The Librarian of Auschwitz

Iturbe, Antonio

ISBN 10: 1427287074 ISBN 13: 9781427287076

Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners, 2017

Synopsis

*Recommended by Parents' Choice*

This program features an author's note read by Dita Kraus.

Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, The Librarian of Auschwitz is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.

Written with touching sensitivity by Antonio Iturbe, and translated by Lilit Thwaites, this audiobook provokes every emotional response and will not be forgotten.

Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.

Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.

This title has Common Core connections.

About this title

Review:

"This novel is one that could easily be recommended or taught alongside Elie Wiesel's Night and The Diary of Anne Frank and a text that, once read, will never be forgotten. VERDICT A hauntingly authentic Holocaust retelling; a must for YA collections." --School Library Journal, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz

"an unforgettable, heartbreaking novel." --Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz

"Like Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, it's a sophisticated novel with mature themes, delivering an emotionally searing reading experience. An important novel that will stand with other powerful testaments from the Holocaust era." --Booklist, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz

"This novel is one that could easily be recommended or taught alongside Elie Wiesel's Night and The Diary of Anne Frank and a text that, once read, will never be forgotten. VERDICT A hauntingly authentic Holocaust retelling; a must for YA collections." --School Library Journal, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz

"Though no punches are pulled about the unimaginable atrocity of the death camps, a life-affirming history." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz

"The Librarian of Auschwitz is a heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring work of art." --Shelf Awareness, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz

"Iturbe's remarkable account uses an immediate present tense to immerse readers in Dita's story as she goes about what constitutes daily life in Auschwitz, all the while risking everything to distribute and hide the library's books." --The Horn Book, starred review, on The Librarian of Auschwitz

About the Author:

Antonio Iturbe lives in Spain, where he is both a novelist and a journalist. In researching The Librarian of Auschwitz, he interviewed Dita Kraus, the real-life librarian of Auschwitz.

Lilit Thwaites is an award-winning literary translator. After thirty years as an academic at La Trobe University in Australia, she retired from teaching and now focuses primarily on her ongoing translation and research projects.

About this edition

• Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1427287074
• ISBN 13: 9781427287076
• Binding: Audio CD