The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs

Gr 3-5--In the small town of Eishyshok, previously Poland, now Lithuania, lived a young Jewish girl named Yaffa. Her family roots went back in the town for 900 years. Her grandmother ran a studio where people from the village came to get their photographs taken for New Year's greetings and memories. But then the war came, and the Nazi soldiers rounded up the Jews in Eishyshok and killed all but Yaffa and her family who escaped and hid. Thirty-five years later, President Jimmy Carter reached out to Yaffa and asked her to help with a memorial being built for the victims of the Holocaust. Yaffa remembered the photographs her grandmother had taken, and the ones she had hidden in her socks as she fled the village. She decided to build the memorial not on bricks, but on photographs that were saved from Eishyshok. Traveling around the world, she found 6,000 photographs to display on what would later be called the Tower of Life. Not a memorial of the dead, but of the life that came from her beloved hometown. There are many picture books about the Holocaust, but this one stands out with Gal's beautiful watercolor pictures and the true account of one woman's goal that her community never be forgotten. VERDICT A beautiful tribute to one small town and the six million Jews across Europe who lost their lives during the Holocaust. Highly recommended.--Heidi Dechief

The creators center th experiences of historian Yaffa Eliach (1937-2016) in this moving look at the creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Tower of Faces, a monument built of photographs. Early lines paint an idyllic vision of Eliach's birthplace, the shtetl Eishyshok. Gal's saturated ink, watercolor, and digital collage illustrations show the deeply rooted community, which "pulsed with love, laughter, and light" and was often caught on camera by Eliach's grandmother. When German troops and tanks arrive, the book's palette darkens into harrowing wartime graphics. Following details around Yaffa's family's escape, the text next shifts to the subject's 17-year global effort to recover 6,000 photos from those with family history in Eishyshok, and a concluding foldout pays powerful tribute to the resulting memorial: "The photos showed heroes, not victims. Dignity, not disaster. Lives lived, not lost." A timeline and bibliography conclude. Ages 6-8. (Oct.)

Praise for The Tower of Life:

★ ". . . (When) President Jimmy Carter reached out to Yaffa (Eliach) and asked her to help with a memorial being built for the victims of the Holocaust . . . she decided to build (it) not on bricks, but on photographs that were saved from Eishyshok. Traveling around the world, she found 6,000 photographs to display on what would later be called the Tower of Life. Not a memorial of the dead, but of the life that came from her beloved hometown. There are many picture books about the Holocaust, but this one stands out with Gal's beautiful watercolor pictures and the true account of one woman's goal that her community never be forgotten. A beautiful tribute...Highly recommended." — School Library Journal, starred review

★ "It's a stunning tale, spanning decades and continents, and a tender introduction to a terrible time in human history. The watercolor illustrations, bursting with detail and life, utilize warm, bright colors in times of peace and deep reds and blacks in wartime. The drawings cleverly incorporate rectangular photograph frames into the village scenes, beautifully demonstrating the power of snapshots to memorialize beloved people and places. A magnificent and moving tribute to a loving community and an extraordinary woman." — Booklist, starred review

A Jewish Polish woman resurrects her hometown through photographs. Yaffa Eliach (1935-2016) grew up in the shtetl town of Eishyshok, Poland. She and her family lived there contentedly until the Germans occupied the town in 1941 and murdered most of its Jewish population. Yaffa and her family escaped and hid until the war ended. Before, one of Yaffa's favorite childhood activities was assisting her grandmother, the town photographer, who documented weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other celebrations; these photos were mailed to relatives around the world. Years later, Yaffa, now a married history professor and Holocaust scholar residing in America, was tasked by President Jimmy Carter with creating an exhibit for Washington, D.C.'s new United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Determined to celebrate life instead of destruction, Yaffa spent years tracking down thousands of photos of Eishyshok's residents and descendants, traveling around America and the world. The result: the Tower of Life, depicted in a 90-degree book turn. One of the actual photos contained in the memorial—included herein—shows Yaffa herself as a child in Eishyshok in her father's arms; another childhood photo of Yaffa is also included in the book. Though it tackles dark themes, this heartfelt story is ultimately uplifting. The illustrations, rendered in ink, watercolor, and digital collage, brim with warm, colorful details. A loving testament to light and hope and the vision of a remarkable woman. — Kirkus Reviews

Chana Stiefel's and Susan Gal's The Tower of Life never mentions the term ​"Holocaust," yet their new children's picture book about historian Yaffa Eliach clearly represents the antithesis of erasure. Gearing the story to young readers, Stiefel and Gal emphasize the rich legacy of one particular shtetl, kept alive through Eliach's meticulous documentation and her stunning exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Without denying the horrors inflicted on Europe's Jews, the book restores the dignity of a lost civilization both by illustrating the past and calling attention to Jewish continuity in the present.

Young Yaffa Eliach is an ordinary child blessed with a loving family and close-knit community. When the book opens, she lives in Eishyshok, a small town situated in present-day Lithuania (formerly Poland). As in other books about the Holocaust for children, there is an elegiac tone abruptly interrupted by the Nazi invasion. Scenes of sledding and skating and trips to the crowded outdoor market quickly become a distant memory as the German army assaults the town, leaving behind destruction and death.

Where another author might principally focus on the family's prewar observance of Jewish holidays, Stiefel's approach is more subtle. She foreshadows Eliach's future by describing communal trips to the cemetery, ​"where grandparents told tales of their ancestors buried beneath their feet." These stories are instrumental in ​"keeping their faith and traditions alive," and their custom will reappear later, when Eliach devotes her career to bringing her ancestors back to life. Another distinctive part of Eliach's childhood is her grandmother's photography studio. People seek out Grandma Alte's bar mitzvah portraits and Jewish New Year cards, both the products of an American camera. After the war, Eliach will undertake the ​"sacred mission ​"of recovering and arranging these profound pieces of evidence for her books and, later, her exhibit.

Eliach's family escapes from the Nazis, hiding in the forest until the Russian army liberates their home. All the while, Stiefel maintains her focus on the strength they derive from holding on to memories, and the solace Eliach finds in reading, writing, and telling inspiring stories. Although the family's shelter is tenuous, and they are ​"cold, hungry, filthy, and frightened," the book's message is consistently optimistic. Given that Eliach ultimately triumphed in recreating the past, Stiefel paints a truthful portrait appropriate for those just beginning to learn about the Holocaust.

Susan Gal's artwork, meanwhile, is both dramatic and accessible, an invitation to look at Eliach's life with compassion and awe. Children will relate to the young girl in a bright gingham dress playing with her friends, and even to the scene of her desperate family quietly reading together by candlelight in the forest. Other episodes in her life will be less familiar, but Gal's construction of a continuous visual sequence allows readers to assemble each image into one compelling picture. When the Nazis invade, the pages' white backgrounds turn deep red, peopled with dark, faceless characters. Using watercolor, ink, and digital elements, Gal combines individual portraits, landscapes, and interiors with interspersed sepia photographs. The result is a complete representation of her subject, much as Eliach achieved in her own scholarship. A vertical two-page spread of the Holocaust Museum's exhibition on Eishyshok is the culmination of a remarkable life — and of a book that ensures it will not be forgotten. — Jewish Book Council

Praise for Let Liberty Rise:

★ Playful, engaging illustrations feature speech bubbles that quote outraged citizens . . . The story of Lady Liberty's precarious beginnings shows how much can be accomplished when people band together. Rich back matter includes a time line, photos, additional information, and a bibliography. This charming history title is a true inspiration for the present. An informative must-have for all libraries. — School Library Journal, starred review

Sparkling language movingly describes how everyday folks effect powerful change. Readers will relish knowing that kids played a pivotal role in the campaign; many actual quotes from children are included. Lively, colorful illustrations capturing the period depict diverse characters and wonderful perspectives . . . The backmatter includes fascinating informative material . . . All rise to this evocative, empowering offering. — Kirkus Reviews

Groenink's cartoon-style illustrations jauntily animate Stiefel's account of how children helped ensure the Statue of Liberty would stand tall in New York Harbor . . . A timeline, bibliography, and further reading list, as well as additional statue facts and archival photos, conclude this true tale of cooperation among all ages. — Publishers Weekly