Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

by Diane Ackerman

A true story—as powerful as Schindler's List —in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands. When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw—and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark... (more)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

by John Boyne

Berlin 1942 When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance. ... (more)

Milkweed

by Jerry Spinelli

Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli ( Maniac McGee , Stargirl ) paints a vivid picture of the streets of the Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a curious, kind, heartbreakingly naïve orphan with many names. His name is Stopthief when people shout "Stop! Thief!" as he flees with stolen bread. Or it's Jew, "filthy son of Abraham," depending on who's talking to him. Or,... (more)

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

by Louise Murphy

In the last months of the Nazi occupation of Poland, two children are left by their father and stepmother to find safety in a dense forest. Because their real names will reveal their Jewishness, they are renamed "Hansel" and "Gretel." They wander in the woods until they are taken in by Magda, an eccentric and stubborn old woman called "witch" by the nearby villagers. Magda is determined to save them, even as a... (more)

Mila 18

by Leon Uris

It was a time of crisis, a time of tragedy--and a time of transcendent courage and determination. Leon Uris's blazing novel is set in the midst of the ghetto uprising that defied Nazi tyranny, as the Jews of Warsaw boldly met Wehrmacht tanks with homemade weapons and bare fists. Here, painted on a canvas as broad as its subject matter, is the compelling of one of the most heroic struggles of modern times.

Schindler's List

by Thomas Keneally

Winner of the Booker Prize Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Fiction Schindler's List is a remarkable work of fiction based on the true story of German industrialist and war profiteer, Oskar Schindler, who, confronted with the horror of the extermination camps, gambled his life and fortune to rescue 1,300 Jews from the gas chambers. Working with the actual testimony of Schindler's... (more)

The Pianist

The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945

by Wladyslaw Szpilman

The true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jewish pianist who survives the German invasion of Poland, the Warsaw ghetto and the ultimate destruction of the city.

The Spies of Warsaw

by Alan Furst

An autumn evening in 1937. A German engineer arrives at the Warsaw railway station. Tonight, he will be with his Polish mistress; tomorrow, at a workers’ bar in the city’s factory district, he will meet with the military attaché from the French embassy. Information will be exchanged for money. So begins The Spies of Warsaw , the brilliant new novel by Alan Furst, lauded by The New York Times as “America’s... (more)

Skeletons at the Feast

by Chris Bohjalian

In January 1945, in the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from Warsaw to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines. Among the group is eighteen-year-old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner... (more)

The Tin Drum

by Gunter Grass

The publication of "The Tin Drum" in 1959 launched Gunther Grass as an author of international repute. Bitter and impassioned, it delivers a scathing dissection of the years from 1925 to 1955 through the eyes of Oskar Matzerath, the dwarf whose manic beating on the toy of his retarded childhood fantastically counterpoints the accumulating horrors of Germany and Poland under the Nazis.

The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million

The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million

by Daniel Adam Mendelsohn

In this rich and riveting narrative, a writer's search for the truth behind his family's tragic past in World War II becomes a remarkably original epic&#8212part memoir, part reportage, part mystery, and part scholarly detective work&#8212that brilliantly explores the nature of time and memory, family and history. The Lost begins as the story of a boy who grew up in a family haunted by the... (more)

Qb VII

by Leon Uris

The author of a book in which a Dr. Adam Kelno was named and accused of violent crimes against humanity is being sued by Dr. Kelno who denies the allegations brought forth in the book.

The Painted Bird

by Jerzy Kosinski

A harrowing story that follows the wanderings of a boy abandoned by his parents during World War II, this classic novel, originally published in 1965, is a dark masterpiece that examines the proximity of terror and savagery to innocence and love. It is the first, and the most famous, novel by one of the most important and original writers of this century.

Push Not the River

by James Conroyd Martin

A panoramic and epic novel in the grand romantic style, Push Not the River is the rich story of Poland in the late 1700s--a time of heartache and turmoil as the country's once peaceful people are being torn apart by neighboring countries and divided loyalties. It is then, at the young and vulnerable age of seventeen, when Lady Anna Maria Berezowska loses both of her parents and must leave the only home she has... (more)

Yellow Star

by Jennifer Rozines Roy

Yellow Star is a Marshall Cavendish publication.

The Trumpeter of Krakow

by Eric P. Kelly, Eric Philbrook Kelly

"The 1929 Newbery Medal winner is completely redesigned, with magnificent illustrations. . . . A dramatic tale of 15th century Poland, it tells the story of a courageous young patriot and a mysterious jewel of great value. The beautifully written book, filled with adventure and excitement, gives young readers a vivid picture of Krakow in the early Renaissance."--The Horn Book. 20 illustrations.

The Fairy Tale Series

Briar Rose

by Jane Yolen

A powerful retelling of Sleeping Beauty that is “heartbreaking and heartwarming.” An American Library Association “100 Best Books for Teens” An American Library Association “Best Books for Young Adults” Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma’s stories about Briar Rose. But a promise Rebecca makes to her dying grandmother will lead her on a remarkable journey to uncover... (more)

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

by Diane Ackerman

A true storyas powerful as Schindler's Listin which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands.When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsawand the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for... (more)