Hana's Suitcase

Hana's Suitcase, the acclaimed children's book read by thousands of children around the world - In March 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children's Holocaust education center in Tokyo, Japan. Fumiko Ishioka, the center's curator, was captivated by the writing on the outside that identified its owner - Hana Brady, May 16, 1931, Waisenkind (the German word for orphan). Children visiting the center were full of questions. Who was Hana Brady? Where did she come from? What was she like? What happened to her? Fueled by their curiosity and her own need to know, Fumiko began a year of detective work, scouring the world for clues to the story of Hana Brady. Writer Karen Levine follows Fumiko in her search through history, from present-day Japan, Europe and North America back to 1938 Czechoslovakia and the young Hana Brady, a fun-loving child with a passion for ice skating. Together with Fumiko, we learn of Hana's loving parents and older brother, George, and discover how the family's happy life in a small town was turned upside down by the invasion of the Nazis.