Liesl’s Ocean Rescue exposes elementary school children to a subject not often covered in a school’s history lessons — the advent of the Nazi regime’s persecution of the Jewish people and the struggle for them to find sanctuary outside of Germany. The story, based on the real-life experiences of Liesl Joseph and her family, begins on Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938. The destruction of that night and the terror of the Jewish people is told from the perspective of a young child who little comprehends the implications of the Nazi laws and the arrest of her father. Krasner does a good job of expressing the confusion and fear that Liesl faced. But hope of rescue and safety are never left out of the story. The phrase “everything will be all right” is continually repeated. The family’s escape on the MS St Louis is an adventure for Liesl, but the gravity of the situation, no country to welcome the passengers, is never far from the reader’s mind.

The message of hope is important in Liesl’s Ocean Rescue as is the warning to never forget. The illustrations reinforce the culture of the era. A good book to share with your child or classroom, it should open further conversation on the evil of the world and our responsibility to confront it.

Recommended.

Audience: children ages 8-12.

(Thanks to Gihon River Press and iRead Book Tours for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )