Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport
by Caren Stelson
illustrated by Selina Alko
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Stars of the Night
The Courageous Children of the Czech
By Caren Barzelay Stelson; illustrated by Selina Alko
Informational Resources:
Author Information:
Caren Stelson’s Website:
Ten things about Caren:
https://www.carenstelson.com/about/
Illustrator Information:
Selina Alko
Activities & Resources:
Activities:
Stars of the Night Teaching Guide from Caren Stenson’s author website:
https://www.carenstelson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/STARS_educators_guide-9400479.pdf
Stars of the Night Teaching Guide from TeachingBooks.Net:
https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=86776#Resources
Book Trailer:
Watch a book trailer from Dreamscape for Stars of the Night (33:59):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkMUYd7Z_2Q
Author:
Listen to and/or read about why the author chose to write this story (5:09 audio):
https://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=30115
Learning About the Time: Czech Kindertransport
Take a Tour of the Stars in Another Night Yad Vashem’s Children’s Memorial (2:30):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqkrw2XBN_I
The Kindertransport Movement - Learn more about The Story of Sir Nicholas Winton (4:40):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9VhKjexnCQ
Learning About the Time: World War II
World World II Facts for Kids (National Geographic)
https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/history/general-history/world-war-two/
Trains
Learn about the train rides during World War II (17:43)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOePCUKkC5g
MakerSpace Activities:
Build a train-themed diorama: Kids can use the printable train tracks to create a train-themed diorama. They can add paper train templates and other materials, such as small trees, buildings, and animals, to create a miniature world around their train. Have them retell and teach about what happened during the transport. A free printable is available to use https://thehappyprintable.com/train-template-printable-train-track/
Remembrance Day, a day all about remembering World War 2, is signified by poppies here in the United Kingdom. These redflowers can be re-created with almost anything, one is an origami poppy (1:04):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUi5rqMD7mc
Trains: Much of this book happened on board a train. Learn to draw a train and then make it look like a train during the Kindertransport times (12:47):
Journal: Using materials in the MakerSpace, create a journal for daily reflections. If a kid-friendly paper trimmer and hole punch are available, try out these directions for a DIY project:
https://abeautifulmess.com/2014/04/gift-idea-homemade-journals.html
A safe place: Imagine a space that would be perfect for you. Sketch a design of the space and then create a 3-D model of your harbor. Include made-to-scale furniture, equipment, and decorations to complete the project.
Reader’s Theater: Select a scene in Star of the Night. As a team, create the script for the scene. Decide on the cast and rehearse the script until the actors are familiar with their lines. Find a quiet location without distractions and record the scene. Share with other friends who have read the book to prompt additional discussion.
Discussion Questions:
Based on the title and cover of the book, what are some predictions you can make about the story?
What city did this book begin in? What can we know about this city from the pictures and words at the beginning of the book?
What happened in Prague that made us know that things were changing? What did the children understand?
How did the parents respond? What arrangements did they begin making?
Why do you think the parents brought drawings the children had created to the meeting with the man?
If you had to travel to an unknown place, without your parents, what would you pack in your suitcase?
What did the parents mean when they told the children, “This is your ticket to life.”
How do you think the children were feeling as they stepped onto the train?
What did it mean when the children said, “It was a big adventure, until it wasn’t?”
What happened at the German border? Why?
What would it have been like to step off of the train in Liverpool and have adults speak to you in a language you don’t understand? What does that make you think of in our school today?
What would the children have wanted to hear?
How can you tell a long time has passed before the children returned to Czechoslovakia? How can you tell?
What do the children do upon their return?
Why do you think the children say, “We will forever whisper our thanks to him?” Who are they speaking of?
What do you think of the book’s title? What other title might you choose?
There is a timeline included at the end of the book. Which event on the timeline do you think is the most impressive? Why?
Read the timeline at the end of the book. Point out some things that are in the timeline, but aren’t mentioned in the book.
What do you think Caren Stelson wanted her readers to learn as she wrote this book?
Describe something you learned in this book that can help you in life.
Book Talk Teasers:
Watch the book trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award website.
Read Alikes:
World War II, Jewish, Immigration
Fried, Hedi, The Story of Bodri. Hâedi, a young Jewish girl, spends her days playing with her best friend and their dogs until Adolf Hitler's soldiers take Hâedi's family away, while her dog, Bodri, awaits their return. (NoveList Plus)
Sager Weinstein, Jacob, What Rosa Brought. In this powerful and poignant story of family, immigration and identity--and a love that crosses oceans and life spans--a young Jewish girl fleeing Nazi occupation with her parents wonders where they'll go and what she'll be able to bring with her. (NoveList Plus)
Sis, Peter, Nicky & Vera: a Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued. In 1938, twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas Winton saved the lives of almost 700 children trapped in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. One of the children he saved was a young girl named Vera, whose family enlisted Nicky’s aid when the Germans occupied their country. As the war passes and Vera grows up, she must find balance in her dual identities--one her birthright, the other her choice. (NoveList Plus)
Sis, Peter, Nicky & Vera: a Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued. In 1938, twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas Winton saved the lives of almost 700 children trapped in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. One of the children he saved was a young girl named Vera, whose family enlisted Nicky’s aid when the Germans occupied their country. As the war passes and Vera grows up, she must find balance in her dual identities--one her birthright, the other her choice. (NoveList Plus)
Reviews:
Booklist (February 1, 2023 (Vol. 119, No. 11))
Grades 2-4. In a collective voice that represents the 669 Czech children rescued from the Nazis by a businessman whose identity remained unknown for 50 years, Stelson describes rising tides of anti-Semitism, tearful partings, scary journeys by train and boat, meetings with British foster families, and then a return to Prague at war’s end to search out the scanty remnants of families and, long after, to learn who had organized the escape. Five young figures, identified by the colors of their clothes, appear in each of Alko’s grave, gray scenes and correspond to actual refugees who are named and profiled in back matter that also includes a timeline and personal notes from the author and illustrator, and leads to further information about the broader Kindertransport movement. Refugee stories won’t be unfamiliar even to younger children these days—but this one might be, especially as most other accounts of this lesser-known piece of history are aimed at older readers.
Horn Book Magazine (January/February, 2023)
In this quiet but immediate nonfiction picture book, Stelson (A Bowl Full of Peace, rev. 7/20) tells the story of the 669 children evacuated from Czechoslovakia via the Kindertransport in the late 1930s, to escape the Nazis, with the help of Nicholas Winton. The first-person-plural narration mainly sticks to the collective point of view of the children, letting readers experience their bewilderment first at the early signs of war and persecution and then at the unexplained "holiday to England" without their parents; occasional "none of us knew" asides hint at the help Winton was providing behind the scenes. As time passes and the war ends, the narrators find out (along with readers) that most of their parents have perished during the Holocaust, and they later learn Winton's identity. The in-the-moment text combines with emotional acrylic, colored-pencil, and collage illustrations in Alko's (I Is for Immigrants, rev. 9/21) signature style to create a dreamlike atmosphere. Extensive back matter provides further context; a note explains that five of the children in the illustrations represent specific individuals among "Winton's children," and a quote from the mother of one of them, Vera Gissing, inspired the titular star motif. Pair with Sis's Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued.
School Library Journal starred (February 1, 2023)
Gr 3-5-While there's no shortage of Holocaust stories, Stelson has written a moving and uplifting account of a humanitarian effort that ultimately saved 669 Jewish Czech children. The Kindertransport took children from their hometown of Prague to England, where they lived with foster families while war broke out at home and most of their families were killed. The remarkable tale is told through a first-person plural that replicates the children's innocent voices and experiences; Alko's rich acrylic and collage illustrations help bring the heartbreaking historical event to life and render it accessible to a young audience. The story ends 50 years later, when the mystery of who helped the children, now grown, is revealed; Nicholas Winton, a British Jew and former banker, arranged all of it. "By saving us as children, Nicholas Winton saved our children, our grandchildren, and all their children to come." The weight of his inspiring work is inestimable. Back matter includes further information about the Kindertransport and Yad Vashem's Children's Memorial, a timeline, source notes, author's note, illustrator's note, bibliography, and further reading. VERDICT A necessary and inspirational book about a little-known light amid a dark period of history, this book should find a home in all libraries.-Carrie Voliva