I Will Come Back For You is written and illustrated by Marisabina Russo. It is based on a story the author heard as a girl, but she has changed the ending. The story is told through a grandmother telling her granddaughter about the charms on her bracelet, and the story the charms tell. When the grandmother was a little girl, her Jewish family lived in Italy. When World War II broke out, their family was split up - their father and mother forced to go into hiding, separately, to avoid the concentration camps, but the children have to wait to join their mother, while also waiting for news of their father.
While the book doesn't go very in-depth with the history aspect, the pictures and text are historically accurate. They provide an accurate idea of what life was like during WWII Italy. People's attitudes are treated equally, showing both those who helped Jewish families and the people working for the government/Nazis. The setting is critical to the story itself - without the setting the narrative events would fall apart. The language is not particularly historical, but this is partly because the plot takes place in the form of a story being told in the present day. The theme of safety for families at risk is just as relevant today, with the large number of refugee families and the antisemitism Jewish people still face today.
This book fits under Social Justice theme 5: Awareness Raising. While the Holocaust is a much talked about topic, I think the perspective of Jewish people living in Italy is one that is often missed. Italy is not often talked about during discussions of WWII - the focus is on Germany, and sometimes Poland. Through this story, children are able to learn about what many families went through, as well as how their stories are kept alive through the generations, with the help of the things they managed to save (like charm bracelets).
In the classroom, students can create their own "charm bracelet story," picking events from their lives or from history, charms to represent those events, and weaving a narrative around the charms and what they represent. Creativity is encouraged through the picking of charms, and students are encouraged to investigate their own history.
The selected story is development in the Second World War created telling a story. This book fits nicely into a book of historical fiction.The topic seems poignant and very good for teaching students history, human rights, families.
ReplyDeleteNice! The book is great for learning the situation in Germany and Poland. Indeed, most WWII focus on militaries of Germany and the Untied States rather than their families as values. Is war important? That is important to discuss in the class. I want to add the book for teaching class or workshop regarding WWII.
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