No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War (Avon Camelot Books)

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Anita Lobel

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Pages: 208 (Paperback)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

ISBN: 0380732858

Pub: Avon Books

Pub date: 2000-02

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 221155

Editorial Review:

Nominated for a 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War is Anita Lobel's gripping memoir of surviving the Holocaust. A Caldecott-winning illustrator of such delightful picture books as On Market Street, it is difficult to believe Lobel endured the horrific childhood she did.
From age five to age 10, Lobel spent what are supposed to be carefree years hiding from the Nazis, protecting her younger brother, being captured and marched from camp to camp, and surviving completely dehumanising conditions. A terrifying story by any measure, Lobel's memoir is all the more haunting as told from the first-person, child's-eye view. Her girlhood voice tells it like it is, without irony or even complete understanding, but with matter-of-fact honesty and astonishing attention to detail, carving vivid, enduring images into readers' minds. On hiding in the attic of the ghetto: "We were always told to be very quiet. The whispers of the trapped grown- ups sounded like the noise of insects rubbing their legs together". On being discovered while hiding in a convent: "They lined us up facing the wall. I looked at the dark red bricks in front of me and waited for the shots. When the shouting continued and the shots didn't come, I noticed my breath hanging in thin puffs in the air." On trying not to draw the Nazis' attention: "I wanted to shrink away. To fold into a small invisible thing that had no detectable smell. No breath. No flesh. No sound."

It is a miracle that Lobel and her brother survived on their own in this world that any adult would find unbearable. Indeed, and appropriately, there are no pretty pictures here, and adults choosing to share this story with younger readers should make themselves readily available for explanations and comforting words. (The camps are full of excrement and death, all faithfully recorded in direct, unsparing language.) But this is a story that must be told, from the shocking beginning when a young girl watches the Nazis march into Krakow, to the final words of Lobel's epilogue: "My life has been good. I want more." (Ages 10 to 16) --Brangien Davis, Amazon.com

Reader Reviews:

I really enjoyed this beautifully written book! (2/2 people found this helpful)

This was a really moving, beautiful book. I think in the book, Anita Lobel depicted the opinions and feelings of a child and teenager very realistically. The book is easy to read and a real page-turner. It is written in a very clear, simple style so that the reader is able to sympathise and understand the character's feelings. Anita Lobel is able to write the book in a way that shows that she doesn't pity herself for what happened during the Second World War in Poland. The author never overexaggerates or overemphasizes the situations that she experiences. What really stunned me about her character as a child, was that she confronted every situation very bravely and maturely. As a child, Anita Lobel was thankful for any small improvement in her life during the war.

A fascinating, unforgettable read . (1/1 people found this helpful)

Facsinating, in a word, describes Anita Lobel's book " No Pretty Pictures". Even though I am 33 years old I found her book to be incredibly interesting (even though it's claimed to be a "young adult book). I have always been interested in the Holocaust survivor stories, and "No Pretty Pictures" takes you on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs of one survivor and her younger brother. Anita Lobel's way of describing her memories make you feel like they happened yesterday. The way she relates the story through her long ago child's eye to the teenaged, more mature eye leaves the reader in awe of her ability to tap into shelved but not forgotten memories. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Even old adults (like me), would surely find this book inspiring and unforgettable. I will never forget it, it made me appreciate everything in my life a lot more.

I Loved It (0/1 people found this helpful)

I loved this book. I really was surpised when in the beginning some people throw fecces on their faces. I recommend this book to any one.

An engrossing and compelling memoir. (1/1 people found this helpful)

I love this poignant memoir. Everyone I give it to reads it start to finish usually in either one sitting or over a period of a couple of days.

We have read portions to my daughter (age 8) who is familiar with and interested in the Holocaust. I think that my daughter found it empowering to know that against great odds Anita did survive.

Knowing Anita and her works over a period of many years, I never really knew her true story until I read her wonderful book.

I highly recommend it.

A moving book for the older reader and adults. (0/0 people found this helpful)

I found No Pretty Pictures a very moving book. The story of Anita Lobel's and her brother's survival and the clear feeling she gives for the time and the depth of the other characters is wonderful. The child's point of view, with its limited experience of the world, is done so faithfully, that I would hesitate to give this book to a child who is not already familiar with the holocaust. Terms like "dirty Hassids" are used without comment, her suspecion of other jews is not explained and she never seems to come to terms with her own identity as a jew and one who looks like one. Young readers, even the 9 to 13 year old it is reccommended for, could have used some adult viewpoint within the text to temper these.

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