The Girl Who Sang and more books for International Holocaust Remembrance Day

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Books for International Holocaust Remembrance Day

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed on January 27th—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—to commemorate the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution, and the heroism of survivors and rescuers. Here is a collection of books you can share with young readers for International Holocaust Remembrance Day:

Discover more books for international Holocaust Remembrance Day here →

Remixed Classics Educator’s Guide

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In the Remixed Classics series, authors from diverse backgrounds take different literary classics from centuries past and reinterpret them through their own unique cultural lens. This collection will serve young adult readers as both a series of fun, engaging reads as well as a subversive overall look at what our society has deemed “classic”— works that are overwhelmingly cishet, white, and male.

Learn more about how to use Remixed Classics in the classroom and find nonfiction pairings for each book in the series in this new educator guide!

Download a discussion guide for So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix
by Bethany C. Morrow here!

Download a discussion guide for A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix
by C.B. Lee here!


Click the covers

Click the covers to learn more about these books:


More Remixed Classics Coming Soon!

Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo and Juliet Remix
By Caleb Roehrig
On sale August 22, 2023

Into the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix
By Cherie Dimaline
On sale September 5, 2023

Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix
By Gabe Cole Novoa
On sale January 16, 2024

MacKids Spotlight: Randi Pink

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This month we’re interviewing Randi Pink, author of Angel of Greenwood. May 31, 2021 marks 100 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre. In this historical fiction account of the tragedy, the thriving Black community of Greenwood in Tulsa, OK is destroyed by an angry mob of white people. Randi Pink honors the real victims of Greenwood by acknowledging the strength and resilience in this community and two teenagers who fall in love in the midst of chaos. 

Randi shares more about her inspiration for the story and what she hopes young readers will learn here.

Read a Q&A with Randi here →

Teacher’s Guide: Traitor

Teacher’s Guide: Traitor

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Poland, 1944. After the Soviet liberation of Lwów from Germany, the city remains a battleground between resistance fighters and insurgent armies, its loyalties torn between Poland and Ukraine.

Seventeen-year-old Tolya Korolenko is half Ukrainian, half Polish, and he joined the Soviet Red Army to keep himself alive and fed. When he not-quite-accidentally shoots his unit’s political officer in the street, he’s rescued by a squad of Ukrainian freedom fighters. They might have saved him, but Tolya doesn’t trust them. He especially doesn’t trust Solovey, the squad’s war-scarred young leader, who has plenty of secrets of his own.

Then a betrayal sends them both on the run. And in a city where loyalty comes second to self-preservation, a traitor can be an enemy or a savior or sometimes both.

Download the teacher’s guide here →

Teacher’s Guide: Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh

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Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh
Now Available in Paperback!

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A timely, poignant tale of family, sacrifice and the friendship between a young Syrian refugee and an American boy living in Brussels.

Set against the backdrop of the Syrian refugee crisis, award-winning author of Jepp, Who Defied the Stars Katherine Marsh delivers a gripping, heartwarming story of resilience, friendship and everyday heroes. Barbara O’Connor, author of Wish and Wonderland, says “Move Nowhere Boy to the top of your to-be-read pile immediately.”

ALA Notable Children’s Book 2019
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books of 2018
New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Books of 2018
ILA Social Justice Literature Award

★ “This well-crafted and suspenseful novel touches on the topics of refugees and immigrant integration, terrorism, Islam, Islamophobia, and the Syrian war with sensitivity and grace.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “Marsh skillfully weaves the historical parallels with a touching story of friendship. She ratchets up the tension and suspense, until it becomes unbearable; readers will fly through the last hundred pages… Thoughtfully touching on immigration, Islamophobia, and terrorism, this novel is a first-purchase. Hands to fans of Alan Gratz’s Refugee.” —School Library Journal, starred review

Find more teacher’s guides here.

Author Interview with Dita Kraus, the Librarian of Auschwitz, and more books for Holocaust Remembrance Day

Author Interview with Dita Kraus, the Librarian of Auschwitz, and more books for Holocaust Remembrance Day

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Dita Kraus grew up in Prague in an intellectual, middle-class Jewish family. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, fourteen-year-old Dita was one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. There, she met Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch, who put Dita in charge of protecting eight precious volumes that prisoners managed to sneak past the guards. And so, Dita became known as the Librarian of Auschwitz.

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Dita shares her remarkable life story in her breathtaking new memoir for teens and adults, A DELAYED LIFE. Dita’s incredible story was also fictionalized in the outstanding young adult novel, THE LIBRARIAN OF AUSCHWITZ.

Read an interview with Dita Kraus and find more books to share with young readers for Holocaust Remembrance Day here.

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Read an interview with Dita Kraus + find more books for Holocaust Remembrance Day here →