Herman lives in a labor camp. It is World War II, and the Nazis have made him a prisoner. He is forced to work long hours. His only food is soup ma...
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Oct 16, 2008
booklady
rated it: 
A few days ago a dear friend sent me an e-mail about a Jewish couple who met years ago under the most unusual circumstances during World War II. It was such a beautiful story I was thrilled when I discovered there was a book written about it.
A young boy arrives at a concentration camp. How many books like this have I read now? Too many. The pictures and the language aren't pretty--and yet they are also appropriate. Visually drab and disorienting and verbally staccato, everyt More...
A young boy arrives at a concentration camp. How many books like this have I read now? Too many. The pictures and the language aren't pretty--and yet they are also appropriate. Visually drab and disorienting and verbally staccato, everyt More...
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Dec 02, 2008
Lisa
rated it: 
EDIT on 12/28: I changed this from 5 to 3 stars given that the 5 star rating was based partially on the assumption that this was a true story and some of it was also based on the post story "non-fction" material. It might be a 4 star book for me, even as a fictional book, but I read it as non-fiction (which I just found out less than a month after reading it that it was fabricated. If I'd read it as fiction first, I might have given it 4 stars, or 3, but not 5:
I was More...
I was More...
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(2 people liked it)
Jan 07, 2009
Shannon
rated it: 
This book is such a wonderful introduction to the Holocaust. I used it in my classroom and it is such a sweet story with haunting illustrations.
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May 12, 2010
Tim
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 25, 2008
JustOneMoreBook.com
rated it:
Dark, heart wrenching yet beautiful images and aching, intimate first person narrative tell the true tale of holocaust prisoner Herman Rosenblat and the young girl who saved his life, twice.
You can listen in on our chat about this book on our Just One More Book! Children's Book Podcast.
You can listen in on our chat about this book on our Just One More Book! Children's Book Podcast.
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Dec 17, 2009
Nielson
rated it:
Absolutely amazing. It is the true story of a boy, Herman, who during World War II was forced to work in a labor camp in Germany at the age of 11. Day by day he loses hope until one day his "angel girl" appears on the other side of the fence. She brings him an apple every day, at great risk to both of them. At last, Herman is liberated from the camp and starts a new life in America, never able to forget the past or his angel girl. Miraculously, he meets his angel girl on a blind date a
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Nov 22, 2008
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
rated it:
A sad story with a happy ending, made all the sweeter because it really happened. A Jewish boy in a concentration camp is secretly given food by a girl outside the camp, and survives to be liberated. Years later, on a blind date, he meets a girl with oddly familiar eyes...
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Nov 04, 2008
Suzanne
rated it:
This would a fantastic picture book to use in a unit on the Holocaust or World War II for elementary school students. The story is beautiful and the illustrations are just fabulous. This should definitely be a Caldecott contender this year.
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Mar 01, 2009
Jess
rated it: 
So the story goes: Herman was taken off to a Holocaust camp where he was overworked and nearly starved (emotionally, physically) but he met an angle girl who visited him daily, tossing apples over the barbed-wire fence. Years later they met in NYC, fell in love, and married.
Lovely story, the kind that touches you. Too bad it's fabricated. I feel for the author - how horrible to get caught up in Herman's lies. You'd think somewhere along the line someone would have checked o More...
Lovely story, the kind that touches you. Too bad it's fabricated. I feel for the author - how horrible to get caught up in Herman's lies. You'd think somewhere along the line someone would have checked o More...
Jan 13, 2009
Molly
rated it:
I am being biased here. It is only getting a low rating because of the news that this book is a lie. I am so disappointed about that. I would have been giving this a five star but...... Having the words true story plastered all over this book and now knowing he made up the story. If the publisher would re-release it as a fictional story I will change my review. The illustrations are beautiful and Friedman did a wonderful job retelling what she believed to be a true story. Grades 3+
Nov 10, 2008
Debbie
rated it:
This book is so amazing! It recounts the story of how a young Jewish boy is taken from his mother and forced to endure the hardships of living in a concentration camp during WWII. The one thing that helps him survive is the apple that a farm girl gives him each day as she sneaks it between the barbed wire fence. Years later their paths cross and they meet again. The story ends with a picture of the two of them today celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
Apr 14, 2009
Jenny
rated it:
Picture book listed as a non-fiction. Story of a young eleven year old boy in a conservation work camp seperated from his mother. Each day a young farm girl comes by the fence and gives him an apple. He begins to call this girl his "Angel Girl" because if not for her he would not have survived this camp until wars end.
Jun 01, 2008
Julie
rated it:
This is an amazing picture book based on a true story. Herman is a young Jewish boy living in a concentration camp, struggling to survive. He meets a young girl by the fence one day and she gives him an apple. They arrange to meet everyday by the fence. Herman survives the concentration camp thanks to his "Angel Girl". After his liberation, Herman and his brother's move to the United States. Herman's friends set him up on a blind date. As it just so turns out, Herman's date is "
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Jan 28, 2009
Christiane
rated it: 
I really liked this book when I first read it, and I sitll like it very much--as fiction. Sadly, the "true story" the book is based on has turned out not to be true at all. Herman Rosenblat's adult memoir has been pulled from publication. http://www.snopes.com/glurge/thefence.as...
Apr 16, 2011
Wendy
rated it:
The only thing stopping me from giving it five stars is that I wished a little more time had been spent on his time in the camp. But, otherwise, it's very, very good. It doesn't even skirt the horror too much, and tells so much story in so few words.
Jan 26, 2009
Cindi
rated it:
We read a book called Rose Blanche by Christophe Gallaz that was very similar to "Angel Girl." That one with a sad ending that really let us feel the terrible impact of WWII on the Jews. This story had a happy ending. Read it and see why!
Aug 16, 2011
Jenny
rated it:
I read the book a little unimpressed - with the sheer number of books about the Holocaust, you need to be quite good to make a mark. The details were few, and the story very toned down to the audience. While that was good, it made everything seem so vague. However, at the back is a short synopsis with a picture of Herman and his 'Angel Girl'. After reading that part, it really hit me that it actually happened, and I nearly cried. While I don't feel the author and illustrator quite did the story
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Jan 19, 2010
babyhippoface
rated it:
Stink. Here I was thinking this was an amazing true story of Holocaust survival, and I was as awed as the next person over the details. But... while the boy in the story was, in fact, imprisoned during the Holocaust, there was not a girl who delivered apples to him and became his wife years later after being reunited on a blind date in New York City. Turns out it was a complete fabrication. And now, I'm bummed.
So, gotta give it one star, since the only reason the book exists is beca More...
So, gotta give it one star, since the only reason the book exists is beca More...
May 29, 2009
Though the story is fabricated, the library (currently) has it cataloged as nonfiction, so that is where I am shelving it (for now).
Sep 22, 2011
Amy
rated it:
I downloaded this book from the Mesquite ISD digital library.
I wish all stories such as this one had happy endings.
I wish all stories such as this one had happy endings.
Jun 27, 2011
Ariel
rated it:
This story was so beautiful I almost cried. The illustrations were fantastic too. One of my new favorite picture books.
Mar 19, 2009
Nanci
rated it:
what an incredible story! The illustrations are weird yet perfect. Take a look!
Feb 19, 2011
Amy
rated it:
This is the controversial book that was eventually yanked from many bookshelves for being "fictional". The story was originally told by a couple who claimed it was their real life "Holocaust" story. After the book was published, several reporters started looking into the story and discovered some gross exaggerations and outright mistruths...so of course that got my attention and made me want to read the book. The story and illustrations are well-done...it is very unfortunate
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Dec 28, 2008
Christie
rated it:
EDIT: Just read online that this story is a fake! The couple made the story up. Terrible! Rating it down.
Jan 19, 2009
Chantel
rated it:
(I've changed my rating from 5 stars to 2.) This book was published as a true story of kindness during WWII. It was recently discovered that this story was fabricated. I'm so disappointed. I loved the illustrations and the way that they enhanced story of hope and miracles amidst the bleakness of war. Sadly, it's all fiction.
Oct 29, 2008
Monica
rated it:
Ok so I work with 7th graders with learning disabilities so I have to read everybook in our classroom, this is such a touching story!!! I love to learn about the holocaust and WWII, because although there were very horrible things that happened to people at that time this story is just a great example of the kindness humans have towards eachother when they feel all is lost...i cried- you should read this.
Oct 02, 2008
Kate Hastings
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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