Let the Celebrations Begin!
Publication Information
Author:  Wild, Margaret	Illustrator:  Vivas, Julie
Title:  Let the Celebrations Begin!	Date:  1991
Publisher:  Orchard	City:  New York
ISBN, paperback:  0-531-08537-6	ISBN, hardback:
Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes	ESOL:
Family:   Yes	Young Adult:
Picture:   Yes
General Information:
Book Type(s):    fiction
HSE Descriptor(s):    social studies
Summary:
During WW II, in the concentration camps, women hoarded buttons and odds and ends in order to make the children dolls and presents for the day they would be released. Although the art has been criticized for being too whimsical for its grim subject matter, others have found the illustrations very moving.
Teaching Ideas:
This book is controversial; teachers might ask students to guess why. Partly it is criticized for making light of a horrible situation (because the art is whimsical), and partly because no children were left on liberation day at the particular concentration camp where this is set (i.e., the historical facts are not accurate). It makes an obvious component of a unit on WW II. It could be paired with Oppenheim's The Lily Cupboard, I Never Saw Another Butterfly and with Bearing Witness but should be introduced with care. For more information, see website www.remember.org.
Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > giving/generosity Emotions-Personal Issues > personal issues > individual > hopes/dreams History > time period > 20th Century History > topic > war > World War II History > region > Europe History > topic > war > World War II > concentration/internment camps

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