Stelson, Caren. Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport. Selina Alko, Illus. Carolrhoda, 02/2023. 40pp. Non-Fiction. GRADES 3 – 6. $19.99 978-1-5415-9868-3. OUTSTANDING.
Using the collective voice of the 669 children saved by the Czech Kindertransport at the outbreak of World War II, Stelson delivers a powerful account of the young people saved by Nicholas Winton, a British businessman. Readers are drawn into 1938 Prague from a child’s viewpoint, with memories of friends and families, trips to the parks, sweet honey cake, and hot cocoa. As the events of the war begin to unfold, the child narrators don’t understand what is happening. “Our mothers were too worried to answer our questions. Our fathers were too busy writing letters to explain.” Stelson masterfully provides background context for today’s young readers, while keeping the focus of the story on the children’s experience. Alko’s acrylic, colored-pencil, and collage illustrations range from somber and grave to warm and emotional, echoing scrapbook motifs. Extensive back matter provides a timeline, a bibliography, and suggested reading, as well as information about several children whose stories blend together to form this collective narration.
Mary Ann Scheuer—Independent