What Rosa Brought
In 1938, three-year-old Rosa lives in Vienna with her parents and grandmother. Her life is simple and happy until the Nazis come. The shop windows of Jewish stores are broken, and books are burned in the streets. People stop coming to her family’s store, but Dad explains to Rosa, “It’s not what you carry on your shelves. It’s about what you carry in your head. And I’ve got brains in mine.” While awaiting visas to America, Dad builds trunks, using the shelves in their store. He sells one trunk at a time so the Nazis won’t notice. When a Rabbi requests a special trunk in which he can hide a Torah so the Nazis don’t find it, Rosa wonders what she will take when she and her family are able to escape. Finally, the visas to America arrive…but only for three people. Grandma must stay behind. She gives Rosa her love to take to America. And that’s what Rosa brought.
Based on the author’s family story, What Rosa Brought is a heartbreaking story of ingenuity and love set amidst the horrors of one of history’s most shameful moments. The author’s note includes family photos. The illustrations are rendered in beautiful earth tones, lightening and darkening to set the mood. This picture book is a gentle introduction to the Holocaust and antisemitism for young readers.
