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18th out of 42 books
—
12 voters
Is It Night or Day?
It’s 1938, and twelve-year-old Edith is about to move from the tiny German village she’s lived in all her life to a place that seems as foreign as the moon: Chicago, Illinois. And she will be doing it alone. This dramatic and chilling novel about one girl’s escape from Hitler’s Germany was inspired by the experiences of the author’s mother, one of twelve hundred children r...more
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
March 16th 2010
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
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Based on a true story, Chapman writes about her grandmother as a young girl who leaves Germany on her own to join an uncle in the U.S. and escape from the Nazi's.
Edith (Tiddy) was 14 years old when her parents sent her to America. She was helped by a group of Americans (Lutheran's, Quakers and Jews) who saved European Jewish children from the Nazi's. Similar to the Kindertransport, these people rescued 1,200 children from a most probable death in the concentration camps.
This is a good novel to...more
Edith (Tiddy) was 14 years old when her parents sent her to America. She was helped by a group of Americans (Lutheran's, Quakers and Jews) who saved European Jewish children from the Nazi's. Similar to the Kindertransport, these people rescued 1,200 children from a most probable death in the concentration camps.
This is a good novel to...more
With the benefit of hindsight, we know that 12-year old German Jew Edith Westerfeld, whose parents put her on a ship to America in 1938, was one of the lucky ones. But as she watched her beloved family get smaller and smaller on shore as the ship pulled away, she didn't feel lucky at all.
Like so many families in Germany, the Westerfelds of Stockstadt thought of themselves much more as German than Jewish. After all, they had lived in their community for over 200 years and Edith's father, a war v...more
Like so many families in Germany, the Westerfelds of Stockstadt thought of themselves much more as German than Jewish. After all, they had lived in their community for over 200 years and Edith's father, a war v...more
Is It Night or Day? is a story of a young girl's assimilation into the American culture in the late 1930's and 40's. Sent to America to avoid Hitler's terror, Edith, the main character, suffers from rejection, isolation, loneliness and ridicule. She has lost everything, her family, her friends, her home, her community, her country and her language. Placed into a foreign home in a new land only adds to her confusion and despair. The small daily happenings that shape a life are torture for Edith....more
Seriously breaks my heart. It is World War 2, and the Nazi's are taking over Germany. Twelve year old Edith doesn't understand what is going on. Her sister has been sent to America to live with another family. Edith is being sent away too. She is going all alone two Chicago, on a boat filled with other passengers and children. her first heartbreak is having to leave her new friends that she made on the ship. She then moves in with her uncle and his family in their Chicago apartment. Her aunt pra...more
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There are so many books out there for teens that are about the Holocaust it becomes almost unbearable to even pick one of them up. Fern Chapman takes a whole other route to the standard story of the Holocaust and WWII, the immigration of 1200 children to America during the Nazi's reign. The writing is excellent and all ages are able to glean some tidbit of information previously unknown to us. The use of the German dialect is wonderful, the reader gets to hear a different language and figure out...more
I fell in love with book despite the heaviness of the content. Reading about Edith's immigration from Germany to America to escape the destruction caused by the Nazis, I was captivated by Edith and her experiences. It was interesting to read about her own experiences in America and how she wanted to retain her identity despite her shipmates and sister who wanted to fully assimilate into the culture. Although sad and depressing, I also liked how Chapman demonstrated that people, especially relati...more
Ever since reading Number the Stars as a kid, I've been fascinated by stories of the Holocaust. Lately, though, it seems that many of the novels are telling the same story. Is It Night or Day? addresses a new experience of a young Jewish girl during WWII. She missed the concentration camps, and was sent to a new life in America, but still loses her family and has to adjust to a whole new world. Edith is discriminated against and finds that even in America there is prejudice.
I liked the characte...more
I liked the characte...more
Reading Level: Grades 5-7
As the Nazi noose closes, 12-year-old Edith's desperate parents send her alone on a long journey across the ocean to live in Chicago with an uncle she doesn't know.
This book is based on the author's mother's experiences as one of the children rescued by the One Thousand Children project.
Other gripping stories of Holocaust refugees include:
Ten Thousand Children : True Stories Told by Children who Escaped the Holocaust on the Kindertransport by Anne L. Fox
The Other Half of...more
As the Nazi noose closes, 12-year-old Edith's desperate parents send her alone on a long journey across the ocean to live in Chicago with an uncle she doesn't know.
This book is based on the author's mother's experiences as one of the children rescued by the One Thousand Children project.
Other gripping stories of Holocaust refugees include:
Ten Thousand Children : True Stories Told by Children who Escaped the Holocaust on the Kindertransport by Anne L. Fox
The Other Half of...more
Is It Night or Day?,during World War II, is about a Jewish girl. When Germany becomes a dangerous place for the Jews, the Jewish girl, Edith, is sent on a train, to go to a ship, that will take her to America. With only two suit cases, Edith is sent to the train without her family. She soon arrives in America and realizes that she still is not free from being treating badly. America is the biggest adventure she will ever face.
It is sort of sad. She is almost treated as bad as Harry Potter, bef...more
It is sort of sad. She is almost treated as bad as Harry Potter, bef...more
Is it Night or Day?, RR Donnelley & Sons, 201 pages, $17.99, Fern Schumer Chapman
The Holocaust was a really sad event in the past that took away many innocent lives in Germany. Hitler had control over Germany. His leaderships had caused many families to travel thousands of miles to escape his cruel acts. In this book, Edith Westerfeld, had to travel all the way to Chicago alone, without her parents, to live with an uncle she never met before.
Is it Night or Day, shows the Westerfeld family...more
The Holocaust was a really sad event in the past that took away many innocent lives in Germany. Hitler had control over Germany. His leaderships had caused many families to travel thousands of miles to escape his cruel acts. In this book, Edith Westerfeld, had to travel all the way to Chicago alone, without her parents, to live with an uncle she never met before.
Is it Night or Day, shows the Westerfeld family...more
While the writing style of this book is very basic, the setting intrigued me. The plight of German Jews is very overlooked in most World War II media, and I enjoyed learning about this unknown program that rescued so many German-Jewish children. The writing didn't enthrall me, but there needs to be more books like this one detailing the struggles that German Jews went through during the Nazi reign. It's a complex situation, and more attention needs to be paid to it. I applaud the author for cove...more
A tragic story of a twelve- year- old Jewish girl who is separated from her parents and grandparents as she is sent from Hitler's Germany to America to live with her uncle's family. It is very sad and moving. The story is based on the experience of the author's own mother. Edith is so brave and so strong. She has to grow up and face some harsh realities, but she does so with courage and hope. Her aunt's heartlessness enraged me. Her relationship with her uncle was at times touching. Informative...more
The story is set in the 1930's during the Depression. Edith is a Jewish girl who escapes Germany during the American Rescue Operation to live in Chicago with her aunt and uncle. Her parents and grandma are unable to go with Edith so she must leave everything she knows and move to a strange land. We find out the struggles Edith goes through on the train, boat, and American schools. They do discuss menstruation several times as Edith doesn't have her mother with her when she goes through puberty....more
As anti-Semitism and the Nazis overtake Germany, 12-year-old Edith is put on a boat by her parents and sent to the U.S. She travels alone on a boat with many other children separated from their parents too. She moves in with her uncle and aunt in a small apartment in Chicago. There she works for them more as a servant than a niece. Though her older sister is also in Chicago, they rarely see one another and her sister seems to have had an easier time adapting to her new life. Edith must learn a n...more
Another Holocaust book, but told from the point of view of a "rescued" Jewish girl who was sent to America by her parents. The fact that it was based on the author's mother's real experience made it compelling reading for me.
My favorite quote was in the forward:
"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God" Aeschylus (C. 524-456 B.C.)
My favorite quote was in the forward:
"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God" Aeschylus (C. 524-456 B.C.)
This book was really good and it was kind of similar to "NIGHT". This book was about a girl named "Edith"that lives with her parents in Germany and during that time period Hitler was taking over Germany and she leaves to a whole new country Chicago, Illinois and everything changes everything. Her aunt doesn't treat her well, but she always tries to stay strong with her memories of home.She left everything behind to start a new life,but will she like it? This was a really good book.
The author has dedicated this novel to the grandchildren of the main character in the story, who experienced many of the events the German Jews and their offspring endured in WW II. This first person narrative vividly recounts some of the difficulties and despair surrounding the treatment of Jews in Germany and the United States. The story would be a wonderful ‘jigsaw’ piece in for this era of history and would probably hold more appeal to girls because of the viewpoint.
Is it night or day? is about a girl named Edith who is Jewish and from Germany, but travels to the US before the Nazis really took control of the Jews. In the US, Edith lives with her cousins. However, her aunt doesn't treat her very nicely. Imagine the story of Cinderella. Imagine the character of Cinderella, Edith, but on a lesser rate. Edith goes to school, and then after school homework and chores. She's not aloud to go to any after school activities or any friends to come over. Edith also...more
Is It Night or Day by Fern Schumer Chapman is a depressing , adventorous, and well written novel. It is well written because it has great details on how she felt about all of the stuff that is happening. This book was depressing because. it is about the holacost... there is nothing funny/non-depressing about this time in history. When Tiddy/Edith Westerfeild has to leave Germany and travel on the Deutschland to Chicago ,Illinois because of the stuipid Nazis are going against the jews. It is on h...more
Edith Westerfeld is sent away from her small German home town to live with her Uncle Jack, cousin Dorothy and difficult Aunt Mildred. She's been sent away because her parents are afraid of what's happening in Germany. But Edith is terrified of what's going to happen to her parents. Her father pleads with her to send as much money home as she can to help them escape as well. Edith does as much as she can, but she's never sure it's enough.
A very sad story. Not much of the "uplifting" to it, either - more of the "haunting," I'd say. (terms from the book description) The title wasn't explained until the afterword, which I thought was rather odd - I spent the whole book wondering where the title came from. I think it is well done, but I have no idea who the target audience would be. Children may find it overly depressing and teens may be bored. I think this is a story that adults will like, but children and teens may not.
This one should be read actually be read before Motherland (same author). It is the story of Edith as a young girl and her voyage from Europe to the US on a ship carrying many children whose parents were sending them away to save them from the holocaust. Motherland tells of her return as an older woman to
the village she left as a child. I highly recommend both.
the village she left as a child. I highly recommend both.
I have always enjoyed reading historical fiction and this one is right up there with the best ones. Based on true events and inspired by the experiences of the author's mother, I found this book hard to put down once I started it. We learn about the history of WWII but not the effects on the children of the war until it is written from their point-of-view.
This is an OK example of Holocaust fiction but somehow this one just didn't get me that excited. Because it is based on a true story, it seemed odd that there were no pictures at all in the book - not even of the author!? The story is compelling and it is always good to read about unsung heroes that saved children, but it just seemed a little light.
I loved this story before I even read the book. I learned about it from my students a couple years ago, who read it for one of their classes then had the opportunity to hear the author speak at our school. They were shocked that in the years since, Edith still had never found Gerty (what, she's not on facebook?!) When you finish this book I recommend watching the premier episode of 'Lost and Found' on OWN. The story has a happy ending after all. An amazing group of 8th graders took it upon thems...more
A different kind of WWII story - Edith is sent to America by herself to live with family she doesn't know, in order to escape persecution in Germany. I've read similar types of stories with children being sent to Cuba, or England, but not the USA. An interesting look at immigration and life on the home front.
Recommeded for 5th grade.
Recommeded for 5th grade.
I just love historical fiction and this book does not disappoint. While it is young adult reading, and can be enjoyed by all ages. I have a special fondness for WWII historical fiction, and I can safely say this book has made it to my tip ten list of WWII books.
I saw a documentary based on this book and got it for my mom to read. It had many parallels to her own experience of coming to the US as a twelve year old as a result of WWiI. Though it is a middle school level book, I thought it was really well written.
Heartbreaking story about the author's mother whose parents sent her away from Germany as Hitler's persecution of German Jews accelerated. I read this for a book discussion along with her first book Motherland. Promises to be an excellent discussion.
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Jun 01, 2010 10:19am