Book Summary:
The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark tells the story of King Christian X, who was King of Denmark during the Holocaust. The story tells of how the King wore the star, which prompted his people to do the same, in order to lend support to the Jews in Denmark who were ordered to wear the yellow star of David. It is a legend, as no one in Denmark was asked to wear a yellow star. The author explains this in the back of the book.
APA Reference:
Deedy, C. A. (2000). The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark. Atlanta: Peachtree.
My Impressions:
I found the book well-written with beautiful, detailed illustrations. It is an introduction to the holocaust done in a tasteful manner. In one part, the King is standing outside looking at the stars asking himself how he can hide a star? Then, he realizes the answer, with the help of the stars, their sisters. I love this part best, really. Overall, I think the book could be true, if everyone were that brave. After all, if others had stood up against the Jews being singled out, in other places where the stars were used as identifying symbols of being Jewish, eventually the Nazis would not have been able to go through with their plans.
Professional Review:
"This delightful book by Carmen Agra Deedy, professional storyteller and author of a librarian favorite, The Library Dragon (Peachtree, 1994), is a perfect introduction for young readers to the difficult story of the Holocaust. The Yellow Star retells a well-known story of the good people of Denmark during the Nazi occupation of their country. When the Jews of Denmark were forced to wear yellow stars upon their clothing, King Christian, the legend tells us, was so outraged that he began to wear a star upon his own clothing. The Danish population quietly followed suit and took part in the only recorded state-sponsored act of communal defiance. The story is surprisingly moving because it is told so simply. It would be suitable for a child as young as second or third grade, with a willing adult nearby to answer the many questions that it would surely elicit. The pictures are large and realistic with one page especially charming in its depiction of the different types of Danes living happily in Denmark, including, of course, canine Great Danes. The way the author chooses to reveal the agonizing of the King and his eventual moral decision is suspenseful and inspiring. This book held a group of fourth graders spellbound as I read it to them last month. It would be an excellent addition to the many recent books on tolerance and human rights. Although this legend is not known to be based in truth, the reason the story has persisted in Holocaust lore is precisely because, among Nazi-occupied countries, only Denmark succeeded in rescuing the overwhelming majority of its Jews. (A total of only 60 Danish Jews were killed during this time period.) The author tells us, in her author's note, that this legend persists because it provides for us a symbol of unity and hope. "What if it had happened? What if every Dane, from shoemaker to priest, had worn the yellow Star of David? And what if we could follow that example today against violations of human rights? What if the good and strong people of the world stood shoulder to shoulder, crowding the streets and filling the squares, saying, 'You cannot do this injustice to our sisters and brothers, or you must do it to us as well.' What if?" 2000, Peachtree, $16.95. Ages 9 to 12."
Handelman, L. (2000). [Book review of the book The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark by Carmen Agra Deedy]. The Five Owls, 15(2). Retrieved from Children's Literature Database via Ebscohost: http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2378/cgi-bin/member/search/f?./temp/~H4gH2P:1
"Icons represent ideas. When adults see the iconic “yellow star” sewn onto a piece of cloth, they often automatically think of a dark period in history called Ha Shoah, or the Holocaust. As the Nazis gained power during World War II and Hitler attempted to fulfill his dream of an Aryan world by eliminating those he felt were unworthy (Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and the mentally ill to name a few), yellow stars were used as a way to mark people of Jewish descent.
The award-winning book, The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark, is an example of a story about World War II that may very likely provide needed information about the time period for young students who are just learning about the Holocaust. I was a teenager when I heard the story of Anne Frank, my first story about the Holocaust. I remember asking my mother why people who were not Jewish did not stop the Nazis from doing horrible things to people. My Christian mother explained that they did try to prevent the atrocities. “Christians were hiding the Frank family in the attic.” Today I wonder if the guilt of Christians has produced the influx of mythical stories of how Christians saved Jews during World War II by hiding them. I question this representation of the Holocaust.
Written by Cuban-American storyteller, Carmen Agra Deedy, The Yellow Star is based on a legend about King Christian of Denmark who invited every Dane to wear the yellow star so it would be impossible to discriminate between Jews and non-Jews in Copenhagen when the Nazis begin their occupation in 1940. While the story of the yellow star and how it was used to represent Jews during WWII may provide needed background knowledge for children who do not know what the yellow Jewish star signified, this story is legend often (mis)represented as historical truth – especially by Christians. As a teacher educator, it raises all sorts of questions about how teachers make decisions about quality literature in their classrooms.
The Yellow Star has won at least 22 different awards. For many parents and teachers purchasing books r children, awards mean a book is worth buying and reading. In my research, I read a number of books about World War II and the Holocaust with a group of elementary teachers and Jewish mothers. I wanted to see how they made decisions about choosing literature for elementary children about such a sensitive time in history. While the teachers felt this book was “soft” enough for young children, the Jewish mothers who read The Yellow Star were disappointed in the too often told “glorification of ‘Christians as Saviors’ story,” the representation of myth as truth, and the relative silence of Jewish voices in the text. In one mother’s words, “Too often, Jews are seen as victims, the poor Jews being saved by the Christians again. The Jews don’t even speak in this book.”
This critique is an apt representation of The Yellow Star. The story begins with a unifying view of Danes living in Nazi-occupied Denmark. Deedy uses short sentences to describe Danes as “different from each other” and yet “all loyal subjects of their beloved King Christian” (p. 2). This king was so loved that he was able to ride alone in the streets of Copenhagen every morning, and everyone knew that “Danes would all stand together in defense” (p. 4) of the wise king. Deedy uses celestial metaphors throughout the story. War spread across Europe “like a fierce storm” and Nazi soldiers “gathered like dark clouds” at the border. According to Deedy, “The Danes watched and waited to see what their king would do.” After King Christian resisted the threatening Nazi who demanded that the swastika be flown over the palace, Jews were ordered to sew a yellow star onto their clothing so it would be visible at all times. Retrospective images of King Christian in deep thought finally show him looking into the sky at the stars for answers. “If you wished to hide a star…you would hide it among its sisters.”
The author’s note at the end of this book speaks to the disappointment Deedy felt when she learned this story was a legend or myth. As Deedy points out, Denmark was the only Nazi-occupied country that rescued a majority of its Jews, but “no Jews within Denmark were actually forced to wear theyellow star.” She also asks “what if?” In this question, Deedy urges readers to think about what would have happened if the people of the world had stood up the injustices of the Holocaust rather than simply hiding them. That is the story that must be told, not another myth that ranks a religious denomination as saviors.
Jews resisted the Nazis during World War II but finding heroic novels of Jewish resistance can be a difficult task. Allegorical picture books like Terrible Things: An Allegory about the Holocaust (1989) by Eve Bunting and The Little Boy Star: An Allegory of the Holocaust (2006) by Rachel Hausfater allow children to think not only about how people treated one another during the Holocaust but about how people treat one another in the present day. And, Karen Hesse’s The Cats in Krasinski Square (2004) is an example of a picture book that describes the bravery and resourcefulness of Jews resisting the Nazis. Based on the experience of Adina Blady Szwalger, this book tells of a young Jewish girl living in Warsaw who helps Jewish resistance fighters confuse the Gestapo in order to get food to Jews living inside the ghetto. Jews have made many contributions to society and these stories deserve to be told. Peachtree Publishers."
Handelman, L. (2000). [Book review of the book The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark by Carmen Agra Deedy]. The Five Owls, 15(2). Retrieved from Children's Literature Database via Ebscohost: http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2378/cgi-bin/member/search/f?./temp/~H4gH2P:1
"Icons represent ideas. When adults see the iconic “yellow star” sewn onto a piece of cloth, they often automatically think of a dark period in history called Ha Shoah, or the Holocaust. As the Nazis gained power during World War II and Hitler attempted to fulfill his dream of an Aryan world by eliminating those he felt were unworthy (Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and the mentally ill to name a few), yellow stars were used as a way to mark people of Jewish descent.
The award-winning book, The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark, is an example of a story about World War II that may very likely provide needed information about the time period for young students who are just learning about the Holocaust. I was a teenager when I heard the story of Anne Frank, my first story about the Holocaust. I remember asking my mother why people who were not Jewish did not stop the Nazis from doing horrible things to people. My Christian mother explained that they did try to prevent the atrocities. “Christians were hiding the Frank family in the attic.” Today I wonder if the guilt of Christians has produced the influx of mythical stories of how Christians saved Jews during World War II by hiding them. I question this representation of the Holocaust.
Written by Cuban-American storyteller, Carmen Agra Deedy, The Yellow Star is based on a legend about King Christian of Denmark who invited every Dane to wear the yellow star so it would be impossible to discriminate between Jews and non-Jews in Copenhagen when the Nazis begin their occupation in 1940. While the story of the yellow star and how it was used to represent Jews during WWII may provide needed background knowledge for children who do not know what the yellow Jewish star signified, this story is legend often (mis)represented as historical truth – especially by Christians. As a teacher educator, it raises all sorts of questions about how teachers make decisions about quality literature in their classrooms.
The Yellow Star has won at least 22 different awards. For many parents and teachers purchasing books r children, awards mean a book is worth buying and reading. In my research, I read a number of books about World War II and the Holocaust with a group of elementary teachers and Jewish mothers. I wanted to see how they made decisions about choosing literature for elementary children about such a sensitive time in history. While the teachers felt this book was “soft” enough for young children, the Jewish mothers who read The Yellow Star were disappointed in the too often told “glorification of ‘Christians as Saviors’ story,” the representation of myth as truth, and the relative silence of Jewish voices in the text. In one mother’s words, “Too often, Jews are seen as victims, the poor Jews being saved by the Christians again. The Jews don’t even speak in this book.”
This critique is an apt representation of The Yellow Star. The story begins with a unifying view of Danes living in Nazi-occupied Denmark. Deedy uses short sentences to describe Danes as “different from each other” and yet “all loyal subjects of their beloved King Christian” (p. 2). This king was so loved that he was able to ride alone in the streets of Copenhagen every morning, and everyone knew that “Danes would all stand together in defense” (p. 4) of the wise king. Deedy uses celestial metaphors throughout the story. War spread across Europe “like a fierce storm” and Nazi soldiers “gathered like dark clouds” at the border. According to Deedy, “The Danes watched and waited to see what their king would do.” After King Christian resisted the threatening Nazi who demanded that the swastika be flown over the palace, Jews were ordered to sew a yellow star onto their clothing so it would be visible at all times. Retrospective images of King Christian in deep thought finally show him looking into the sky at the stars for answers. “If you wished to hide a star…you would hide it among its sisters.”
The author’s note at the end of this book speaks to the disappointment Deedy felt when she learned this story was a legend or myth. As Deedy points out, Denmark was the only Nazi-occupied country that rescued a majority of its Jews, but “no Jews within Denmark were actually forced to wear theyellow star.” She also asks “what if?” In this question, Deedy urges readers to think about what would have happened if the people of the world had stood up the injustices of the Holocaust rather than simply hiding them. That is the story that must be told, not another myth that ranks a religious denomination as saviors.
Jews resisted the Nazis during World War II but finding heroic novels of Jewish resistance can be a difficult task. Allegorical picture books like Terrible Things: An Allegory about the Holocaust (1989) by Eve Bunting and The Little Boy Star: An Allegory of the Holocaust (2006) by Rachel Hausfater allow children to think not only about how people treated one another during the Holocaust but about how people treat one another in the present day. And, Karen Hesse’s The Cats in Krasinski Square (2004) is an example of a picture book that describes the bravery and resourcefulness of Jews resisting the Nazis. Based on the experience of Adina Blady Szwalger, this book tells of a young Jewish girl living in Warsaw who helps Jewish resistance fighters confuse the Gestapo in order to get food to Jews living inside the ghetto. Jews have made many contributions to society and these stories deserve to be told. Peachtree Publishers."
Schmidt, R. (2011). [Book review of the book The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark by Carmen Agra Deedy]. WOW Review: Reading Across Cultures 3(2). Retrieved from http://wowlit.org/on-line-publications/review/reviewiii2/11/
Library Uses:
Aside from reading the story aloud, I would share a filmstrip of photographs of the setting and share a brief history of the place. Following the story, I would make sure the students realize that the story is a legend and make a point of noting the bravery of the Danes in rescuing so many of their countrymen and women rather than letting them be taken by the Nazis. Having a further discussion about how things could have been different if the people had chosen, such as is suggested by the author, is also a good idea.
Further, I would give a list of other books that are related to this one and websites for further information. If there is enough time, I would go to some of the websites during the discussion.
Additionally, I would note that it was not just Jews who were put into the concentration camps, but also homosexuals, the Roma (gypsy), those who helped Jews, or anyone who was not seen by the Aryans as acceptable according to them. If there is time, I would propose a discussion about ethnic and cultural tolerance.
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