A Truth to Tell, Novels About the Holocaust for Young Readers

Tal’s focus on the heart of darkness – the ghettos and camps – draws attention to some of the most pressing challenges of children’s literature: how to represent suffering and death in texts for young readers.

Of particular interest is the comparison of English-language and Hebrew-language books. This is a topic that has been missing from discussions of children’s literature and the Holocaust. Tal indicates how representations of the Holocaust in fiction and memoir have been culture specific; while American writers more often emphasize hope, Israeli stories have emphasized resistance.

Professor Naomi Sokoloff
University of Washington

This comparative approach to Holocaust literature is sorely needed and Tal is a knowledgeable guide. The way in which she situates works of Shoah fiction within the historical context of the Eichmann trial, Kibbutzim and the political thinking of David Ben Gurion exposes the culturally specific nature of these works and the political role of children’s literature… A valuable contribution to the study of Holocaust literature by a critic I hope we shall be hearing more from.”

Professor Lydia Kokkola
The University of Turku, Finland.