Greenhorn (e-book) (used book) | Anna Olswanger | bookbook.eu

Description

Daniel, a young Holocaust survivor, comes to Brooklyn in the 1940s, where his obsessive attachment to a mysterious box excites the curiosity and unkind attention of the other boys at the yeshiva. The withdrawn boy is befriended by Aaron, a stutterer who also endures the taunts of the other boys.

The mystery of the contents of the box drives the story; Daniel grips it in his hands throughout the day and sleeps with it under his pillow. The young reader doesn’t need to know what the box contains to understand its significance, but the revelation of the boy's treasure, his only connection with his lost past, proves to be a potent and horrifying truth that propels the tale into regions rarely visited in a children‘s book. Anna Olswanger allows the loyal friendship of the two boys to set a redemptive tone, while Miriam Nerlove’s watercolor illustrations evoke the vulnerability and sweetness of childhood, even as the text exposes the cruelty of which human beings are capable.

Based on a true story, Greenhorn gives human dimension to the Holocaust. It poignantly underscores our flawed humanity and speaks to the healing value of friendship.