After the War

Published on 28 October 2024 at 16:15

After the War

by Tom Palmer

★★★★★

Review

This book is one of the best children's books that introduces young readers to the horrors faced by Jewish children during the Second World War. It is deeply moving, honest and shares the devastating realities in a gentle and sensitive way. I knew from the blurb that I would adore this book and I can't wait to share it with my class.

Tom Palmer is a brilliant story-teller and has combined reality with fiction effortlessly. Inspired by the heart-wrenching true story of the Windemere Boys, After the War shares the journey of three boys from Auschwitz to the rolling hills of the Lake District, England where they begin their recovery. The plot flashes back to Yossi's time in the Ghettos and concentration camps where his family were torn apart by German soldiers. His recollections are very honest and could be upsetting for some readers and may therefore be best read as a shared read or with opportunities to discuss events with an adult.

Although the story is upsetting, it is overflowing with themes of friendship and belonging, with the three main characters sharing an unbreakable bond and genuine love for one another. My heart found itself flitting between breaking and warming throughout the book, and I left with a new respect and insight into the emotional turmoil experienced by millions of Jewish children.

I would recommend this book to anyone learning about or with an interest in WW2. It is such an important read and a gentle way of introducing the history of the Holocaust to young readers.

Dive Deeper

Key information

Author: Tom Palmer

Illustrator: Violet Tobacco

Release Date:6th August 2020

Book type: Chapter, 176 pages, paperback

Reader level: Confident (content 9+)

Overview

Master storyteller Tom Palmer returns with a deeply moving and beautifully told novel of friendship and belonging, inspired by the incredible true story of the Windermere Boys.

Summer 1945. The Second World War is finally over and Yossi, Leo and Mordecai are among three hundred children who arrive in the English Lake District. Having survived the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps, they've finally reached a place of safety and peace, where they can hopefully begin to recover.

But Yossi is haunted by thoughts of his missing father and disturbed by terrible nightmares. As he waits desperately for news from home, he fears that Mordecai and Leo - the closest thing to family he has left - will move on without him. Will life by the beautiful Lake Windermere be enough to bring hope back into all their lives?