In 1943, the Second World War is raging, and the Nazis have
taken control of most of Europe.
Princess Alice of Greece has a reputation for kindness.
Born deaf, she knows what it is like to be discriminated against.
With the invasion of the Nazis, all Jews in Greece are in
danger, including young Tilde Cohen and her mother, Rachel. On the run, they
are in search of a safe place to hide. When they arrive unannounced on Princess
Alice's doorstep, begging her to shelter them, the princess's kindness is put
to the test.
Includes a special section, with photographs, about
Princess Alice. A real-life hero, Alice is the grandmother of the United
Kingdom's Prince Charles, and the great-grandmother of Princes William and
Harry.
I loved this book. There aren't very many books for young
children that deal with World War 2 and the Holocaust and this one was very
well done. The main characters are
Tilde, a young Jewish girl, and Princess Alice of Greece. In 1943 the Nazis
have occupied Greece and proceed to capture and transport Jews to concentration
camps. Princess Alice, who was completely deaf but proficient in lip-reading
(in three languages!) used her disability to help as many people as she could.
In this story, a mother and daughter appeared at her door one night, desperate
for help. The princess took them in, giving them a place in the palace. She
also warned them to be careful as the Gestapo headquarters was very close. The
princess visited her guests every day, but the hiding was hard on young Tilde,
who would occasionally break the rules by peeking out of the windows. One day
two Gestapo agents came to the door, demanding to search the house. Tilde's
fear was intense as she overheard the men's demands, but the princess knew just
what to do. I loved her cleverness as she outwitted the men and kept Tilde and
her mother safe.
I thought that this was an excellent introduction for younger
children to the subject of the Holocaust and the fears of the Jewish people.
The tension and facts are there without delving too deeply into the horrors
that happened. The illustrations are beautiful, faithfully depicting events in
the book. In each one I could clearly see the emotions of the subjects.
Also included in the book are biographical details of
Princess Alice, one of the lesser known members of the royal family. She was the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria,
and the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and great-grandmother of
Princes William and Harry. In her later years she became a nun, funding a
convent and orphanage in Athens. After her death the title Righteous Among the
Nations was bestowed on her for her work in saving Jews during the Holocaust.
While accepting the honor for his mother, Prince Philip said, "I suspect
that it never occurred to her that her action was in any way special. She was a
person with a deep religious faith, and she would have considered it to be a
perfectly natural human reaction to fellow beings in distress."
