Book Report

No Pretty Pictures by Anita Lobel
Published by Avon Books in 1998, 193 pages
Nonfiction/biography
Anita Lobel’s book is written on her childhood and experiences through the Holocaust. Many reviews say the book is a powerful and good read for all readers. The book report is being written for Mrs. H American History 9 class. I chose this book because it was written from the author’s experiences as a young, Jewish girl. In the book No Pretty Pictures, Anita Lobel tells her story as a Jewish child growing up during the Holocaust. She writes of how her life would forever change from a girl who had everything she ever wanted, to a girl who thought she’d never make it out alive or see her family again. Anita and her family have been lucky to have not been caught by the Nazis yet. As her mother’s family begins to be deported, their mother is afraid they’ll be caught sooner or later, and sends Anita and he brother off to be with their Niania. Their Niania isn’t Jewish, but loves them dearly, and is afraid to be caught helping the Jewish people, so they moved from place to place constantly. Just as they begin to feel safe, the Nazis found them. Anita and her brother were taken away from their Niania, and into the prison of Mantelupi. Anita and her brother would later be moved to two other locations. Finally, in April, American soldiers came to take all the Jewish prisoners out of the camp, and to Sweden. There, Anita and her brother stayed at a hospital to get better; they both had tuberculosis. As time went by, Anita got in contact with her family back in Krakow. At first, Anita didn’t like the thought of leaving Sweden, but she knew she would have to. When her brother got better, and their American visas came, Anita and her family were ready to leave for America. Anita has never gone back to Poland ever since. The book was interesting and there was never a dull moment. The book was really enjoyable, because it came from the author’s personal experiences, and you got to read how she really felt and thought at that moment. It felt like Anita didn’t forget a single detail in her story. This was my first book on the Holocaust, and it really makes me excited to read more. Anita Lobel wrote an amazing book. The fact that she was such a young girl, and Jewish, made the book interesting. I don’t think there’s a better person to tell you about the Holocaust, than someone who went through it. I think Anita Lobel is such a courageous woman. To have gone through all of that as a young girl, and never once did she let the enemies see her break down, that’s courage to me. This is a great read, and I really recommend, and hope, that others read it.