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班雅明先生的神祕行李箱
班雅明先生是一位喜歡思考，腦子裡永遠充滿各式各樣超棒想法的哲學家。然而有一天，他的國家決定要把這些擁有與眾不同想法的人通通抓起來，於是班雅明先生尋求費特可太太的協助，展開了一場翻山越嶺的大逃亡計畫……而且，堅持帶著一只沉甸甸的行李箱。
到底班雅明先生的行李箱裡裝著什麼東西呢？為什麼他寧願冒著生命危險，也堅持要保護這個神祕的行李箱？他最後成功越過邊境，抵達自由的國度嗎？
── 改編自華特 ‧ 班雅明的真實故事，一段關於自由、真理與勇氣的生命之旅。
到底班雅明先生的行李箱裡裝著什麼東西呢？為什麼他寧願冒著生命危險，也堅持要保護這個神祕的行李箱？他最後成功越過邊境，抵達自由的國度嗎？
── 改編自華特 ‧ 班雅明的真實故事，一段關於自由、真理與勇氣的生命之旅。
48 pages, Hardcover
Published September 26, 2017
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 20, 2017
This book says it is based on a true story about Walter Benjamin who died as a result of Nazi persecution. Benjamin was Jewish and he was forced to flee his country because he was Jewish. Yet nowhere in the book or in the notes does the book say Benjamin was Jewish. The book implies that Benjamin was persecuted for having "extraordinary ideas." This is misleading and inaccurate.
November 25, 2019
toto som prečítal na jedno posedenie a môžem povedať, že dobré. :)
August 4, 2017
When I was in grad school, getting ready to write my dissertation, I read a lot of Walter Benjamin’s literary criticism, particularly what he wrote about children’s literature and toys. Benjamin was a prolific writer, cultural critic and philosopher. He was also a German Jew who had left Germany because of Hitler and Nazism, and, like so many other German intellectuals at the time, he moved to Paris. But after France fell to the Nazis in June 1940, Paris’s German population knew they were at risk and it was time to leave Europe. And that’s where the story of Mr. Benjamin’s Suitcase of Secrets begins.
But getting out of Europe wasn’t all that easy, so Mr. Benjamin sought out the help of Mrs. Fittko. Pack light so as not to draw attention to yourself, she told the few people she was willing to lead to safety. But on the night of their escape, Mr. Bennie, as Mrs. Fittko calls him, doesn’t pack lightly, in fact, he packs a big heavy suitcase, one he could barely carry. The problem is that the suitcase would have to be carried over rough terrain and then across the mountains and it was heavy and awkward.
Couldn’t Mr. Benjamin just leave the suitcase behind? Mrs. Fittko asks again. No, he can’t, as he tells her “The contents of this case can change everything.” But just as the group arrive at the border and the possibility of safety is just ahead of them, the guards refuse the allow Mr. Benjamin over the border crossing. He returns to the hotel where he had spent the previous night, and then, Mr. Benjamin and his mysterious suitcase simply disappeared. And to this day no one knows what he had been carrying that was so important to him.
This historical fiction picture book for older readers is as unusual as it is interesting. It is based not only on what actually happened to Walter Benjamin and why he was forced to flee, but also on the mystery surrounding the fate of the suitcase and its contents, which he tells Mrs. Fittko are “more important than my life.”
I have to admit, I never thought I would see a children’s book written about Walter Benjamin yet I really like the way some things were presented. I thought the way it shows that intellectual ideas were such a threat to the Nazis that they felt it necessary to arrest those people “who had extraordinary ideas" was very effective throughout the book, as represented by the importance of the suitcase and Benjamin's need to hold on tightly to it. I also liked that the soldiers who were arresting people didn’t have swastikas on their armband, but a kind of generic mark making it relevant to any act of this type. I did enjoy the variety of people speculating about what they thought was actually in Benjamin’s mysterious suitcase, which also defects the reader from wondering what Benjamin's fate was (in fact, he committed suicide after being turned back).
The textured mixed-media illustrations are wonderful. They are both quirky and serious. Look closely at the different bits that go into making the collages on each page, they almost tell their own story. I thought that they were also effective at conveying the fear that people must have lived with during that time
This is a book I would definitely recommend for units on WWII, or even on units about refugees. Benjamin was a refugee twice over - once fleeing Germany, once trying to flee Nazi occupied France. Pei-Yu Chang has successfully depicted a world where ideas and opposition are seen as dangerous by those in power, making this a potent and relevant story for today's readers.
This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL
This review was originally posted on The Children's War
But getting out of Europe wasn’t all that easy, so Mr. Benjamin sought out the help of Mrs. Fittko. Pack light so as not to draw attention to yourself, she told the few people she was willing to lead to safety. But on the night of their escape, Mr. Bennie, as Mrs. Fittko calls him, doesn’t pack lightly, in fact, he packs a big heavy suitcase, one he could barely carry. The problem is that the suitcase would have to be carried over rough terrain and then across the mountains and it was heavy and awkward.
Couldn’t Mr. Benjamin just leave the suitcase behind? Mrs. Fittko asks again. No, he can’t, as he tells her “The contents of this case can change everything.” But just as the group arrive at the border and the possibility of safety is just ahead of them, the guards refuse the allow Mr. Benjamin over the border crossing. He returns to the hotel where he had spent the previous night, and then, Mr. Benjamin and his mysterious suitcase simply disappeared. And to this day no one knows what he had been carrying that was so important to him.
This historical fiction picture book for older readers is as unusual as it is interesting. It is based not only on what actually happened to Walter Benjamin and why he was forced to flee, but also on the mystery surrounding the fate of the suitcase and its contents, which he tells Mrs. Fittko are “more important than my life.”
I have to admit, I never thought I would see a children’s book written about Walter Benjamin yet I really like the way some things were presented. I thought the way it shows that intellectual ideas were such a threat to the Nazis that they felt it necessary to arrest those people “who had extraordinary ideas" was very effective throughout the book, as represented by the importance of the suitcase and Benjamin's need to hold on tightly to it. I also liked that the soldiers who were arresting people didn’t have swastikas on their armband, but a kind of generic mark making it relevant to any act of this type. I did enjoy the variety of people speculating about what they thought was actually in Benjamin’s mysterious suitcase, which also defects the reader from wondering what Benjamin's fate was (in fact, he committed suicide after being turned back).
The textured mixed-media illustrations are wonderful. They are both quirky and serious. Look closely at the different bits that go into making the collages on each page, they almost tell their own story. I thought that they were also effective at conveying the fear that people must have lived with during that time
This is a book I would definitely recommend for units on WWII, or even on units about refugees. Benjamin was a refugee twice over - once fleeing Germany, once trying to flee Nazi occupied France. Pei-Yu Chang has successfully depicted a world where ideas and opposition are seen as dangerous by those in power, making this a potent and relevant story for today's readers.
This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL
This review was originally posted on The Children's War
October 14, 2018
First published in Switzerland and then translated by David Henry Wilson, Mr. Benjamin's story is based on the true narrative of an eminent German philosopher, Walter Benjamin who, persecuted for his ideas and faith (the latter of which is, oddly and concerningly, not mentioned in the book at all) tried to escape his home country by crossing the Pyreness under the guidance of the rather extraordinary Lisa Fittko (also real). When he and the suitcase which he would not leave suddenly disappear altogether, we are left wondering what it was, what was so important to him in it, that he valued it above his life.
This is Chang's first picturebook and her mixed-media approach to the text provides the hard and sombre scenes of Germany under Nazi rule. Although the link to the second world war and these Nazis is never made explicit (perhaps this answers why the Jewish element was not included), the images of totalitarianism rule and the subjugation of its people to suffer a loss of free thinking and will under this regime is an interesting subject to discuss with children. Although there are short biographies on both Fittko and Benjamin at the back, I think dislocating it from fact and focusing, perhaps, on the idea of not being allowed to think, challenge and create is a fascinating topic for children to explore.
Whilst some of the illustrations seem happy and bright there is a deep undercurrent here of the story's heart and its original seed that could be explored at different levels with older children. I definitely have mixed feelings about this one but I cannot deny that it is a picturebook that provokes and challenges the reader to think.
This is Chang's first picturebook and her mixed-media approach to the text provides the hard and sombre scenes of Germany under Nazi rule. Although the link to the second world war and these Nazis is never made explicit (perhaps this answers why the Jewish element was not included), the images of totalitarianism rule and the subjugation of its people to suffer a loss of free thinking and will under this regime is an interesting subject to discuss with children. Although there are short biographies on both Fittko and Benjamin at the back, I think dislocating it from fact and focusing, perhaps, on the idea of not being allowed to think, challenge and create is a fascinating topic for children to explore.
Whilst some of the illustrations seem happy and bright there is a deep undercurrent here of the story's heart and its original seed that could be explored at different levels with older children. I definitely have mixed feelings about this one but I cannot deny that it is a picturebook that provokes and challenges the reader to think.
January 16, 2018
Read for Librarian Book Group
I didn't love this picture book. I think details regarding circumstances were too few, and I expect picture books to have a certain type of ending, which this didn't.
I didn't love this picture book. I think details regarding circumstances were too few, and I expect picture books to have a certain type of ending, which this didn't.
August 3, 2020
This should have been a brilliant book about Walter Benjamin, the art is wonderful and the storytelling is good but there is a very frustrating omission of the word Jewish to describe the refugees in the story and there was another very frustrating cutesification of the swastikas on the Nazi jackets. Why white wash the story? What possibly is there to gain from not being specific?
November 23, 2019
Výborné ilustrácie a jedna veľká otázka: čo bolo v kufri? #trebacitat
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April 20, 2020This book tells the story of German philosopher Walter Benjamin's attempt to leave Germany. Although the story itself is intriguing, it falls short because of its simplicity. The story claims that Benjamin had extraordinary ideas, and yet readers never learn about those ideas. It glosses over who Benjamin was and focuses more on the mystery of the suitcase, which would have been fine and expected, but the contents of the suitcase remain unknown. This made for an unsatisfying ending. An aspect of this story that I did enjoy was the biographies at the end, which do shine more light into who Benjamin was. I am particularly intrigued by a "minor" character in the story, Lisa Fittko.
If I were to use this book in the classroom, I would want to pair it with many activities to make it a worthwhile read. Older students could research Walter Benjamin to discover his beliefs and what made him so extraordinary. Then, they could focus on Fittko. I had not heard that name before reading this story, but it seems to me that there is much learning to be done about her and her route. Because this book glosses over historical themes I would consider necessary to study in the classroom, I would want to use it as a launching pad to dive deeper into the historical times and the significance of the characters' actions.
If I were to use this book in the classroom, I would want to pair it with many activities to make it a worthwhile read. Older students could research Walter Benjamin to discover his beliefs and what made him so extraordinary. Then, they could focus on Fittko. I had not heard that name before reading this story, but it seems to me that there is much learning to be done about her and her route. Because this book glosses over historical themes I would consider necessary to study in the classroom, I would want to use it as a launching pad to dive deeper into the historical times and the significance of the characters' actions.
January 4, 2018
A curious story. I missed the title page originally, not realizing this was based on a true story until the end. The artwork clearly conveyed the time with the Nazi-like soldiers (their insignia is not actually a swastika but everything else says Nazi) and some shop signs give the setting as France. But much is left unexplained (not including the bit about the suitcase)--why wasn't Mr. Benjamin allowed across the border when everyone else in his party was? why isn't there any mention of Benjamin being Jewish? We are only told he had "extraordinary ideas." Why did the author or publisher only include the historical note in tiny font on the dedication page? This should have been included with the rest of the back information about Mr. Benjamin.
Artwork is collage, cut paper, mostly subdued colors that fit the book's setting.
Artwork is collage, cut paper, mostly subdued colors that fit the book's setting.
July 5, 2017
The text presents an apparently little-known story of WWII and would work well as an example of historical fiction. Students might investigate more about Walter Benjamin and Lisa Fittko. Students would need little prompting to predict what might have been in the suitcase!
However, to me the mixed-media/collage illustrations hint at a whimsical story - not one of lives at stake. End pages show the inside of an empty suitcase.
Short bios of Benjamin, Fittko, and Chang at the end show each person on the left-hand page with a paragraph on the right under framed titles.
However, to me the mixed-media/collage illustrations hint at a whimsical story - not one of lives at stake. End pages show the inside of an empty suitcase.
Short bios of Benjamin, Fittko, and Chang at the end show each person on the left-hand page with a paragraph on the right under framed titles.
July 21, 2017
I loved this mysterious tale about Mr. Benjamin and his secret suitcase. Based on a true story, Chang's book does honor to the historical figures, complete with additional end material, and crafts an exciting story to boot.
The layered construction paper and pencil drawing look of the illustrations lends itself well to the content. Dots, arrows, and lines help guide the eye across wide spreads with less conventional text layouts, and reinforce the journey.
The layered construction paper and pencil drawing look of the illustrations lends itself well to the content. Dots, arrows, and lines help guide the eye across wide spreads with less conventional text layouts, and reinforce the journey.
April 27, 2018
En la introducción prometen una historia que si sos inmigrante te haría sentir identificado, sería el caso entonces que somos inmigrantes todos aquellos que no solamente nos mudamos de país sino también no compartimos las mismas ideas que otros. Muy lindo el cuento, y que excelente que el autor tuvo la experiencia de vivir en el extranjero y convertirlo en este hermoso libro ilustrado. Ojalá tenga un día la oportunidad de leer este cuento a los niños de mi país.
March 31, 2022
Jedna z knih pro předškoláky s tématem válka, útěk, emigrace, podobně jako Francesco Tirelli a jeho zmrzlinářství převyprávěná podle skutečného příběhu. Zaručeně v dítěti vzbudí spoustu otázek, je to jedna z těch knih, která rodiči nedá nic zadarmo - musí být ochotný si dál povídat, například nad silou a proč zrovna lidé vzdělaní a přemýšlející jsou obvykle trnem v oku tyranům, kteří chtějí vidět jen jedním směrem.
March 28, 2023
Příběh o lidech, kteří jsou nuceni opustit své domovy, svoji zemi. Jedná se o dětskou knížku pro menší děti, ale přesto i řadu dospělých seznámí se skutečnou osobou, německým filozofem židovského původu, Walterem Benjaminem a také s rakouskou převaděčkou Lisou Fittko. Troufám si říct, že řadě z nás nic tyto jména neříkají, ale měla by. Jsem moc ráda, že tento velmi stručný příběh vznikl, že autorka se s dílem dobře popasovala. Knížku určitě můžu doporučit.
May 21, 2017
A picture book that entices and shows great potential but doesn't quite succeed on two fronts: the story of Walter Benjamin doesn't quite round itself out satisfactorily, and it is clear that the book was originally published in a language/format that runs left to right without being switched to accommodate to the current 'western'/left-to-right format.
May 29, 2021
I love the art, but the story really sugar coats the horrors of the Holocaust. The worst is the almost silly/cute renditions of the Nazis. There is not enough information about Mr. Benjamin and why he is important enough to write a book about. What were some of these, extraordinary ideas he had? Too surface-level for such a difficult topic.
January 29, 2019
As ilustrações são boas, mas achei que falta um objectivo a esta história.
October 11, 2018
3,5 Estrelas!
Uma história fantástica com ilustrações maravilhosas!!
Uma história fantástica com ilustrações maravilhosas!!
February 5, 2019
Hmm, I wonder if the radio programs created by Walter Benjamin for children are the ones referred to in All the Light we Cannot See.
November 21, 2019
I knew nothing about Walter Benjamin when I read this book, so from the standpoint that it created an intense curiosity in me to learn about Mr. Benjamin, this book was a success.
August 19, 2020
Neat look at an historic person who I knew nothing about.
However, not one the kids have picked up again.
However, not one the kids have picked up again.
May 3, 2023
[2023.05.03_48]
【2 May 2023 / 三民 / 230六六折】
【2 May 2023 / 三民 / 230六六折】
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January 4, 2018What's in his suitcase? Mr. Benjamin is a philosopher with extraordinary ideas. But when his country begins punishing people for being different, he must escape. Over hills and valleys he trudges with a heavy suitcase. What could he be carrying?
A compelling story, beautifully illustrated by Pei-Yu Chang, about the importance of personal freedom and the distances we go to protect them; this book is based on a true story of Walter Benjamin.
Notes
Pei-Yu Chang studied in Taipei and Germany. She loves reading and travel. On a trip to southern Germany in 2015, she heard a story about a suitcase that had disappeared. She was so fascinated by the story that she created Mr. Benjamin's Mysterious Suitcase. This is her first children's book.
Subject: Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- France -- Juvenile fiction.
Intellectual freedom -- Juvenile fiction.
Philosophers -- Juvenile fiction.
Luggage -- Juvenile fiction.
Garment bags -- Juvenile fiction.
A compelling story, beautifully illustrated by Pei-Yu Chang, about the importance of personal freedom and the distances we go to protect them; this book is based on a true story of Walter Benjamin.
Notes
Pei-Yu Chang studied in Taipei and Germany. She loves reading and travel. On a trip to southern Germany in 2015, she heard a story about a suitcase that had disappeared. She was so fascinated by the story that she created Mr. Benjamin's Mysterious Suitcase. This is her first children's book.
Subject: Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- France -- Juvenile fiction.
Intellectual freedom -- Juvenile fiction.
Philosophers -- Juvenile fiction.
Luggage -- Juvenile fiction.
Garment bags -- Juvenile fiction.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews