WHAT ROSA BROUGHT
I’m thrilled to be able to share this beautiful story written by Jacob Sager Weinstein about his mother’s childhood and which I had the honor to illustrate. This is a picture book about family, identity, immigration, and love. It can also serve as a gentle introduction to the Holocaust for readers aged 4-8.
About the book:
Vienna, Austria, is the only home Rosa knows. While her parents work at their store, she plays with her grandmother, reads her favorite books, and climbs trees. But when the Nazis arrive in 1938, everything changes. Rosa’s family is Jewish, and the Nazis’ new laws make it dangerous for Jews to live in Vienna. Rosa’s parents can no longer run their store. Soon, some Jews decide to leave the country, and Rosa wants to go, too. But where would they go? And what would Rosa be able to bring with her?
~ Kirkus Reviews
Drawing inspiration from his mother’s childhood experiences, Weinstein employs spare, carefully selected language, without sugarcoating, to describe the rapidly escalating events. Wheeler’s illustrations inform the wider, more harrowing tale, gradually growing darker and more fraught with menacing vignettes of book burnings and broken windows. After viewing the family’s apartment, nearly emptied of belongings, and watching them eat in a soup kitchen, readers will find the family’s sadness, fear, and hunger to be palpable.
Heartrending, tender, and eye-opening.
Here are some previews of the artwork I created for the interior pages:
Explore more posts about my process of making the ‘What Rosa Brought‘ artwork.
I hope you’ll consider sharing ‘What Rosa Brought‘ with your kids, grandkids, local school, library, or house of worship.
