The Cat with the Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezin

The Cat with the Yellow Star:  Coming of Age in Terezin is set up like a picture book, but is written for a slightly older audience.  This beautiful books tells the story of Ela Weissberger.  Ela and her family were transported from their home in Czechoslovakia to Terezin.

While in the camp Ela becomes part of a group of children who perform the opera Brundibar.  The children perform and rehearse daily allowing them temporary escape from the horror that is their reality.  Ela plays the role of the cat.  Ela performed some 55 times while in camp.  At the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, Illinois (and I'm sure in other Holocaust museums) there is footage of Ella and the rest of the children performing this opera.

This book is filled with wonderful pictures of Ela and others, but assumes a working knowledge of the Holocaust.  None of the story is particularly grim or disturbing making it an excellent book to share with students as young as thrid grade.

Ela survived the war and went on to perform Brundibar as an adult with the many children's groups who have since performed the opera in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.