The Crystal Beads, Lalka's Journey
I received the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
by Pat Black-Gould
The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey, is a Holocaust story—one that probably happened frequently during those dark years. But unlike many Holocaust accounts, this story is told through the eyes of an innocent child. The mother knows danger approaches, but keeps the fear and terror from her daughter. She trades the child’s Star of David necklace for a rosary and plays games so her child may learn the Catholic prayers, songs, and vocabulary. Danger looms closer and Lalka must leave her home and live at a convent under the care and protection of brave Sister Teresa. Lalka’s grooming is tested when Gestapo officers interrogate the child. We can only assume the worst for Lalka’s mother, but because of courage, grace, and faith, the child’s disguise holds.
The illustrations have a vintage appeal, taking the reader into the journey from golden light to cold gloom.
Pat Black-Gould has told a powerful story in the voice of an innocent. Like so many children of the Holocaust, innocence was robbed. The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey, is a perfect addition to school and home libraries and would supplement the studies of history and the Holocaust.
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