A Simple, Beautiful — and True — Story
As I read this story in today’s paper, my first though was “what a wonderful children’s book this would make”. Turns out, someone beat me to it.
Angel Girl by Laurie Friedman, illustrated by Ofra Amit (Carolrhoda Books) recounts the story of Herman Rosenblat, a teenager held at a death camp in Schlieben, Germany, and Roma Radziki, a girl living free in the village while her family posed as Christians. Each day, Roma tossed Herman an apple over the barbed wire. They never spoke, they never knew the other’s name. They simply shared a daily act of humanity and kindness in the midst of insanity.
More than a decade later, the two were reunited by pure chance on a blind date. They married and this year celebrate their 50th anniversary.
This is a story almost perfectly suited for a picture book, where it can be relayed simply and without adornment. No need to pad the story to 300 pages or come up with enough “backstory” to reach a 90 minute running time. Just keep it simple and let the events speak for themselves.
Here’s a preview:
