the eyes of an Austrian Jewish girl from a prosperous family who was rescued by the kindertransports to England, and later was reunited with her parents in America, in the early 1940s. She became a comic book artist in New York, and later moved on to other forms of art. It really conveys the experience of escape, of loss, of confusion through the eyes of a young teen. I found it very moving, and nicely illustrated. show more It would be a good introduction to a difficult topic for young teens, and is inspiring for a person of any age, as a story of creating oneself as an artist. show less

One of my favorite historical time periods to read about and study is that of World War II. I also adore graphic novels, so when I saw this one I could not resist. This isn't one about plot or surprising the reader; the publisher's description, like mine, reveals the beginning, middle and end of her story. That's not really what it's about; instead, the focus is on the quality of life she experienced and the success she managed to acquire despite her many hardships.

The art in the novel is beautiful and feminine, looking a lot like a clothing catalog, the kind Lily herself posed for and drew for during her young adulthood. This style fits very well with the story, and gives it an upbeat feel that goes along with the overall message.

This show more tale touches on the Holocaust, but is not one to read if you want to find out about the many atrocities of that time period. It's just one Jewish woman's story, and she happens to have been, all things considered, very lucky, given what could have happened to her. I like the story for its viewpoint and because I learned about the Kindertransport.

I would definitely recommend this as a good entry into studies of World War II and the Holocaust for children, as it is not at all graphic and gives a basic overview of the timeline, explaining some basic vocabulary. The additional materials following the story itself would also be excellent for such a purpose. show less

Featured at An Abundance of Books

Lily Renee, Escape Artist is divided into eight chapters based on significant times in Lily's life. The book also includes a glossary and additional information on some of the different events mentioned. There is also a two page spread of Lily's personal photographs which is a very nice touch. Robbins has an awesome story to work with, but I think the story suffered under page number constraints and unnecessary simplification for the target audience.

Lily grew up in a wealthy Austrian family and the Nazis did completely change her life. The Nazi party stole from them, limited their freedoms, took her father's job, their friends and neighbors turned on the family, and Jewish refugees from across Austria show more were crammed into the Wilheim home by the Nazis. (Apparently this happened to all Jewish families who lived in Vienna.) This part of the story was pretty well written and age appropriate. the Kindertransport chapter was also very good but got tripped up towards the end. The chapter on Lily's experiences in England was very interesting. While many children didn't speak English, some, like Lily, had studied it in school and had assumed they would have no problems communicating. Unfortunately, speaking with the British was a lot different from speaking with a teacher who spoke slowly and used textbook English. Robbins did a good job of showing that the children not only had to deal with a new language but also different customs, currency, and culture. At one point Lily is classified as an "enemy alien" and has to report to a police station every week. Just when she finds out her parents are alive and she can join them in New York, the British government starts sending enemy aliens to internment camps. There was a jumble of events where she goes into hiding, but then turns herself into the police, spends the night in jail, is released by a friendly stranger, and makes it to the boat on time. While there was some really interesting information in here and it's a very scary time for Lily, this section of the story was just not told very well. Too many events were glossed over or never fully explained. It felt like story was being shortchanged in an attempt to maintain momentum and keep the story accessible to it's audience. There are parts where I know a younger reader is going to go to an adult and say, "I don't understand, what just happened?" But it will be evident to kids that Lily lived through difficult times and I think they will appreciate her refusal to give up.

Once Lily is reunited with her parents life is still hard but the narrative flows a bit more smoothly. It's really neat how Lily stumbled into to comic book work (the pay was too good to pass up) and eventually was in charge of her own books. Most of her characters were strong women, excelling in a man's world, and helping to defeat the Nazis. The only thing that disappoints me about this section is that it's never mentioned how hard Lily had to work and fight to keep that job. She put up with a lot of sexual harassment and cried herself to sleep at night. Now I realize that this might be challenging to explain in a universally appropriate manner to the late elementary/middle grades audience, but I'm sure something could have been added to explain that Lily didn't just work hard to move up in the ranks but also fought against a hostile work environment.

Lily Renee's story is a fascinating one and one that I think kids will enjoy. But because of some of the problems with the narrative I don't think it's worth purchasing. If it sounds like something that might interest your child, I would suggest picking this one up from the library and be prepared to explain some things. I give it three stars because I think it's a story that kids will be interested in and ultimately like, but they'll have to put some effort into it.

Read full review HERE show less

This gives a brief overview of Lily's life as the Nazi's come to power and then getting to America. I was definitely interested in the story and only wish it had gone more in depth.

Fascinating person, but the bio falls a little flat -- not enough detail to really bring her to life.

Not only did Lily Wilheim survive, she triumphed over circumstances that forced her from a loving home in pre-war Vienna, on a Kindertransport to England, to the United States and through a variety of jobs and situations to become a comic book illustrator. Timmons and Oh’s vibrant graphic format, and the back matter with photographs, a glossary and historical descriptions, make for an exciting and educational biography.