The Cat with the Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezin

This is the true story of Ela Stein Weissberger, who was eight years old in 1938 when the Nazis took over Sudetenland, where her family lived. Ela’s father is taken away and the family moves to Prague. In February of 1942, her family was interred at Terezin. In the children’s barracks, Ela made friends and enjoyed the activities the caretakers provided – singing and drawing. When Ela heard that a children’s opera, Brundibar, was going to be performed, she tried out and was chosen to be the cat. She reveled in performing with the other children, who gave the performance 55 times. Terezin was liberated in May of 1945. Ela moved to Israel with her mother and sister in 1949; then moved to America with her husband. Since then, Ela show more has met with other survivors of Terezin and attended performances of Brundibar. The book includes an epilogue, an author’s note, acknowledgments, source notes, resources, internet sites and an index. It also contains many photographs, artifacts and the artwork of Ela and her friends while they were interred.

Many people have heard of Brundibar and the efforts of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis at Terezin, but Ela’s personal experiences make the story all the more touching and remarkable. Besides being a true story of the Holocaust, the book shows how art and music transformed a dismal existence into one of hope and enthusiasm. As Ela said “When we were singing, we forgot all our troubles….It was possible to have hope. Brundibar was our life. We will never forget it.” While the narrative does not avoid the atrocities the Nazis perpetuated, the thrust of the book is about the camaraderie of friends, the details that made daily life in a concentration camp bearable, and the power of music. Although presented in illustrated book format, the amount of text per page and the subject matter make this a choice for slightly older readers. show less

When Ela Stein was a young child she and many other family members were shipped to Terazin. This was a Czech ghetto. Shortly before they were shipped to Terazin her father was taken away for expressing his opinion about Hitler. That was the last that Ela saw of her father. In the ghetto her mother made a hard choice to send Ela and her sister to a barrack that was specifically for girls around her age. The living conditions were somewhat better and they received a little more food. The girls in room 28 formed a tight group. Soon someone decided they were going to present an opera. They practiced and practiced. At one point the Nazis used their production for propaganda. This book is a book that shows us what friendship and music can do show more to help people survive. It was a ray of hope in their lives. This is a short book to read, but filled with so much information and lots of pictures to help understand. show less

The Cat with the Yellow Star tells to story of Ela Stein. Ela was eleven years old when she and her mother and sister were sent to Terezin, a concentration camp.The story begins in 1938 with the onset of the Nazi occupation of Sudetenland and the disappearance of Ela's father. After being transported by an uncle's motorcycle, the family ended up in Prague. In 1940, Ela was no longer allowed to attended school and was required to wear the Star of David. On February 12, 1942 Ela and her family were transported to Terezin. Ela lived in Room 28 with 28 other girls. Over time the Ela became friends with a few girls who would travel around Terezin singing Happy Birthday or for the ill. Despite being forbidden to study, the girls would learn show more from other prisoners who were teachers, writers, etc. The girls became part of a secret children's opera called Brundibar. Despite their attempts to be sneaky, their opera was not a secret. They would later perform for the International Red Cross as well as for a Nazi propaganda film. Many of Ela's peers from Room 28 were transported to "the East". In May of 1945, Terezin was freed by the International Red Cross. Ela later moved to Israel and married. Ela's family including her mother and sister moved the America. Ela reunited with her friends from room 28 and they attended a performance of Brundibar. Since then, the friends have gathered together yearly. Ela travels to different productions of Brundibar and shares of her holocaust experience.

This book organized into chapters based on year and location of events. There are portraits and drawings on every page. Not only are there pictures of Ela and her family but there are also portraits of her friends from Terezin. There is an contents page, and index, source notes and an author's note. The story is written as a narrative from the Ela's perspective.

I liked this book. What stood out about this book that differs from other books about the holocaust was the way the girls from Room 28 with the help of adults were able to bring entertainment to fellow prisoners. It gave them something to look forward to and purpose. I found it fascinating that no one from their room died while at Terezin. This story really shows to me how life altering the concentration camps were and how because of their experiences these women have friendship still years later. I would recommend this book for a middle school social studies class. show less

This tells the great story of a concentration camp survivor and it is the author's tribute to all those who helped the children of Terezin. It's a memoir of a girl, Ela, who plays the important role of the cat in a child's opera, Brundibar. It's inspiring and incredibally sad. The strength is the message that good can triumph over evil.

This impressively researched photographic memoir tells of a young girl from Czechoslavakia who studied with Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and participated in the children’s opera Brundibar at the Terezin concentration camp during World War II.

This is the story of an eleven year old Jewish girl who is sent to the Terezin Czech concentration camp in 1942. It chronicles how she made friends and how adults helped her learn art and singing despite horrible conditions. This is a fascinating and moving memoir which uses real photographs, artwork and photos of other original documents which illustrate the time period.

This was an interesting story. One of the events the book focused on was the opera "Brundibar" performed by the children of Terezin. Maurice Sendak created a picture book based on this opera.