Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Krawczyk
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Courageous sisters persevere in powerful Holocaust memoir.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In SIGNS OF SURVIVAL: A MEMOIR OF THE HOLOCAUST, 10-year-old Renee is the only hearing member of her Jewish family living in Bratislava in 1943 during World War II. As Jews are forced to wear stars and move to certain areas of the city, Renee must help her family in more ways than one. She and her 8-year-old sister, Herta, are eventually moved to a farm outside the city for safety. They later lose contact with their parents and end up in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where the sisters must rely on each other not only for communication but also for survival.
Is It Any Good?
This is an important Holocaust memoir, with the sisters' firsthand accounts as childhood survivors providing immediacy and relatability for young readers. At the center of Signs of Survival: A Memoir of the Holocaust is the loving relationship between Renee and Herta as they struggle to survive. The fact that Herta is not only the younger sister but also deaf compels Renee to be a courageous caretaker. The book is based on oral testimony from the sisters and is told in short chapters and simple, straightforward language. Although the book is not graphic in the details, the sisters are separated from their parents, experience horrible conditions at Bergen-Belsen, and witness violence and death. Their family members die in the Holocaust.
The book gives a glimpse at the sisters' lives in the United States, including photographs. They reflect on their experiences and even return to visit Bratislava. In the epilogue, Joshua M. Greene provides historical context and details related to the Holocaust and World War II. Although the subject matter maybe be difficult for younger or more sensitive readers, this is a good book to introduce the subject of the Holocaust and why it's important to keep telling these stories. Readers will be inspired by the sisters' courage, compassion, and perseverance.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Renee is the only hearing person in her family in Signs of Survival: A Memoir of the Holocaust. Renee, Herta, and their parents communicate using sign language. How and why does Renee become her family's "ears" during the war?
Renee and Herta return to their childhood home, Bratislava, as adults. Bratislava is now part of Slovakia. Can you find it on a map? Renee thinks that she and Herta should say goodbye to the childhood that was taken from them. What do you think she means?
Renee says that when she and Herta arrived in the United States, she wanted to tell everyone what happened at Bergen-Belsen, but that "my relatives couldn't bear to listen." Why do you think it was hard for Jewish people in the U.S. to hear about what had happened during the Holocaust?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Genre : Biography
- Topics : History
- Character Strengths : Compassion , Courage , Perseverance
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Scholastic Press
- Publication date : January 4, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 128
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle, App
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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