My Mother's Voice: Children, Literature, and the Holocaust

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Kertzer, a professor of English at the University of Calgary, has
tackled that most challenging and oft-asked question, “What is
suitable content for children’s books?” and, as the subtitle
indicates, she has done so within the context of juvenile fiction and
nonfiction that speaks to the Holocaust: “How do we tell children
about the Holocaust without terrifying them, and what kind of knowledge
do we convey when we are determined not to frighten?”

Not surprisingly, the book does not provide definitive answers to this
twofold question, but the nine chapters that explore various aspects of
the issue make most engaging reading. Kertzer acknowledges that five
chapters have previously been published; however, all but the opening
piece, “My Mother’s Voice,” have been significantly expanded and
revised. Kertzer’s immediate connection to the Holocaust is via her
mother, “one of the few Hungarian Jews who survived Auschwitz,” and
Kertzer observes how her mother, not wanting to frighten her children,
“told limited facts ... so that I grew up knowing what Auschwitz was,
but only in a way that kept me safe.” In various ways, the book’s
four sections—Maternal Voices, The Voices of Children, The Child in
the Picture, and History and Pedagogy—explore how the portrayal of the
Holocaust in literature for adults has been muted or softened when
presented to juveniles either in print or through illustrations. One of
the most illuminating chapters is “A Multitude of Voices: The
Production of Daniel’s Story” in which readers follow the various
tensions between the author, publisher, and officials from the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum as Carol Matas was writing the book.
Although Kertzer utilizes scholarly conventions such as endnotes, her
writing style is accessible to a broader readership beyond just those in
colleges/universities. An 11-page listing of “Works Cited” speaks to
Kertzer’s thoroughness in writing this work, which merits inclusion
not just in academic collections but in public libraries as well.