Irena's Jars of Secrets
by Marcia Vaughan Crews (Author) Ron Mazellan (Illustrator)
A picture book biography of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker who helped save nearly 2500 Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of Poland during World War II.
Irena Sendler, born to a Polish Catholic family, was raised to respect people of all backgrounds and to help those in need. She became a social worker; and after the German army occupied Poland during World War II, Irena knew she had to help the sick and starving Jews who were imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto.
She began by smuggling food, clothing, and medicine into the ghetto, then turned to smuggling children out of the ghetto. Using false papers and creative means of escape, and at great personal risk, Irena helped rescue Jewish children and hide them in safe surroundings during the Holocaust.
Hoping to reunite the children with their families after the war, Irena kept secret lists of the children's identities. Motivated by conscience and armed with compassion and a belief in human dignity, Irena Sendler confronted an enormous moral challenge and proved to the world that an ordinary person can accomplish deeds of extraordinary courage.
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Review quotes
Irena Sendler is enshrined at Yad Vashem as "righteous among nations" for her courage in rescuing Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto. . . . Finding a way to impart even a small understanding of the Holocaust to children is a task fraught with difficulties: How can anyone comprehend such insanity? Vaughan tells the true story without embellishment, employing stark, unadorned syntax that never wavers into pathos, sentiment or myth. It is a definition of quiet heroism. Mazellan's very dark, deeply shadowed oil paintings capture the unabated terror and sorrow. Children should read this work with an adult who is armed with some knowledge of the material. Powerful.—Kirkus Reviews
Marcia Vaughan Crews has written numerous books for young readers, including picture books, beginning readers, and both fiction and nonfiction series. She was inspired to tell Irena Sendler's story after reading her obituary in 2008 and discovering more about her through the work of Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project, an organization dedicated to bringing Irena Sendler's story to the world. Crews lives in Tacoma, Washington.
Ron Mazellan is the illustrator of several award-winning picture books. He is also a professor of art at Indiana Wesleyan University. Mazellan was drawn to this story by Irena Sendler's character and her multiple selfless acts of kindness and courage toward those who had little hope of survival. Mazellan lives in Marion, Indiana.
JNF007120 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Women
JNF025130 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | Military & Wars
