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The Butterfly

Amazon.com Price:  $4.95 (as of 09/05/2019 01:00 PST- Details)

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Description

Ever since the Nazis marched into Monique?s small French village, terrorizing it, nothing surprises her, until the night Monique encounters ?the little ghost? sitting at the end of her bed. She turns out to be a girl named Sevrine, who has been hiding from the Nazis in Monique?s basement. Playing after dark, the two grow to be friends, until, in a terrifying moment, they’re discovered, sending either one of their families into a midnight flight.
Lying in bed one moonlit night, Monique awakens to see what she thinks is a little ghost sitting at the foot of her bed, petting her cat. In the time that her French village has been occupied by Nazi troops, Monique has come to imagine that nothing can surprise her anymore. But when she discovers that the little ghost is in reality a Jewish girl named Sevrine, who is living in a hidden room in Monique’s own basement, she is very surprised indeed! The two grow to be secret friends, whispering and giggling late at night after their families have gone to bed. An unfortunate and alarming moment of discovery by a neighbor forces the girls to reveal their friendship to Monique’s mother, who has been harboring Sevrine’s circle of relatives and others right through the Nazi occupation.

Based on the true experiences of the writer’s great aunt, Marcel Solliliage, this poignant story is a great introduction to the terrors of Nazism, racism, and World War II. The emphasis is on simple friendship and quiet heroism, with an occasional lapse into clichéd metaphor (butterfly as symbol of freedom). Any child can relate to the bewilderment the two friends experience in the face of prejudice. Patricia Polacco has written and illustrated many other picture books, including Chicken Sunday and Pink and Say. (Ages 6 to 9) –Emilie Coulter

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